Sunday, June 2, marks the 37th annual National Cancer Survivors Day Celebration of Life. On this day, people across the globe will come together to honor cancer survivors, work toward increasing awareness of cancer and raise awareness of the ongoing challenges cancer survivors face.

Here in the Kennebec Valley, we have a wealth of resources to help people with cancer and their loved ones. For example, early detection and advances in treatment have resulted in more lung cancer survivors than ever. The death rate of lung cancer is dropping faster than for any other cancer. We continue to evolve to provide survivorship resources as a result.

MaineGeneral works with a number of dedicated partners who tirelessly promote improvements in screening rates, health care, support services and patient and survivorship resources in Maine. The Maine Lung Cancer Coalition (MLCC) has built a statewide coalition of community and health care-system members committed to improving survival rates in lung cancer patients in Maine. A number of Maine organizations, including the American Lung Association chapter, Free ME from Lung Cancer, and the Maine Public Health Association have been working on improving awareness and care for lung cancer for many years.

Please join the 4,700 MaineGeneral employees on June 2 to honor the cancer survivors in your life and think about your own risk for lung cancer. If you might be at risk, talk to your doctor about getting screened. Learn more at https://www.mainegeneral.org/lung-cancer/.

Seth Blank, M.D.

MaineGeneral Surgery

G. Richard Polkinghorn, M.D.

Medical Director, Oncology

MaineGeneral Medical Center

Arun Ranganath, M.D.

MaineGeneral Pulmonary