July 2025

MARC MY WORDS: In This For The Long Haul

It has been quite difficult for me to watch the news in recent months given the dramatic and harrowing changes that have been happening, including the passing of an incredibly irresponsible law that is anything but beautiful for public health, the environment, and personal security.  We have been scrambling to understand the implications of the new law on our community’s health, and to figure out what can be done for our community. 

Before the law passed, the nation had already been hit hard with major cuts to staff and critical programs from the National Institute of Health and other federal agencies that protect the health and fund research to develop treatments and find cures for major diseases.  We are already starting to see and feel the impact on research institutions and the families across Southern California who are involved in human trials.  I couldn’t agree more with the sentiments of Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) who commented on cuts to the CDC, that their passage will cause the American people to suffer for decades. Like him, I have to ask, who is the constituency behind cuts in cancer research?

Though it’s impossible to meet all the needs that are now unmet due to the federal cuts,  every bit we can do makes more of a difference than ever.  And Breathe Southern California is doing our part.  Many people do not realize that Breathe SoCal not only conducts research, partners with others on research studies, and recruits patients for community and  clinical research on lung diseases, we also host, gather and spotlight the best physicians in the field of lung health to share their latest research on the newest treatments for lung disease and patient care. This is all through our Trudeau Society’s Annual Lecture Series, our California Research Forum on Lung Health, and our annual Pacific Coast Lung Health Conference which will be held for the 16thtime on November 9th.

With the continued help of generous donors who designate their contributions toward research, we maintain a research fund which is an invaluable resource in Southern California.

It’s worth noting that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, accounting for about 1 in 5 of all cancer deaths. In California, fewer than 1% of those at risk of getting lung cancer are being screened because the standard screening method uses a low-dose CT scan machine which are rarely located outside hospitals.  We need to create new pathways. 

Breathe SoCal is currently partnering with researchers from City of Hope studying a simple blood test that would make lung cancer screening faster, cheaper, and more accessible. This could transform the landscape of screening from what it currently is now to something that can literally save thousands of lives. So previous donations translate into something real and meaningful for families across Southern California and beyond.

We are also partnering with UCLA researchers to study efforts are around teen tobacco and vaping prevention, cessation, awareness and education.  Vaping is a recent phenomena, but we cannot help youths who still use tobacco and nicotine products if we do not know what approaches and messages work.    

Our mission focuses beyond research to programs, education, advocacy, and technology – these intertwined pathways all resulting in a tightly weaved solution-oriented-strategy.

When one of these needles are moved forward like research, the others have a better chance of progressing too… All working in concert toward better health and cleaner air for all. 

While we navigate the challenges from Washington, we’ll keep our eyes on the prize.  With your continued support, along with our unwavering dedication to finding solutions to lung disease and the continued use of tobacco, we are in this for the long haul.  There’s so much good to look forward to and together we will not waver from continued progress.

In health,

Marc Carrel

President & CEO

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