Key Points:

Learning Objectives:

Benefits:

Lung cancer is America's number-one cancer killer, yet associated stigma finds the general public, news media and, in some cases, the medical community uncomfortable with talking about the disease. Furthermore, lung cancer does not have a corps of survivors to educate the public, given the sad fact that most victims die within five years of being diagnosed.

To begin a national dialogue, the American Legacy Foundation crafted a partnership with an Academy Award®-winning producer, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), individual survivors and resource partners to create Code Blue. Using the phrase Code Blue– words heard when re-starting a patient's breathing – Legacy crafted a campaign promoting early detection, quitting smoking and searching for a cure.

A documentary explores the devastating impact of lung cancer, and PSAs – including one featuring former President George H.W. Bush – focus attention on the issue. NAB shared these materials with its more than 8,300 member stations, so that content could air across the nation. A microsite (www.americanlegacy.org/codeblue) features these items (in English and Spanish), along with resources such as a broadcasters guide on covering lung cancer, fact sheets, links to partner organizations and more in order to change the way people think and talk about lung cancer.

Session attendees will interact with a panel including the documentarian, a lung cancer survivor, medical expert and communications expert to learn how to craft such partnerships and how to use existing Code Blue resources at the community level.