Declare Lung Cancer Screening Day

November 8, 2025, as Lung Cancer Screening Awareness Day in the State of New York WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize official days that are set aside to increase awareness of serious health issues that affect the lives of citizens of New York State; and WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-standing traditions, it is the sense of this Legislative Body to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim November 8, 2025, as Lung Cancer Screening Awareness Day in the State of New York; and WHEREAS, According to the American Cancer Society, over 226,650 Americans will be newly diagnosed with lung cancer this year and over

124,730 will die from the disease, making it the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States; and WHEREAS, Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related death in New York State, with over 12,000 estimated new cases of the disease in New York State in 2025, and an estimated 6,060 New Yorkers will die from lung cancer this year; and WHEREAS, Any person is at risk for developing lung cancer, as there are many risk factors including smoking, family history, environmental causes and other lifestyle factors; and WHEREAS, Nearly half of lung cancer cases are not detected until it is too late, and the survival rate is only six percent for those diagnosed at a late stage; and WHEREAS, The screening and early detection of lung cancer are vital to the health and well-being of New York State residents; and WHEREAS, More needs to be done to educate high-risk Americans about lung cancer, as it accounts for more deaths than breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer combined; and WHEREAS, The United States Preventative Services Task Force recommends annual screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) in adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack a year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years; screening people who are at high risk for lung cancer can find lung cancer at an early stage and improve their chances of surviving; and WHEREAS, Lung cancer screening with low-dose CT scans has been recommended for those at high risk since 2013, but according to the American Cancer Society only 6.5 percent of the eight and a half million people who are at high-risk for developing the disease are actually undergoing screening; and WHEREAS, Lung cancer screening with low-dose CT scans has been shown to decrease mortality by 20 percent; and WHEREAS, For non-small cell lung cancer, the most common lung cancer, the 5-year survival rate is 65% when found at a localized stage but only 9% when found at a distant stage; and WHEREAS, Only 31.0% of non-small cell lung cancer cases are caught at an early stage in New York; and WHEREAS, The National Cancer Institute (NCI) states that lung cancer screenings can find abnormal tissues or lung cancer at an early stage, before a person has symptoms, and can make lung cancer easier to treat and achieve higher survival rates; waiting to treat until after symptoms appear may increase the likelihood the cancer has already metastasized; and WHEREAS, This year marks the 54th Anniversary of passing the National Cancer Act, yet screening for and education of lung cancer continues to be alarmingly low compared to other forms of cancer; and WHEREAS, It is imperative that there be greater public awareness about the risk of lung cancer to New Yorkers and the importance for New York citizens to talk to their healthcare provider about recommended lung cancer screenings, and be screened with low-dose CT scans as appropriate; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim November 8, 2025, as Lung Cancer Screening Awareness Day in the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New York; the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network New York; and the American Lung Association in New York.