9/27/2012 The State of Georgia Releases the First Lung Cancer Awareness Specialty License Plates in the CountryRead NowTina Pink Proceeds to benefit the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund and their efforts to support research and awareness. Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) September 27, 2012 // On Monday, September 24th, the state of Georgia released the first specialty license plate in the country specifically dedicated to lung cancer awareness. Now drivers can alert fellow motorists that, in Georgia, lung cancer matters! The plates are now available exclusively through The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund. Georgia drivers can learn more and begin the process of getting theirs at http://www.LungCancerLicensePlate.org. The license plate is sponsored by The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund, a non-profit based in Atlanta that raises awareness and research funds for the number one cancer killer in the world. The process to create specialty license plates in Georgia typically takes nearly two years. The state requires either 1,000 plates to be presold or an up-front payment to be made to cover the fees for those plates. Through The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund's fundraising efforts and the incredible generosity of their supporters, the Gaeta Fund was able to make the payment needed and to the get the bill before the legislature in a matter of months. State Senator Sean Jerguson (R-Holly Springs) was instrumental in adding the lung cancer awareness language to an existing bill (HB 732). He was alerted to this important cause by his close friend and Gaeta Fund supporter, Jackie Archer. A lung cancer survivor herself, Mrs. Archer is also a former Holly Springs City Councilwoman. In April of this year, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed HB 732 into law. "My mother, Joan Gaeta, died of lung cancer after a three-and-a-half year battle," says Tina Pink, a VP of Fundraising for the Gaeta Fund. "She was most passionate about raising awareness and fighting the stigma of the disease. This plate is a big step in that direction. I know she would be very proud! Now it's our mission to get them on as many cars as possible!" Mrs. Pink's sister, Theresa Andretta, VP of Operations, concurs. "Lung cancer kills more people than the next five cancers combined! Yet, it receives the least amount of funding. We have no choice but to raise awareness and to fight the stigma. These plates are a great way to do that. It is incredible to finally see them on the road!" The $25 plate manufacturing fee, payable to The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund, helps them support ground-breaking research through the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute. ABOUT THE JOAN GAETA LUNG CANCER FUND The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund was created in the fall of 2007 as The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Foundation by her husband and children to raise awareness of the disease, to educate the public, and to be an advocate for research. They also strive to eliminate the stigma of lung cancer and to support survivors and their loved ones in their local community. In July of 2010, they re-launched as The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund benefiting the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute. Their ultimate goal remains the same: “to eradicate lung cancer.” By partnering with one significant research initiative, they can make a much greater impact in wiping out lung cancer. http://www.forjoan.org ABOUT THE ADDARIO LUNG CANCER MEDICAL INSTITUTE (ALCMI) ALCMI was established in 2008 as a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization with the ultimate goal of significantly impacting survival by directly catalyzing and accelerating discovery of new and more effective treatment options for all lung cancer patients. Presently, ALCMI has 13 academic and community medical centers in the United States and Europe closely collaborating on cutting edge research initiatives. http://www.alcmi.net ABOUT LUNG CANCER
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Now that the first Lung Cancer Awareness License Plate in the world has officially been obtained and installed* (and now that the plates are available to the general public in Georgia) a sincere “Thank You” is in order.
That heartfelt “Thank You” goes out to all of our supporters. This truly could not have happened without you. Without your gifts of of time, treasure, and talent since our inception in 2007, this milestone could still be years away. Non-profit corporation status... Insurance... Bonds... The infrastructure and manpower to collect, record, and reconcile each payment... A hefty $25,000 deposit... This is what it takes in Georgia to spread the word that “lung cancer matters” with a specialty license plate. This is what it takes to raise awareness. This is what it takes to fight the stigma and to raise the esteem lung cancer patients, survivors, and family members. We would not be able to do a any of this without your generosity and support. Donations... “Dancing for Joan” Tickets... Silent Auction Items... Artwork purchases. Volunteering... Without these things from you, our supporters, this could not have been pulled off. And, $22 of the $25 that we collect in manufacturing fees goes directly to lung cancer research (www.alcmi.net). While we started our Fund in honor of our wife/mother/”Nana”, this license plate is not about one person. It is about the hundreds of thousands of people across the country – not just in Georgia – that have been affected by the #1 cancer killer. It is about fighting the stigma. It is about finding a cure. So, once again, we thank you. You were a big part. The most important part. Sincerely, The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund P.S. – We still need your help! Get a plate! Spread the word! Not in Georgia? Consider a small donation! * This distinction goes to Christina Gaeta Pink! The Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute Congratulates Congress for Supporting Strategic Translational Research Investments for Lung Cancer By: Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute via PR Newswire SAN CARLOS, Calif., Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) joins the pancreatic cancer patient community in congratulating and thanking the U.S. House of Representatives for unanimously passing the Recalcitrant Cancer Act (H.R. 733) yesterday. This important bill will bring a much-needed strategic scientific and research