LUNGevity Announces Partnership With CaringBridge

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Jun 20, 2012, 10:58 ET

Nation's largest lung cancer-focused nonprofit launches partnership to offer additional support and resources to constituents

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- LUNGevity Foundation, the nation's largest lung cancer-focused nonprofit, is pleased to announce a new partnership with CaringBridge, a personalized "caring" social network. Under the new partnership, CaringBridge will add a new themed page for CaringBridge users who want to select a LUNGevity-branded, lung cancer-specific style template for their CaringBridge site. This resource will offer a personalized and private place for LUNGevity constituents to communicate and show support for the lung cancer patient and their families and supporters.

New users can choose to customize their pages with the LUNGevity "skin" and existing users can change their current design to reflect the LUNGevity brand. This partnership offers a co-branded CaringBridge website experience and valuable resource to members of the LUNGevity community, and increases awareness of LUNGevity among members of the existing CaringBridge community.

"LUNGevity is honored and thrilled to partner with CaringBridge. The benefits that CaringBridge sites provide to our constituents are invaluable. The sites offer a private way to connect a patient's entire support community by centralizing personal communications, reducing stress and isolation, saving time and emotional energy when health matters most," said Andrea Stern Ferris, President, LUNGevity Foundation.

More than 43 million people visited CaringBridge.org in the last 12 months. The service is used in every state and in more than 225 countries and territories. CaringBridge pages are helpful when family and friends are geographically separated, when the primary caregiver is overwhelmed and stressed, and when the patients are unable to share their health news.

LUNGevity is the nation's largest lung cancer-focused nonprofit. It has the largest grants award program for lung cancer research among lung cancer nonprofit organizations in the United States. In 2011 alone, LUNGevity awarded $2 million to fund nine of the most promising lung cancer research proposals in the areas of early detection and targeted therapeutics.

The Foundation also creates community and connects people affected by lung cancer with other patients/survivors, caregivers and medical experts to get the information and support they need, as well as offering information and referrals to other organizations. Resources LUNGevity provides include the largest lung cancer-specific online support community; LifeLine, a telephone/email buddy program; the Caregiver Resource Center; an extensive online blog; Ask the Experts, providing experts at visitors fingertips; a clinical trials matching service; and LUNGevity LinkUP for those interested in becoming advocates. With over 60 locally-based events every year, LUNGevity has the largest grassroots lung cancer network in the nation.

About LUNGevity Foundation

The mission of LUNGevity Foundation is to have a meaningful impact on improving lung cancer survival rates, ensure a higher quality of life for lung cancer patients, and provide a community for those impacted by lung cancer.

Through the support of critical research into the early detection and successful treatment of lung cancer, as well as providing information, resources and a community to patients and caregivers, LUNGevity is creating and sharing hope for cures, treatments and enhanced quality of life for lung cancer patients.

LUNGevity seeks to inspire the nation to commit to ending lung cancer.

For more information, please visit www.lungevity.org.

About CaringBridge

CaringBridge is a nonprofit offering many ways for people to care for each other during any type of health event. People are able to stay connected, leave hopeful messages, and offer support. CaringBridge offers personal Sites, a SupportPlanner and an online volunteer community, the Amplifier Hub. Thanks to those who donate, CaringBridge is available to anyone, anywhere at no cost.

For more information, please visit www.caringbridge.org.

About Lung Cancer

1 in 14 Americans is diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, regardless of gender or ethnicity
Lung cancer kills almost twice as many women as breast cancer and more than three times as many men as prostate cancer
About 55 percent of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers
Only 16 percent of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, but if it's caught before it spreads, the chance for 5-year survival improves to 52 percent

To schedule an interview with LUNGevity Foundation President Andrea Stern Ferris, contact Victoria Shapiro at (202) 414-0774 or [email protected]

SOURCE LUNGevity Foundation