Breathe Deep event set to raise funds for lung cancer research
Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer for both men and women in the United States, claiming more lives than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined. Yet the disease gets far less attention and generates less fundraising activity than other forms of cancer.
This year, there will be a coordinated effort to change that dynamic and raise awareness about the disease with the launch of the first Breathe Deep Nashville 5K run/walk event, Saturday, Nov. 5, in Centennial Park, followed that evening by a free Breathe Hope reception for lung cancer survivors and caregivers at Vanderbilt’s University Club.
The timed Breathe Deep 5K run is a fundraiser for the LUNGevity Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing money for the most promising research in early detection and new treatment therapies for lung cancer.
LUNGevity provides research support for Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), which is one of the sponsors of the Nov. 5 events.
David Carbone, M.D., Ph.D.
“Nearly 20,000 lung cancer patients diagnosed each year in the U.S. never smoked tobacco, yet many are still being found to have incurable disease at diagnosis,” said David Carbone, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Medicine, Cancer Biology and Cell and Developmental Biology at VICC.
“While smoking tobacco is a known risk factor for lung cancer, many of our patients became addicted to tobacco decades ago and they are now battling a disease that has a lower survival rate than most other common types of cancer.”
For more information about joining Vanderbilt’s team for the 5K race/walk, visit www.viccfallwalks.org or contact Jennifer.rice@vanderbilt.edu.
To register for the evening reception, RSVP by Nov. 1 at breathhopenashville.com or call 936-0322.