The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund

Danielle Hicks, Director of Patient Advocacy and Empowerment at the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation shares the BJALCF story and mission with Comcast Newsmakers and upcoming information on the June 11, 2012 Golf Tournament and Simply the Best Dinner Gala VII on November 10, 2012 in San Francisco.

Our parent organization, The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, has created a online version of their acclaimed Lung Cancer Living Room support group.

Unlike their monthly support group in San Carlos, California - the Lung Cancer Living Room Facebook page is not just monthly - it is a 24/7/365 resource avaiable to anyone in world.

But, just like their live, monthly group, BJALCF hopes to create a safe place for everyone affected by lung cancer (patients, survivors, family, friends) to talk about our hopes, our fears, our struggles.  To laugh, to cry, to share.  To become educated and empowered.  It is a place to do it TOGETHER.

The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation is there for all of us all the time in the Lung Cancer Living Room.

Grab a comfy seat on the couch at https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bonnie-J-Addario-Lung-Cancer-Foundation-Lung-Cancer-Living-Room/125880774208310

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Just two months shy of marking its 7-year anniversary, BJALCF announced today that it has awarded over $1 million in grants for 2012 Lung Cancer Research. BJALCF has made a promise to the Lung Cancer Community to fund only immediate results-oriented projects or programs promising to catalyze progress through early detection, genetic testing, drug discovery and patient-focused outcomes. Just ask any one of the BJALCF Lung Cancer survivors, family members or friends fighting for survival--or any of those who have lost someone they love way too soon to this horrific and most-underfunded #1 Cancer Killer, why results-oriented projects are of the essence? BJALCF's ultimate goal is to turn Lung Cancer into a survivable, manageable chronic disease.

After rigorous review of 26 grant requests by the BJALCF Scientific Advisory Board, much-needed funding has been distributed worldwide to the brightest, most dedicated, and determined researchers in the urgent quest to extend lives. They are as follows:

• Guoan Chen, PhD, assistant research professor in Thoracic Oncology at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan for the "Discovery and Validation of Serum Micro-RNAs for Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis" with the primary objective to detect Lung Cancer earlier and significantly reduce the mortality of NSCLC.
• Rolf Craven, PhD, associate professor, Department of Molecular and Biomedical Pharmacology at Markey Cancer Center College of Medicine in Lexington, Kentucky for "S2R (Pgrmc1): sigma-2 receptor as a therapeutic target in Lung Cancer" with the primary objective to develop new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies for erlotinib-resistant Lung Cancer.
• Carlo Maley, PhD, associate professor and director of the Center for Evolution and Cancer at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Natalie Lui, MD, a surgery resident in the Thoracic Oncology Program in the Department of Surgery at UCSF, for "Within Tumor Genetic Diversity in Lung Cancer" with the primary objective to determine whether genetic diversity at treatment predicts survival in patients with adenocarcinoma, ultimately leading to a greater understanding of Lung Cancer's response to therapy and a new method for predicting survival.
• Jiantao Pu, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine for "Diagnosis-by-Search: Enabling Early Detection & Accurate Diagnosis of Lung Cancer" with the primary objective to develop a novel computer-aided diagnosis paradigm leading to a significant reduction of Lung Cancer mortality.

Young Investigator Awards via Jill's Legacy(TM):

• James Kim, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the Harmon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, Dallas, TX for the "Role of Hedgehog pathway activity in human Lung Cancer with mutant K-ras" with the primary objective to determine the relationship between mutant K-ras and the Hh pathway and identify other Hh-dependent proteins that may be important for tumor growth leading to new protein targets for potential therapeutic regimens for treatment for K-ras mutant cancers.
• Naveen Kommajosyula, PhD, research fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts for "PARP Inhibition in NSCLC" with the primary objective to determine the basis of PARP inhibitor sensitivity; and, through data obtained, identify NSCLC appropriate for PARP inhibitors in clinical trials, characterize these mutations and discover Lung Cancers harboring deleterious ATM mutations sensitive to PARP inhibitors.

