Archive for April, 2012

Time for HOPE and Movement

April 30th, 2012 - by Andrea Ferris

<img class="size-full wp-image-1516 alignleft" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" title="andreaF" src="http://blog.lungevity.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/a

ndreaF.jpg” alt=”" width=”70″ height=”85″ />What I witness and experienced this past Sunday morning was nothing short of AWESOME!

With the sun shining on a perfect spring day, over 12,000 people came out to Run As One in Central Park NY to participate in the Labrecque – LUNGevity 4 mile run and 1.3 mile family walk.  There were elite runners, weekend athletes and families with strollers.  There were people carrying signs for their loved ones with lung cancer and many, many “in memory “stickers on the participants’ shirts.  As the runners and walkers took to the field, I was humbled by the sheer numbers and the palpable energy.   It made me proud to be part of lung cancer advocacy and reminded me of the magnitude and responsibility of the undertaking.

The momentum of the lung cancer movement is taking hold and it is tremendous to be one of the driving factors.  I would like to thank our partners, like the Thomas G. Labrecque Foundation and especially all of LUNGevity’s volunteers and coordinators of our 60+ Breathe Deep and benefactor events that take place year round across the country.  I would also like to thank partner lung cancer organizations that came out this morning to participate in and support the Labrecque-LUNGevity program following the race.  These organizations included: Memorial Sloan Kettering, Lung Cancer Alliance, the National Lung Cancer Partnership, Bonnie J. Addario, Cancer Care and Uniting Against Lung Cancer.  By working together we will be able to accomplish a great deal.

It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child.  I believe that it takes a nation to put an end to lung cancer.  LUNGevity, together with our collaborations with LiveSTRONG and community partners, like Stupid Cancer, Face the Sun, Cancer Care Services, CaringBridge, Cancer Treatment Centers of America and Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center is creating the network to bring the nation together.  We are increasing awareness about lung cancer with PSAs that are on display at Rockefeller Center and in national periodicals and we are letting the nation know the real facts about lung cancer.  Most importantly, we are empowering the nation to take action.

As we enter May, LUNGevity’s Lung Cancer HOPE month, there is much that we should be hopeful for.  We will shortly be reporting on the progress of our 2010 and 2011 research awards as well as putting even more money into research; our HOPE Summit, celebrating lung cancer survivors will be taking place in Washington, DC; and we are continuing to push out with many more events

nationwide.

I do believe that we can help create a world where no one dies from lung cancer and that gives me tremendous hope.

Andrea Ferris is President of LUNGevity Foundation.

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Saving Grannies from Lung Cancer

April 23rd, 2012 - by admin

Tammy, Alexis and WandaSeven and a half year old Alexis Johnson’s family wants to save other grannies from lung cancer.

That’s why she’s the top fundraiser every year in her family’s event, Breathe Deep Kankakee.

Alexis’ grandmother, Wanda White, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009.  Wanda, along with her daughter, Tammy Johnson, thought an event to raise awareness was a good idea and she wanted people to know that smoking wasn’t the only cause for lung cancer.  Wanda had worked for 25 years in dry cleaning and she wanted people to know that anyone, regardless of smoking history, could develop lung cancer too.  There needed to be more research into the disease so the family set out to make a difference in their community!

Alexis’ mom Tammy and her grandmother Wanda began their first event, a walked called Breathe Deep Kankakee in August of 2009, and later a bowling event every November called Spare a Life Strike out Lung Cancer.  Alexis and her grandmother were always the top two fundraisers!

The family had never participated in events before finding LUNGevity.  Through LUNGevity they were able to raise awareness in their community and honor Wanda in her fight against the disease.  It was very hard for Alexis and her family to watch what Wanda had to endure and they wanted to do whatever they could to educate others about the disease, the warning signs, the importance of early detection and that research into early detection and more treatments could spare a life.

Wanda White passed away July 21, 2011.  Her family continues to fight in her honor raising thousands of dollars thru both events.

“I think everyone should attend a Breathe Deep event in their area because it’s an opportunity to get accurate information on lung cancer and because every dollar gets us closer to ending lung cancer,” said Tammy Johnson.

It’s also an opportunity to remember those we’ve lost to the disease.  It’s also an occasion to honor survivors and show that there IS hope and people do survive and with increase funding for research even more people will survive this disease.

Alexis and her family hope this year’s event is the best event ever in memory of Wanda. Even though Wanda can’t physically be there this year, they know that she will be there in spirit, cheering them on.

For more information on Breathe Deep Kankakee and Spare a Life Strike out Lung Cancer, or to start your own event with LUNGevity, please visit our website www.LUNGevity.org

About LUNGevity Foundation

The mission of LUNGevity Foundation is to have a meaningful impact on improving lung cancer survival rates, ensure a higher quality of life for lung cancer patients, and provide a community for those impacted by lung cancer.

Through the support of critical research into the early detection and successful treatment of lung cancer, as well as providing information, resources and a community to patients and caregivers, LUNGevity is creating and sharing hope for cures, treatments and enhanced quality of life for lung cancer patients.

LUNGevity seeks to inspire the nation to commit to ending lung cancer.

