Free to Breathe 5K Event Set for October 31st

In October of 2007 at the age of 52 I was diagnosed with Stage IIIA Non-Large Cell Lung. After my diagnosis I was shocked to learn about the grim prospects facing lung cancer patients and the lack of progress in treating lung cancer over the last 4 decades. More than 160,000 people will die from lung cancer this year and over 200,000 will be newly diagnosed. Only five percent of people with my diagnosis will survive five years or longer from the date of diagnosis. The overall five year survival rate for lung cancer is 15%. There are 70 million people who, like me, finally quit smoking -- many quit decades ago -- and think they are out of the woods. Maybe you are one of them?

Unfortunately, many former smokers and many people who NEVER smoked will be stricken by lung cancer in the years to come. Lung cancer use to be primarily a male disease. Now half of all lung cancer patients are women and twice as many women will die from lung cancer as breast cancer. Many never smoked. Last year breast cancer received over $23,000 per death in federal research dollars -- close to $1 billion in total, while lung cancer's allocation was about $240 million, less than $1500 per death. I promised myself that, if I got well enough, I would dedicate myself to raising awareness and research funding for lung cancer. Thankfully, I am in remission now and I am able to follow thru. But I need your help.

I formed a lung cancer committee here in Charlotte County earlier this year. We've decided to partner with the National Lung Cancer Partnership to bring the first Free to Breathe 5K Walk/Run and Memorial 1 mile walk to Punta Gorda this fall. The event is designed to raise lung cancer awareness in our community and raise funding for desparately needed lung cancer research. Through State Representative Paige Kreegle's office, we have asked Governor Crist to proclaim November lung cancer awareness month. Our event on October 31st at the Charlotte Sports Park will be the kick-off event for Lung Cancer Awareness month in Florida. Our hope is to have 300 - 500 people running or walking at this first event. To succeed, it critical to obtain the support of the local community,including the medical community, the media, the business community and like-minded people who have been devastated by a lung cancer diagnosis in their family.

As part of the event, there will be a one mile Memorial Walk honoring the lives of lung cancer patients that have lost their battle with the disease. If you would like to honor someone you know or a loved one who has died from the disease, contact me at tecappiello@gmail.com. I'll be sure their name is posted on the Memorial Mile Walk.

You can find details about the event and register as an individual or team representing your organization to run or walk, volunteer, donate, or create a fundraising page at www.freetobreathe.org. Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated!