White flag installations across the country, including 60,000 flags on the National Mall, honor lives lost and mobilize action on lung cancer screening, research, and access to care

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — This November, LUNGevity Foundation will launch Every Breath Forward℠, a nationwide movement to honor those lost to lung cancer and unite communities in advancing progress and improving lives. During Lung Cancer Awareness Month, white flag installations across the country will bring people together to support those affected by the disease and take action against the nation’s leading cause of cancer death.

Displays in Washington, DC, and cities nationwide will recognize advances in care and call for sustained investment in research, greater access to lung cancer screening, and treatment that reaches everyone who needs it.

The campaign’s centerpiece is an installation of 60,000 white flags on the National Mall on November 1. Volunteers will plant the flags, and a Survivor Rally will honor survivors and call for greater awareness and research. Each flag represents two of the more than 120,000 people who die from lung cancer in the United States each year.

Advances in early detection, precision medicine, and treatment are helping people with lung cancer live longer and better. Every Breath Forward calls for increased investment so that more people can benefit from this progress.

“Every flag honors a person who was loved and a family whose life has been changed by lung cancer,” said Andrea Ferris, President and CEO of LUNGevity Foundation. “Progress in early detection and treatment gives us real reason for hope and a clear responsibility to build on it. Every Breath Forward gives people everywhere a way to honor those we have lost, stand with those living with lung cancer, and help secure the research and access to care needed to save more lives.”

From the National Mall to Communities Across the Country

LUNGevity will host a press conference on the National Mall on November 10 at 10 a.m., bringing together policymakers, survivors, advocates, researchers, and healthcare experts. Participants will call for sustained federal research funding, expanded access to lung cancer screening and early detection, and equitable access to advances in care.

Additional public flag installations are planned in:

• Denver, Colorado, in partnership with The White Ribbon Project and CU Anschutz Cancer Center: November 1
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in partnership with the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative (ALCSI): November 5
• Jackson, Mississippi, in partnership with the Mississippi Lung Cancer Roundtable: November 6
• Tampa, Florida, in partnership with Moffitt Cancer Center: November 7
• Raleigh, North Carolina, in partnership with the Lung Cancer Initiative: November 8
• Boston, Massachusetts: November 11
• San Francisco, California, in partnership with GO2 for Lung Cancer: November 14

More than 80 chapters of the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative (ALCSI) will also plant flags on college campuses and in communities nationwide, bringing the movement to more people and encouraging conversations about early detection.

“Screening can help find lung cancer earlier, when treatment may be more effective,” said Timothy Hwang, Executive Director, American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative. “Our chapters are using these displays to help people understand who may be eligible for screening and encourage them to discuss it with family members and healthcare professionals.”

A Movement Anyone Can Join

Throughout November, people across the country can take part in Every Breath Forward wherever they live.

Individuals and families will plant their own Every Breath Forward displays in yards, neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities to honor loved ones and show support for people affected by lung cancer.

People can make a virtual dedication in honor or memory of someone affected by lung cancer, volunteer at a participating city installation, visit a display, or share photos and stories on social media. Inviting friends, family, and colleagues to participate will help bring the movement to more communities.

Each dedication, display, and act of participation helps honor lives, strengthen support for the lung cancer community, and build public commitment to continued progress.

Every Breath Forward is made possible with support from Presenting Sponsor Boehringer Ingelheim; Platinum Sponsors AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson; Gold Sponsor Amgen; and Silver Sponsors Daiichi Sankyo, Genentech, Lilly, Merck, Nuvalent, Regeneron, and Takeda.

To find an installation, volunteer, make a virtual dedication, or explore other ways to participate, visit EveryBreathForward.org.

About LUNGevity Foundation

LUNGevity Foundation is transforming what it means to be diagnosed and live with lung cancer. While many organizations focus on one aspect of lung cancer, LUNGevity works across research, advocacy, and patient support, because lasting progress requires connecting all three. 

As the largest nonprofit funder of lung cancer research in the United States, LUNGevity drives progress in early detection, more effective treatments, and the next generation of researchers. We empower people diagnosed with lung cancer and their caregivers with scientifically vetted information, resources, and community and advocate for policies that improve access to screening, biomarker testing, treatment, and high-quality care for all.

By connecting scientific discovery, patient experience, and advocacy, we help ensure research reflects what patients need, breakthroughs reach the people who can benefit from them, and patient voices help drive meaningful change.

Our vision is a world where no one dies of lung cancer.

Please visit www.LUNGevity.org to learn more. 

About Lung Cancer in the US

• About 1 in 19 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime.
• More than 229,000 people in the US will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, with a new diagnosis every 2.3 minutes.
• It is estimated that close to 65% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people with no tobacco exposure or only past tobacco exposure.
• More lives are lost to lung cancer than to the next two deadliest cancers (colorectal and pancreatic) combined.
• Only 29.5% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, but if it’s caught before it spreads, the chance of 5-year survival improves to 65%.

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SOURCE LUNGevity Foundation