New American Lung Association Report Highlights Garden State’s Significant Progress Against Cancer
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
TRENTON, NJ – Great news for public health in the Garden State! The American Lung Association in New Jersey has released its annual 2025 “State of Lung Cancer” report, revealing that New Jersey is positioning itself as one of the national leaders in the fight against lung cancer, the deadliest form of cancer in the U.S.
The report highlights major progress across several key metrics, showcasing improved outcomes for patients and proactive efforts to catch the disease early.
New Jersey’s National Report Card: Among the Best
New Jersey earned top-tier rankings in several critical categories, demonstrating effective health policies and access to cutting-edge care:
| Key Indicator | NJ Ranking (Out of 51 States) | NJ Rate | National Rate | Improvement (Past 5 Years) |
| 5-Year Survival Rate | #8 (Out of 39) | 32.8% | 29.7% | 19% |
| Surgery as First Treatment | #3 (Out of 49) | 26.2% | 20.7% | N/A |
| High-Risk Screening Rate | #9 (Out of 51) | 22.3% | 18.2% | N/A |
| Adult Smoking Rate | #6 (Out of 51) | 9.1% | 11.4% | N/A |
This success is driven by New Jersey’s lower smoking rates and proactive measures, including a new law requiring insurance coverage for comprehensive biomarker testing—a key factor in providing personalized, life-saving treatment.
The Equity Gap: A Critical Challenge Remains
While the overall progress is cause for hope, the report reveals a stark disparity that demands urgent attention:
🚨 Health Disparity Alert: Black individuals in New Jersey are 32% less likely to receive surgical treatment for lung cancer (18.5% rate) compared to white individuals (27.2% rate).
This significant gap underscores the need to actively advance lung health equity and ensure all New Jersey residents have unbiased access to high-quality care, including potentially curative surgery.
The Importance of Early Detection and Targeted Treatment
Despite the improved survival rates, the fight is far from over. Nationally, only 28.1% of lung cancer cases are caught at an early stage when the chance of survival is significantly higher.
The American Lung Association emphasizes two crucial actions:
- Screening: Annual low-dose CT scans for individuals at high risk (former or current heavy smokers) can reduce the lung cancer death rate by up to 20%. New Jersey’s screening rate of 22.3% is better than the national average, but still means many at-risk individuals are being missed.
- Biomarker Testing: New Jersey’s law mandating insurance coverage for comprehensive biomarker testing is a major win. This testing analyzes a tumor’s DNA to match the patient with the most effective, personalized, targeted therapy, improving outcomes and quality of life. The Lung Association is now calling on all other states to follow New Jersey’s lead.
Michael Seilback of the American Lung Association notes: “While this progress gives us hope, early detection and survival rates are still far too low in our state. Working to increase awareness and access to lung cancer screening and biomarker testing are critical to saving lives.”
Learn more about the report and take action to defeat lung cancer at Lung.org/solc.
Tell your story #TheRidgewoodblog , #Indpendentnews, #information, #advertise, #guestpost, #affiliatemarketing,#NorthJersey, #NJ , #News, #localnews, #bergencounty, #sponsoredpost, #SponsoredContent, #contentplacement , #linkplacement, Email: [email protected]
