Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there from the Gaetas!  To everyone else, we offer three simple words:  Love your mother.

We'd also like to take this opportunity to remind all the Georgia drivers out there that you can get your very own Lung Cancer Awareness Speciality License Plate today!  Click here for all you need to know!

The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund congratulates Big Daddy's Race for Time and everyone in Kentucky responsible for making this a reality in their state!  The following was originally published by Alan Lytle at WUKY.org on 3/27/13.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kentucky motorists will soon be able to demonstrate support for lung cancer research and education by buying a specialty license plate.  A new “Fighting Lung Cancer” tag has been approved for pre-sale and should be available by early 2014.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths both in Kentucky and the nation, according to Renae Feistritzer Ellis, president of the non-profit group, Big Daddy’s Race for Time.

“It surpasses prostate cancer, breast cancer…I mean it’s a huge killer and it’s kind of a silent killer because there’s just not a lot of information out there about it.”

Feistritzer Elllis created Big Daddy’s Race For Time,  to honor her late father.

“Upon his death we created the foundation and all of our money goes right back into Kentucky.  We’ve worked closely with the Kentucky Research program with the Markey Cancer Center.  That’s where our funds have gone to the last five years.  We meet with some doctors and we ask what research efforts they’re doing and we actually pick which research, clinical trials that we want our money go towards.”

900 of the license plates will need to be pre-ordered at $25 each before the design can be sent to production. 

You can pre-order yours at http://www.bigdaddysrace.org/licenseplate/

December 2012

Dear Friends, 

Thank you for your generous support of The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund over the years, including our annual fundraiser, Dancing for Joan.   We are sincerely grateful.  Thanks to you, we have done a lot in the fight against t the #1 cancer killer in the world.

However, in the five years since we first went Dancing for Joan, over a million more people have been diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States alone.  Nearly 800,000 have died.  And the support and funding for lung cancer remain mere fractions of what other cancers receive.  Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, sisters and brothers, smokers and non-smokers alike all continue to be afflicted.  Much more needs to be done.

As we move into our second five years in this fight, we are announcing that we will no longer host our annual Dancing for Joan event.  This decision was not made lightly and in no way suggests a wavering in our commitment to this very important cause – a cause that will always be close to our hearts.  Rather, this decision reflects the continuing evolution of The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund.   We are not giving up and neither should you.

We have accomplished a tremendous amount in our first five years.  Because of your generosity, we have:

• allocated nearly $100,000 directly to research projects at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute.
  
• funded awareness campaigns - including two outdoor billboards, online advertising with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, several mass-mailings, and the daily maintenance of a web site and blog.
  
• sponsored four lung cancer 5K fun runs in metro Atlanta for Lung Cancer Alliance and LUNGevity.
  
• sponsored and supported a lung cancer support group at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta.
  
• secured mass media coverage in outlets such as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, WCNN and WQXI radio in Atlanta, and nationally with several spots on the Nancy Grace program
  
• secured the very first lung cancer awareness specialty license plate in the country (Georgia).
  

We are very proud of these accomplishments and it could not have been done without you.

Our decision to move beyond Dancing for Joan is made with happiness at what we have done up to this point.  It is an opportunity to channel our energy into other efforts.  Moving forward, we will:

• focus our attention on getting as many lung cancer awareness license plates on as many cars in Georgia as we can.  This initiative is extremely important, both as an awareness tool and as a fundraiser.  It also serves as an inspiration and guide for 49 other states to do the same.
  
• support and volunteer our time and resources to other families and organizations in Atlanta, in North Georgia, and – when we can – nationally.
  
• continue to spread the word, educate the public, and fight the stigma via our web site, blog, and various social networking outlets.
  
• continue to be a proud affiliate of the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and to raise money for the Addario Lung Cancer Institute through yearly fund raising campaigns via various initiatives, mass mailing campaigns, and online.
  

It is our hope that you will continue to support us in any way that you can so we can continue this fight.  And, if you live in Georgia, please consider letting your fellow motorists know that “Lung Cancer Matters” by purchasing a lung cancer awareness license plate at LungCancerLicensePlate.org.

Once again, we thank you for your generous support.

Sincerely,

The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund
Joe Gaeta ~ Christina Pink ~ Richard Gaeta, Jr. ~ Theresa Andretta ~ Maria Cressler ~ Richard Gaeta, Sr.

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

• Even if you have never smoked, you can get lung cancer. 
• 60% of new cases are now diagnosed in non-smokers and former smokers. 
• Lung cancer is the #1 cancer killer of both men and women. 
• Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed with the disease. 
• It kills more people each year than breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, melanoma, and kidney cancer combined. 
• It surpassed breast cancer of the #1 killer of women in 1987. 
• The five year survival rate for lung cancer is still only 15% - the same as it was nearly 40 years ago. 
• Learn more at http://www.NobodyDeservesIt.com