On March 20th, Milwaukee resident and lung cancer survivor Wynn Welch, traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress during the American Lung Association’s LUNG FORCE Advocacy Day.
As a part of the nationwide event, Welch will join more than 40 other people from across the country who have been impacted by lung cancer to ask lawmakers to support $51.3 billion in research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $11.6 billion in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In 2005, Welch was admitted to the hospital for treatment of collapsing lungs, however, due to the lack of insurance, she was only given an x-ray and after establishing the collapse was due to stress was released.
Her lungs collapsed again in 2018, she was again admitted to the hospital, this time with insurance, and after numerous tests were performed it was discovered that her collapse was due to cancer located in the upper lobe of her lung.
During Advocacy Day, Welch spoke with Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson and Representative Gwen Moore to share her personal experience with lung cancer and explain why investments in public health and research funding are important.
Welch encourages others in Wisconsin to advocate for lung cancer research and healthcare protections by contacting their members of Congress, which they can do at Lung.org/AdvocacyDay.
Learn more about Wynn Welch’s story and the LUNG FORCE initiative at LUNGFORCE.org.