Ongoing Funding Extensions:

• Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI)- ALCMI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with offices in California and Connecticut and member institutions in the U.S. and Europe, dedicated to catalyzing and accelerating the discovery, development and delivery of new and more effective treatment options for Lung Cancer patients. In response to widely-acknowledged and systematic barriers to progress against Lung Cancer, ALCMI developed and launched, as its inaugural research program, a targeted, multi-institutional biorepository. The purpose of this project is to facilitate application of the known biomarkers to patients presenting today, and to establish such a collection of biospecimens that will be essential for discovering and validating new biomarkers for improved diagnostics, treatments and cancer patient outcomes.
• David R. Gandara, MD, professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Associate Director for Clinical Research, and Director, Thoracic Oncology Program at UC Davis Cancer Center, California for the "Personalizing Therapy of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer through a novel Co-Clinical Trial Concept: A trans-Disciplinary Pilot Project" with the primary objective to use mouse tumor xenografts as surrogates for treatment outcomes in individual patients. As seen on PBS NEWSHOUR (link to: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june12/cancer_01-13.html )
• Rafael Rosell, MD, PhD, head of the Medical Oncology Service and Scientific Director for Oncology at the Catalan Institute of Oncology, Hospital Germans i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain for continued support for his work with patients included in the EURTAC trial which is the only study comparing the outcome to EGFR TKIs versus chemotherapy and the specific examination of the EGFR T790M acquired resistance mutation with the primary objective to discover novel treatment combinations for Lung Cancer patients and to extend lives.
• Giorgio Scagliotti, MD, PhD, full professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Turino, Italy-Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences for continued support for the "Phase III Multicenter Randomized Trial Comparing Adjuvant Pharmacogenomic-Driven Chemotherapy versus Standard Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Completely Resected Stage II-IIIA Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer conducted in 25 sites in Italy, Germany and Poland."

Board Member Bruce Gellman explains, "We're improving the standard of care by bringing new and improved treatment options to Lung Cancer patients in need. The future of cancer care lies in the concept of 'personalized medicine' - a model that focuses on the individual, not just the disease. It will use molecular signatures to match the right patients to the right drugs." Bonnie J. Addario, Founder and 7-year Lung Cancer survivor, believes in making that happen sooner rather than later. BJALCF has grown to fund progress that brings the future right into the present day. "ANYONE CAN GET LUNG CANCER," says Addario, "It can come to your house and we're choosing to fund and accelerate research that can either keep it out or kick it out. All people, all of us, with any cancer or disease like Breast Cancer and AIDS should be treated in the very best way that is available. Today, if you present with Breast Cancer, you are given molecular testing for your biomarkers and treated based on your very own specific molecular profile. It works. And we've got it for Lung Cancer. I remind our researchers that when they're looking through that microscope, they're not looking at a tumor, they're looking at a person, and that person wants to live. Our goal is to raise the bar for the existing standard of Lung Cancer care, ensure that everyone gets genetic testing and available treatment, and fund the kinds of research that bring the survival rate of Lung Cancer up into the 90th percentile, just like Breast Cancer and the AIDS cocktails. We can do this."

For more information about the grants or to learn more about how you can participate in eradicating Lung Cancer in our lifetime, please visit www.lungcancerfoundation.org . To arrange interviews with the researchers, Bonnie J. Addario, Lung Cancer Survivor and Founder, Wells Whitney, ScD, Chair of the BJALCF Scientific Advisory Board, Scott Santarella, President and CEO, and/or our growing army of Lung Cancer Survivors, please contact Sheila Von Driska at 415.357.1278 or sheila@lungcancerfoundation.org. Your mighty pen can help.

SOURCE Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved 

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by Chris Ballard
Originally published in Sports Illustrated on September 26, 2011

It's been 15 months since Jill Costello lost a yearlong struggle with lung cancer (SI, Nov. 29, 2010). In her final months she helped lead the Cal rowing team to second place at nationals, and since then her courage and strength have continued to inspire.

Shortly after her death Costello's friends and teammates founded Jill's Legacy. The nonprofit funds research through grants it receives and a series of fund-raisers, including an annual Jog for Jill in Berkeley. In addition, the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, for which Costello  worked, holds a series of events partly in her honor.  The most recent, in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on Sunday, drew 2,000 people and raised more than $300,000.

In May, the Big Row between Cal and Stanford was renamed the Jill Row, and in November she will be inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame. But her family continues to struggle with the idea that a healthy, nonsmoking 21-year-old could die from lung cancer. "It doesn't get easier to keep reliving it," says her father, Jim Costello, "but you put on the best face you can because you know that's what she wanted. That's why people still come out for her—they saw the spirit she had."

by Rob Densen
Originally published August 30th, 2011 on The Huffington Post.

I came home Monday night, took one look at my wife, and knew something was desperately wrong.

"Honey, what is it?" I asked, half inquiring, half -- by way of my sheepish intonation -- signaling my acceptance of the blame for whatever was awry in her life.

