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Dr. Nasser Hanna, Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
One of the most frustrating aspects of lung cancer specialist Dr. Nasser Hanna’s work is the fact that, if caught early, the dreaded disease is more detectable and survivable than ever before. But in far too many cases, and for no good reason, diagnosis comes too late.
“I you’re diagnosed with an early-stage lung cancer, our chance of a cure is actually pretty high,” said Hanna, who is the Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation professor of Lung Cancer Clinical Research at the Indiana UniversitySchool of Medicine and chief of cancer screenings at Indiana University Health. “We have the capacity to diagnose most people in that early stage, but because we haven’t done a good enough job with early detection and screening, even though they’ve been available for years, most people are diagnosed at a very advanced stage.”
To help turn things around, Hanna founded and chairs the advocacy group End Lung Cancer Now, an initiative of IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. He’s serious about the name (and the proposed time frame), pointing out that lung cancer mortality rates have steadily declined since the 1960s and are starting to fall precipitously today thanks to new detection and treatment methods. The only missing piece is a wider acceptance among the general public of regular screening to ensure early detection—something his organization was built to change.
“I have this burning passion for advocacy because I know that advocates are responsible for saving more lives than medical science,” he said.
He pointed out that, a couple of decades ago, breast cancer and AIDS diagnoses were often hampered by the stigma surrounding the diseases, until advocacy programs de-stigmatized them and scared up more money for research.
Lung cancer is a little different, with many people avoiding screening because they’re terrified of being diagnosed. But if one examines the evidence, this form of cancer looks more and more like it’s on its last legs. Hanna pointed out that roughly 80% of cases are triggered by factors like cigarette smoking and radon exposure and are therefore entirely preventable. Most of the rest could be nipped in the bud by regular screening, he said.
“Advocacy is the linchpin,” Hanna said. “It’s the foundational piece for everything we do. If you don’t advocate and others don’t advocate for you, the disease gets marginalized and stigmatized and you tend not to get the prevention efforts that can turn everything around.”
Recently, Hanna led the effort to secure a combined $24.5 million gift from the Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation, which will support the establishment of the Wood Center for Lung Cancer Research at the cancer center and the launch of Indiana’s first mobile lung cancer screening program.
Rural Hoosiers are at the highest risk of developing and dying from lung cancer, Hanna’s nomination reads.
“Dr. Hanna believes that a patient’s ZIP code should not be their destiny, and this program will take life-saving screenings to them. This will undoubtedly be a part of Dr. Hanna’s lasting legacy and will save thousands of lives,” it said.•
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