By Milton Kirby | St. Louis, MO | June 5, 2026

Series: Lungs, Lives, and Lessons — Part I

Lung cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in America, yet many people still struggle to talk about it openly.

For decades, public understanding of lung cancer has been shaped by silence, stigma, and a persistent misconception: that only smokers get the disease. Physicians, survivors, and community health advocates preparing for a St. Louis symposium say that belief has delayed diagnoses and prevented too many people from recognizing their own risk.

As the HEAL Collaborative prepares for the June 27 community symposium, “Lung Cancer Screening to Treatment 2.0,” local partners Five Star Center, Inc. and Southside Wellness Center are helping connect residents to the conversation. The event will be held at the International Institute of St. Louis and is supported by Amgen. Together, those efforts are focused on one message above all others:

“Anyone with lungs can get lung cancer.”

It is a simple statement, but one that challenges decades of misunderstanding surrounding one of America’s most lethal diseases.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, claiming more lives each year than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined. Yet despite its impact, awareness surrounding lung cancer risk, symptoms, and screening remains dangerously uneven, particularly in underserved communities.

Many people still believe they are not at risk.

Others delay seeking care because they fear what a diagnosis might mean.

And some never discuss symptoms at all until the disease has already advanced.

For those involved in the St. Louis symposium, changing that reality begins with changing the conversation itself.

More Than One Cause

Smoking remains the leading cause of lung cancer, accounting for approximately 90 percent of cases. But medical experts stress that smoking is not the only risk factor, and not the only story.

Exposure to radon gas, secondhand smoke, air pollution, asbestos, uranium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel, and certain petroleum products can all increase the likelihood of developing lung cancer. Genetic history can also play a role, even for individuals who have never smoked a cigarette.

In many cases, exposure may have occurred decades earlier through industrial work environments, household conditions, or long-term environmental exposure.

For some families, the danger was never fully understood at the time.

That complexity is one reason health advocates say public education remains critical.

“Anyone with lungs can get lung cancer” is not simply a slogan for the symposium. It is a direct challenge to the misconception that only one type of person develops the disease.

The reality, health advocates say, is far broader and far more personal.

The Disease That Often Hides

One of the greatest dangers of lung cancer is that symptoms frequently appear late.

By the time warning signs become impossible to ignore, the disease may already have spread beyond the lungs, making treatment more difficult and survival rates lower.

Early symptoms can also resemble ordinary health problems people routinely dismiss:

• a lingering cough
• shortness of breath
• chest tightness
• chronic mucus production
• wheezing
• unexplained chest pain
• coughing up blood

Sometimes people assume breathing difficulties are simply part of aging. Others attribute persistent coughing to allergies, smoking history, or seasonal illness.

But health advocates warn that ignoring those symptoms can carry serious consequences.

That is one reason the St. Louis symposium will focus heavily on education, awareness, and screening eligibility conversations designed to help residents better understand when medical evaluation may be necessary.

While low-dose CT screenings themselves will not be conducted onsite, health professionals will be available to help attendees understand screening eligibility and connect attendees with additional healthcare resources and follow-up pathways.

“The goal is not to frighten people,” said Rachael Jones, Regional Director of Community Outreach and Advocacy Engagement for the HEAL Collaborative. “The goal is to make people aware of the resources available to help them access screening, understand their risk, and seek treatment early if needed.”

It is to encourage earlier conversations before symptoms become life threatening.

The Weight of Stigma

Lung cancer carries a unique stigma that many survivors and families say separates it from other major diseases.

Patients are often asked one question almost immediately after revealing their diagnosis:

“Did you smoke?”

For some families, that question can feel less like concern and more like blame.

Advocates say that stigma has real consequences. It can discourage people from seeking screening, delay medical appointments, and isolate patients emotionally during treatment.

Some individuals avoid discussing symptoms because they fear judgment.

Others incorrectly assume that if they never smoked, they are automatically safe.

The result is that misinformation and silence continue to shape public understanding of the disease.

Health advocates behind the St. Louis symposium hope to confront those misconceptions directly by creating a space where residents can ask questions openly, hear from survivors, and receive information without shame or fear.

The event is expected to bring together physicians, advocates, survivors, and approximately 150 community members for discussions focused on screening awareness, navigation support, treatment conversations, and the future of lung cancer care.

Two to three survivor speakers are also expected to participate, helping personalize a disease that statistics alone often fail to fully explain.

Why St. Louis Matters

According to the HEAL Collaborative, St. Louis was selected intentionally.

The June 27 symposium marks the collaborative’s second visit to St. Louis. At the previous event, 87 community members attended and seven were identified as eligible for lung cancer screening. Health advocates say those figures demonstrate both the value and the challenge of community outreach: every person connected to potentially life-saving information matters, yet many residents who could benefit from screening information and healthcare navigation services may still remain unreached.

Like many American cities, St. Louis continues to face significant healthcare disparities tied to access, economics, environmental exposure, and long-standing inequities in medical outcomes.

Black and Brown communities in particular often experience lower screening rates and poorer lung cancer survival outcomes.

Those disparities are part of the reason health advocates believe community-based education efforts remain so important.

Events like “Lung Cancer Screening to Treatment 2.0” are designed not only to raise awareness, but also to help close gaps in information and access before diagnoses become more severe.

The symposium will include conversations on pulmonology care, navigation support, medical debt, the role of artificial intelligence in future lung cancer treatment, and the impact stigma can have on care and outcomes.

Lunch will be provided, and organizers say the free event is intended to be welcoming, accessible, and community centered.

At its core, the symposium is built around a belief that education itself can become a form of prevention.

A Conversation That Cannot Wait

For many Americans, lung cancer remains something that happens to “other people.”

But advocates say that perception continues to cost lives.

Part I of this three-part series begins with the misconceptions because health advocates believe understanding risk is the first step toward improving outcomes.

In Part II, we will look deeper inside the lungs themselves, exploring how lung cancer develops, how symptoms are often overlooked, and why early detection can dramatically improve survival chances.

For now, the message symposium leaders hope residents carry with them is straightforward:

Lung cancer is not simply a smoker’s disease.

It is a human disease.

And it is one communities can no longer afford to ignore.

For more information HEAL Collaborative

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