Sanjeev Sharma is a patient-advocacy leader and healthcare professional who serves as Director & CEO of Lung Connect India Foundation, an organization focused on improving the lives and outcomes of people affected by lung cancer through patient navigation, advocacy, research, education, and psychosocial support. Lung Connect’s official profile identifies Sharma as Director & CEO, while international oncology organizations describe him as a patient advocate and co-founder/director who has played a central role in developing the organization’s patient-centered model.

Mr. Sharma’s professional journey has been closely associated with cancer care and patient support, with more than two decades of experience in the field. His work has increasingly focused on addressing the gaps that patients and caregivers encounter beyond the clinical treatment of cancer—particularly difficulties around diagnosis, treatment access, information, navigation, emotional support, and continuity of care. The Lung Cancer Policy Network notes his advocacy for equitable access to diagnostics, treatment, and psychosocial support, as well as his work in developing patient-navigation programs and multilingual virtual support networks.

A defining element of his mission is the belief that patients need a reliable bridge between the healthcare system and their everyday realities. Lung Connect has developed a model that combines patient navigation, advocacy, and research, helping patients and caregivers understand and negotiate different stages of the lung-cancer journey. The organization’s current program includes support groups, patient education, navigation, and research/clinical-trial engagement.

During the COVID-19 period, Lung Connect expanded its support for patients in hard-to-reach locations, including assistance in accessing essential medicines. The organization subsequently broadened its activities into educational content, virtual support and advocacy, working with government, hospitals, clinicians and pharmaceutical assistance programmes. The Union for International Cancer Control has highlighted this evolution as part of Lung Connect’s effort to ensure that patients are not left behind because of geographical, financial, or healthcare-system barriers.

Policy advocacy has become another major pillar of Sharma’s work. Lung Connect has advocated for better access to molecular testing, targeted therapies, immunotherapy, clinical trials, and financial protection for lung-cancer patients. In 2024, Sharma participated in an advocacy initiative in Delhi in which a memorandum signed by hundreds of lung-cancer patients was presented to the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, calling for wider insurance and government-health-scheme coverage of advanced diagnostic and treatment requirements.

His contribution has increasingly gained international recognition. Sharma received the IASLC Patient Advocate Education Award 2025 at the World Conference on Lung Cancer, following Lung Connect’s recognition in 2024 for patient-advocacy work. The organization’s collaborations now include bodies such as the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), the Global Lung Cancer Coalition, and the Lung Cancer Policy Network.

His advocacy work has also entered the scientific literature. Sharma is a co-author of a 2026 JCO Global Oncology article examining Lung Connect India Foundation’s development and its role in patient-centered lung-cancer policy in South Asia. The publication lists his academic qualification as BA and identifies him as a patient advocate with the Lung Connect India Foundation.

Through his leadership at Lung Connect, Sanjeev Sharma has helped develop a patient-led model that brings together awareness, navigation, advocacy, research, and community support. His professional mission is centered on ensuring that lung-cancer patients and caregivers have access not only to medical treatment but also to reliable information, emotional support, appropriate diagnostics, and a stronger voice in healthcare policy. His work represents a broader shift in cancer care towards incorporating the lived experience of patients into clinical, institutional, and policy decision-making.