Alk International

ALK+ International is a patient- and family-led charity, created with a single mission: To improve the life expectancy for ALK+ cancer patients. We aim to achieve this by fundraising for ALK+ cancer research, providing research grants and advocating for our ALK+ cancer community's needs. ALK+ cancer is a non-hereditary, mutation-driven cancer that occurs mainly in the lungs, but can also be associated with certain bowel, breast, childhood and other cancers. ALK+ lung cancer tends to strike younger people who never smoked. In fact, 50% of ALK+ lung cancer patients are diagnosed before age 50. About 30% of ALK+ lung cancer patients are under 40 at diagnosis. Unfortunately, 90% of ALK+ lung cancer patients are diagnosed at stage 4, when the disease has spread to other parts of the body and is incurable. Since the discovery of ALK+ cancer in 2007, there have been incredible advances in the range of life saving treatments. ALK+ cancer is treated with targeted therapies - a class of drugs that precisely target and inhibit cancer cell growth with considerably fewer side effects than traditional treatments. Eventually, however, ALK+ patients will develop resistance to their medication or experience further mutations, rendering their treatment ineffective. Ten years ago, survival for ALK-positive lung cancer was measured in months. Today, thanks to ALK-focused medical research, survival is measured in years. We believe that by working together and funding more research, we can do better.