investment focus on lung cancer and other deadly cancers by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The bill is now before the U.S. Senate for its consideration and vote this week. As a patient-founded translational research consortium, ALCMI was able to additionally contribute the lung cancer researcher and clinician perspectives to the bill's sponsors, in conjunction with cancer patient advocacy organizations. The resultant revisions additionally encompassed lung cancer, which is by far the U.S. and world's number one cancer killer. "We applaud the bill's sponsors, Representatives Leonard Lance (NJ-R) and Anna Eshoo (CA-D), and also thank the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network for initiating the effort that resulted in the Recalcitrant Cancer Act," said Steven Young, ALCMI's President. "With the fact that lung cancer patients' 5-year survival rate has remained essentially unchanged at a dismal 15% for the last forty years, lung cancer is by definition recalcitrant." More than 160,000 Americans are projected to die from lung cancer in 2012, taking more lives than the next top four cancers (colon, breast, pancreatic and prostate) combined. The lack of progress against lung cancer has resulted from a number of factors, including the genetic complexity of these tumors coupled with disproportionately low federal research investment. This bill addresses a serious and urgent public health issue. "By prioritizing lung and pancreatic cancers as the two leading, ineffectively-treated causes of cancer mortality in this country, we are not just supporting the best science for science's sake. We will now focus the nation's best scientists to do the best science possible in order to decrease death and suffering from these two major health problems," said David Carbone, MD, PhD, Ohio State University; Chair of ALCMI's Scientific Leadership Board. ALCMI and the lung cancer patient community are elated that Congress and the NCI have taken a key step forward to address these challenges. "As a lung cancer survivor, I urge the Senate to unanimously pass this bill this week," said Bonnie J. Addario, Founder of the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and ALCMI. "On behalf of the lung cancer community, we also ask President Obama to sign the bill, once passed, and help us drive research against lung and pancreatic cancers. We didn't ask to be diagnosed with cancer but we are asking for your help finding a cure." About the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) ALCMI, as a patient-founded translational research consortium, was established in 2008 to directly catalyze and accelerate the discovery of new and more effective treatment options for all lung cancer patients. ALCMI has established a centralized, standardized biorepository with associated clinical data to serve as a resource to investigators within and without our consortium member institutions. Presently, 15 leading academic and community centers in the US and Europe have contractually joined together under ALCMI's leadership, collaborating on cutting edge research initiatives. For more information on ALCMI please contact Mr. Steven Young, President at 203.226.5765 or syoung@alcmi.net. http://www.alcmi.net/ About the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation BJALCF is one of the largest philanthropies (patient-founded, patient-focused, patient-driven) devoted exclusively to eradicating lung cancer through research, early detection, education, and treatment. The Foundation works with a diverse group of physicians, organizations, industry partners, individuals, survivors, and their families to identify solutions and make timely and meaningful change. BJALCF was established in 2006 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and has raised over nine million dollars for lung cancer research. For more information on BJALCF, contact Mr. Scott Santarella, President & CEO, at 203.858.7032 or ssantarella@lungcancerfoundation.org. www.lungcancerfoundation.org SOURCE Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute Lung cancer rates are increasing among women and people who have never smoked, a new study finds. Researchers from the French College of General Hospital Respiratory Physicians studied 7,610 lung cancer patients and 7,610 new cases of lung cancer in France in 2010. The study found non-smokers made up 11.9 percent of the lung cancer cases, up from 7.9 percent in 2000. And the percentage of female lung cancer patients jumped from 16 percent to 24.4 percent over the decade. Among women with a history of smoking, lung cancer rates barely changed over those 10 years, hovering around 65 percent. Meanwhile, this figure decreased in men, while the rate of male lung cancer patients who had never smoked increased, the researchers said. Moreover, the study found changes in the severity of the cancer at the time of diagnosis. "Not only has there been an increase in the number of women and non-smokers contracting the disease, but there has also been an increase in the number of cases diagnosed in stage 4 of the illness," lead researcher Dr. Chrystèle Locher said in a statement. This change — 58 percent with stage 4 in 2010 compared with 43 percent in 2000 — might reflect new classifications of different stages of the disease, the researchers said. They also found big changes in the type of cancer being diagnosed. The rate of people developing adenocarcinoma, a form of non-small cell lung cancer, jumped from 35.8 percent to 53.5 percent over the decade. Locher said more research is needed to understand what causes lung cancer in non-smokers, but she pointed to exhaust fumes from diesel engines as one possible factor. (The World Health Organization, WHO, recently classified diesel fumes as carcinogenic.) Past research, presented in 2010 at a conference held by the American Association for Cancer Research, showed that lung cancer is different in non-smokers than in smokers, with non-smoker lung cancer tumors showing more than twice as many DNA changes as tumors in smokers. To combat rising cancer rates among women, Locher said public awareness campaigns might help. "Anti-smoking campaigns must also target women more specifically, as we can see little change in lung cancer rates caused by smoking in women," the researcher said. The results of the study were presented Tuesday, Sept. 4 at the European Respiratory Society's Annual Congress in Vienna. The research has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. This article originally published on Sept. 4th, 2012 at LiveScience.com.
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