For the 108,000 women who are diagnosed with lung cancer each year , Lung Cancer Awareness Month can be a lonely time of year . Lung cancer kills nearly twice as many women as breast cancer . But November , unlike October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month , goes practically unnoticed : no sea of ribbons , no colored NFL cleats , no national monuments aglow in pink . Breast cancer is a terrible disease . My grandmother fought and beat it twice , benefiting from innovative treatments that have propelled five-year survival rates to 90 % . But the five-year survival rate for lung cancer has hovered around 16 % for decades . And for someone like my mom , who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer , the survival rate is an appallingly low 4 % . An indiscriminate killer , lung cancer takes more lives annually than breast , prostate , colon and pancreatic cancers combined . The disease has not generally received the public attention or research dollars in proportion to its devastating lethality . Lung cancer receives just $ 1,442 in federal research funds per death , compared with $ 26,398 for breast cancer and $ 13,419 for prostate cancer according to an NIH study . Factor in private donations , and the funding gap becomes even more staggering . Often portrayed as a `` smoker 's disease , '' the majority of those diagnosed with lung cancer are former smokers or have never smoked at all . And while smoking history should n't matter as nicotine is highly addictive , all lung cancer patients face the same unrelenting stigma . My mom never smoked -- in fact , studies show one in five women diagnosed with lung cancer never smoked -- and so her lingering , months-long cough did n't trigger any red flags . In fact , her doctors were certain she had pneumonia . That is until her CT scan came back showing the mass in her lung . An otherwise healthy , vibrant , beautiful woman , my mom was given less than a year to live . Thanks to advancements in targeted therapies , my mom survived -- thrived , in many respects -- for more than 40 months . She lived long enough to walk me down the aisle , attend my youngest brother 's high school graduation , watch my dad make a lasagna from scratch and fulfill a lifetime wish to hike the hills of Sedona and visit the Grand Canyon . But in July 2013 , after an unbelievably courageous and inspiring fight , my mom passed away . She was 59 . It 's impossible to describe adequately how special my mom was . She was incredibly caring , equanimous , brave and nonjudgmental . She possessed patience and calmness so rarely encountered -- and in short supply in a family full of strong personalities . She was the ballast that kept our family upright and moving forward . While lung cancer robbed my family of an unbelievably special mom and spouse , there is so much we can do to ensure happier endings for other lung cancer patients and their families . Whether you are a lung cancer survivor , caregiver , advocate or just someone who wants to join the fight , there is much we can do to bring our country 's No . 1 cancer killer out of the shadows . • Visit Uniting Against Lung Cancer , Free to Breathe , the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation or the LUNGevity Foundation for great resources , local events and patient support groups . • Write a letter to your local newspaper , urging greater public awareness or encouraging corporate sponsors to step up in support of the lung cancer fight . • Join the growing # lcsm ( lung cancer social media ) community on Twitter . • If you are in a high-risk group -- a heavy long-term smoker -- see your doctor about CT screening . Sadly , over the next five years , more than 1 million Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer . They will be our mothers , fathers , siblings , grandparents , co-workers and closest friends . Together , we can help them .
Lung Cancer Awareness Month does n't get attention it deserves , Arielle Densen says . Comment: Some 108,000 women are diagnosed with lung cancer each year .