For more information, please visit www.LUNGevity.org

About Lung Cancer

• 1 in 14 Americans is diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime

• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, regardless of gender or ethnicity

• Lung cancer kills almost twice as many women as breast cancer and more than three times as many men as prostate cancer

• About 55% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers

• Only 16% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it’s caught before it spreads, the chance for 5-year survival improves to 52%

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Juhi Kunde

Cheeseburger, Fries and a Reality Check

April 12th, 2012 - by Juhi Kunde

I love In-N-Out burgers.

So I was thrilled to go there for dinner with my parents. While we waited for our order to be called, we sat in a booth and talked about work ─ their work and mine. Finally, when our food was ready, I unwrapped and bit into my cheeseburger. That was when my mom said, “I didn’t know there are different types of lung cancer.”

At first I thought she was joking.

That morning, I had just spent hours listening to panel discussion about lung cancer mutations that was recorded at a recent scientific meeting in Santa Monica. Five lung cancer experts talked about lung cancer mutations in terms of screening costs, ethnic probabilities and public policies. They threw around the names of different lung cancers like knife jugglers, knowing exactly where science had a good grasp on these cancers and where these cancers could dangerously evade treatment. The audience kept up with them and listeners submitted intelligent and detailed questions.

I ate a french fry and looked at my dad. He nodded, “Yeah, me neither.”

I was struck by the differences between my parents and the people involved with the webinar. But after thinking about it, I decided that it must be fairly common.

As we start to learn more about any topic, say sports cars, it is natural to assume that everyone around us is also learning about the nuances of steering columns and engine placements. We automatically start using slag and short-hand to discuss issues. And we don’t even mention the well-known caveats because, well, they are already known.

Lung cancer is no exception.

The more involved we get in the lung cancer community, the more it begins to feel like everyone is well-versed in the nuances of the disease. That’s why, from time to time, it is so important to step out of our community and discuss lung cancer with others. It is a great reality check for the importance of lung cancer awareness plus, it also provides the perfect opportunity to educate someone.

I put my cheeseburger down and took a sip of water to clear my throat.

It was time to do some explaining.

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Katie Brown

Dancing with the Stars and Texas Tornadoes

April 4th, 2012 - by Katie Brown

What do these two things have in common?  Last night’s show coincided with a series of storms and tornado’s that swept across North Texas yesterday.  After hours of sirens and news reports and video of tragedies that preempted regular programming, it was a reprieve to be able to watch a “real’ show and exhale. But the show left me almost as emotional as the storm before it had.

I’ve never watched DWTS before, so I know it had to be fate that I watched it last night.  A dance was dedicated to a young dancer named Julia who was fighting lung cancer and who had no health insurance. The show’s efforts highlighted the fact that anyone, regardless of age or smoking history, could get lung cancer.  It was beautiful.  And it was momentous that a national show would actually talk about lung cancer!

It had already been an emotional day for many North Texans. It was reported that at least 10 tornadoes touched down and many homes and cars in counties that surrounded mine were destroyed.  I had waited on pins and needles until the last school bell when I could dash among the many worried parents and collect my kids and cocoon them into the safety of my home.  We survived that storm yesterday.  But watching DWTS reminded me of our personal storm with lung cancer and how my dad did not survive.

Many people don’t know that lung cancer is a disease that can affect anyone.  One in fourteen people will be diagnosed with lung cancer and over half of those diagnosed will be people who either quit smoking decades ago or who never smoked a day in their lives, like Julia.  Lung cancer can happen to anyone regardless of age, gender, race, health or smoking history.  Its patients have felt stigmatized, neglected and unsupported in their communities.  Lung cancer is the least funded cancer even though it kills more people each year than breast, prostate, pancreatic and colon cancers combined.

When my dad was diagnosed, we had no local support.  The isolation of a lung cancer diagnosis can be intense.   With few treatment options, incredible low survival rate and no support or resources, the odds and your will to survive can plummet.  This was our devastating reality 9 years ago.  My dad died 11 months and 21 days after his diagnosis. I promised my dad then that I would never stop working to support those affected by lung cancer.  And I haven’t.

Today there are some new treatment options. Targeted therapies and gene testing and new ways to use radiation therapy to aid those with lung cancer have been developed to name a few.  We are still a very long way from tipping the scales in our favor, but there is an incredible amount of hope thanks to LUNGevity Foundation, the nation’s largest lung cancer focused nonprofit and private funder of lung cancer research.

Thanks to LUNGevity anyone affected by lung cancer can get support thru the largest online support network.  Patients and their families can get one on one support from LifeLine Support partners.  There is a Caregiver Resource Center specifically for lung cancer caregivers that offer resources to help them help themselves and their loved ones and around 70 national events that let people raise awareness, honor their loved ones and raise funds for research.

There are many survivor stories on the LUNGevity blog and the LUNGevity Hope Summit in May celebrates survivorship and hope.

Dancing with the Stars celebrated hope last night.  Thank you DWTS.  We are getting the word out, one step, one dance at a time.

(Lung Cancer Survivors at Hope Summit 2011)

To see the DWTS dance dedication to Julia:  http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars/video-detail/featured/pl_PL5520940/?noredirect

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