In 2019, the funniest man alive, my dad, received the devastating news that he had Stage 3 lung cancer. Due to the tumor being too close to his heart, surgery wasn’t an option, and he underwent radiation to shrink it. In 2021, a new growth appeared in the same lung. This time, surgery was considered a viable option. The doctors initially planned to remove 40% of the lung, but once they were inside, they discovered the growth was deeper than anticipated, and they ended up having to remove 100% of the lung. The following years, 2022 and 2023, were spent cancer-free, which was to say the least, amazing! However, in 2024, a very small growth was found in his remaining lung, and thankfully, they were able to treat it with pinpoint radiation. This will be my third time completing this race, not only for my dad but I also in honor of my Uncle Kevin who lost his battle with cancer in 2014 - he also was first diagnosed with stage 3 Lung cancer. A few important facts about lung cancer - did you know that lung cancer causes more cancer deaths than any other type of cancer, for both men and women. If lung cancer is discovered before it spreads beyond the lungs, the five-year survival rate is 55 percent, if it has already spread to other parts of the body (which it had for my Uncle), survival rate is 4 percent. Despite being the leading cause of cancer mortality, lung cancer receives far less research funding than any other cancer. So please, if you can donate, donate - if you can't, please share or join our team and come out and walk/run for Lung Cancer Research!
Breath for Hope - Go Bills!