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Every breath counts
The Lung Cancer Association
Mission
Lung cancer, or “ugly cancer”, is the deadliest form of cancer, and perhaps the one most associated with shame. The disease is linked to smoking and therefore there is a perception that it is self-inflicted. But few think that non-smokers are also affected. And it is a growing patient group. The increase is greatest among non-smoking women.
The notion of how to suffer from lung cancer has had real consequences. Ignorance of the disease is not only found in society at large – a lack of knowledge in primary care has also led to many women with cancer being misdiagnosed.
This is what the Lung Cancer Association wanted to change.
Solution
Mia sought care 14 times before she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Yann was in contact with the care 33 times.
We met Yann and Mia, whose stories about the struggle with healthcare touched. Together with them and through their experiences, we created two mini-documentaries where we get to listen to their struggle and their long journeys until diagnosis. Knowledge about lung cancer must increase both among the general public and in healthcare. There is hope. Early detection saves lives.
The mini-documentaries were in their entirety about 10 minutes long and were published on Youtube and the Lung Cancer Association’s website. The films were shown on Lung Cancer Day 2019 and were also cut into shorter versions for social media.
The documentaries overpowered the social media buzz and reached the established press, healthcare and disease victims.
"Lung cancer is steadily increasing among younger, healthy women who have never smoked. When this new patient group meets primary care, staff often fail to recognize patients' symptoms as signs of lung cancer. This has devastating consequences, write Mia Rajalin and Yann Fränckel, both cancer patients."