"The refrigerator.... It's dead."

"Dead, as in finito? Beyond any reasonable hope of repair?"

"Dead as in last week's vegetable lasagna is lying in the sink, a disgusting, slimy mush. And your no-sugar-added fudge pops? Let's just say you don't want to know what they look like."

And then came the knockout punch. "This is your fault."

I couldn't argue. For the last week or so, as our 14-year-old refrigerator struggled for its last few cooling breaths, I was making my wife miserable in her search for a replacement, something that should, normally, be a mindless, checklist task.

Our late refrigerator was a full-length side by side, with beveled wood panels on the doors which we got to match the cabinetry when we remodeled the kitchen. When it came to a replacement, I had relented on figuring out how to match the cabinets, but I was insistent on a side by side. My wife preferred the fridge-on-top-with-French-doors-freezer-on-the-bottom arrangement that is all the rage.

For the record, my preference for a side by side wasn't just a matter of style. With a reconstructed knee, a frozen shoulder, and two bulging discs in my back wrapped around a giant lazy streak, I generally go out of my way to avoid any sort of bending motion. It's not impossible, just a little uncomfortable.

In the week we dilly-dallied, the food was melting in the fridge -- and my wife was on the way.
The next night I returned home and all was fine. "I ordered the top/down model. It will be here Thursday."

She had been to her Pilates class earlier in the day and, in the midst of a long discussion with her instructor, it all became clear. "I realized," she said, "that this will be my last refrigerator."

A Life Measured in Kilowatt Hours

I couldn't argue with her. Not with the logic and, most regrettably, not with the truthfulness of that statement. My wife has Stage IV lung cancer. Given the arc of the disease and the quality of refrigerator design and construction, it is highly probable that this will be her last refrigerator. The question is, are we also on our last washing machine, hairdryer or big screen TV?

It is unbelievably painful -- but sobering and highly instructive -- to look at lung cancer that way. Diagnosed with lung cancer and you're not talking decades, but kilowatt hours.

It is an incredibly virulent disease. Overall, lung cancer has a 15% five-year survival rate. Stage IV lung cancer, the most common staging at diagnosis, has a 4% survival rate. Look at it this way: by the time you've finished reading this post, two more Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer. They are likely to be dead within five years.

Here's another cold, hard and, I hope, unacceptable fact: 160,000 Americans will die of lung cancer in 2011 -- three times more than the next most deadly cancer and more than prostate, breast, pancreatic, pediatric and colon cancer COMBINED.

And while breast cancer grabs the attention, the funding dollars and the 5K walk participants, the fact is that close to 70% MORE WOMEN will die of lung cancer this year than will die of breast cancer. Many of them will be women like my wife who never smoked, Indeed, cancer in women who never smoked is one of the fastest growing cancers. No one knows why. Regrettably, not many people are even asking the question.

Of Lung Cancer and Consumer Electronics

We're so good at -- and obsessed with -- technological innovation for applications both frivolous and mundane. Yet, we're so bad at deploying our ample resources -dollars and brainpower -- against a disease that devastates close to a quarter million families every year.

Go into any consumer electronics or appliances store and you will be dazzled by the technological innovation. It's all so head-spinning that I need to take a Dramamine before going to the Apple Store.

Our new fridge? It's probably good for 20 years. Plus, the ice cube dispenser knows exactly how many ice cubes I take in my Diet Coke. The picture on my HDTV is so clear that I saw shaving cream in Brian Williams' ear the other night and, even as I write this, the cell phone in my jacket pocket is secretly capturing the inner-most thoughts of the guy sitting next to me on the train. I may be exaggerating, but not by much.

Finally, consider this -- last year, Apple spent $1.8 billion on R&D (Microsoft spent more than four times that amount) Want to know what the National Cancer Institute spent researching lung cancer, the number #1 cancer killer by a factor of three -- about $282 million.

We can communicate globally without concern for time or distance, access the world's libraries from our desktops, tap orbiting satellites to map the most routine trip, and short gold with a swipe on our phone. We've made a Jackass movie in 3-D -- and there are smartphone applications that fight acne. But we can't figure out how to diagnose lung cancer early, or why non-smoking women are getting cancers in record numbers, or how to boost overall lung cancer survivability from a mere 15%?

Something is badly off in our world. Shameful, actually. There's an app for that. It's called compassion.

For more information or to support lung cancer research and advocacy, please visit one or more of the following sites: Uniting Against Lung Cancer, OneBreath, The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, National Lung Cancer Partnership, or the Lung Cancer Alliance