On July 29th, Kelcey Harrison took off from NYC & began running across the country, averaging 30 miles/day until she reaches San Francisco in November. Follow Kelcey on twitter.com/greatlungrun or at thegreatlungrun.com. Hank Baskett says he’s “not looking in the rear-view mirror” when it comes to his former NFL career. The reality TV star is now focussing on important projects such as partnering with the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation to tackle this No. 1 cancer killer. With his father, Hank Baskett II, undergoing treatments for lung cancer, Hank III says teaming up with the foundation has been “one of the greatest decisions” he’s ever made. The former athlete opens up to Celebrity Baby Scoop about his father’s battle with cancer and his “extremely positive” outlook that has kept them going. He also talks about his beautiful 2-year-old son “Little Hank,” a full-on “mama’s boy” who “gets mad” if he goes in to hug or kiss his wife Kendra Wilkinson. The doting daddy goes on to talk about the possibility of baby No. 2 and how motherhood has caused him to ”fall more and more in love” with his gorgeous wife. CBS: Tell us about teaming up with the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation. Tell us all about the fundraiser. HB: “Teaming up with Bonnie and her foundation has been one of the greatest decisions of my life. I am very fortunate that they reached out to me and invited me to their gala a year ago. This was the foundation to a relationship that will continue to grow for many years to come. It has already impacted my family’s life in such a way that cannot be described in words. Another great attribute of the foundation is that they are dedicated to proving the misconception that all lung cancer victims smoke. That is why there is not enough awareness because the first question asked to a lung cancer patient is, ‘Do/did you smoke?’ This year I created the Hank Baskett Classic golf event which was held at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. I partnered with the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation because I truly felt that they are a foundation that is 100% dedicated to finding a cure and helping all those that they can along the way. What else I love about their foundation is the fact that they understand that to change the lives of millions, you must first change the life of one! And that they have done numerous times.” CBS: Why did you get involved with this cause? Have you ever smoked? Are you against people smoking? What would you do if Little Hank smokes one day? HB: “I became involved with the fight against lung cancer because in April of 2011 my family found out that my father, Henry ‘Hank’ Baskett II, had be diagnosed with lung cancer. This came as an unbelievable sucker punch to us all. Although it was the worst news my father had ever heard, he still remained his extremely positive self. And that right there was what got my family through the beginning stages. The battle against cancer starts with your attitude and my father has the greatest one of all. He told us day in and day out that he would not let cancer beat him and that his only wish was to see Little Hank, my son, at least once a month. So he decided to receive his treatments out here in Los Angeles. I have never smoked cigarettes. I guess the fact that I grew up with severe asthma gave me a good excuse not to. I can’t say that I’m against people smoking because this is America and we all have our freedoms and rights. As with everything, if you’re respectful of those around you there’s a way to make almost everything coexist. It’s all about respect. At the end of the day we make our own decisions, yet with smoking your decisions do not only affect you. A majority of the time it’s not the ones smoking that are affected, but more so those that are standing nearby. If I found out Little Hank ever smoked we would have a very long conversation. If it’s while he’s an adult all we can do is talk to him and let him know the consequences of smoking. If he tries before he’s 18 there’s definitely some consequences that will occur that he probably won’t like!” CBS: How’s Little Hank doing? What is he into these days? What does he do to make you laugh? HB: “Little Hank is doing amazing! He is currently going to school everyday and the strides he’s making in life are incredible. His vocabulary grows by the day and so do his social skills. There are so many things he does to make us as parents laugh, yet to others we get that funny look as we try to explain it. The thing that makes me laugh the most though is that now he is so protective of Kendra, that he won’t even let me give her a hug or kiss! Only he can do that to his mama! He gets mad if I get to close to her. Its frikkin’ hilarious!” CBS: How has fatherhood changed you? Are you hoping to have another baby soon? Would you like to have a girl the second time around? HB: “Fatherhood has given me an entire new sense of why I was put on Earth. When I married Kendra, I knew that I was dedicating my life to her and her happiness. But when you have a child you truly understand what it means to put yourself last. Whatever it takes, I’m going to make it happen for Little Hank to never have to go without, yet understand the importance of earning his way. Too many kids now are not taught that you must earn things in life and that it doesn’t always just come easy. The sense of entitlement is handed out relatively too often. The thought of another baby crosses our mind often. We just want to make sure that the timing is right for our lives. We are both making major career moves and we want to ensure that a new addition to the family would receive the rightful amount of attention, support, and most importantly love that the baby would deserve. I think it will be sooner than later, but who is decided when sooner begins?! Girl or boy, we would just pray for healthy. Yet as a father, a little girl will make me lose the remaining hair I have left, especially if she looks like Little Hank!” CBS: In your eyes, what kind of mother is Kendra? Have you fallen even more in love with her since she became a mother? HB: “Kendra is an amazing mother and I knew she would be. That is why I decided to ask her to marry me, because I knew all she truly wanted in life was a family and to be a mother is something she always wanted. She is very hands on and has been instrumental in Little Hank’s early developments. Watching her grow as a mother has no doubt caused me to fall more and more in love with her. There’s nothing like watching the woman you love spend time with your child. She gets mad at me when I sit back and just stare at them. A mother’s love cannot be compared to anything. No matter how much I may love Little Hank, there’s just a uniqueness between Kendra and Little Hank. This is coming from a mama’ boy himself!” CBS: What can we expect in the upcoming season of Kendra on Top? Will there be lots of footage with you and Little Hank? HB: “This season of Kendra on Top has been a lot of fun. We are on a new network, WEtv, and the show has grown to new measures. You’re getting to follow Kendra in her new ventures as a successful businesswoman. You get to see me and my arc of moving on from a professional football player to businessman, which hasn’t been the easiest thing at times. And most of all you get to see Little Hank’s newest milestones. He is his own character and pesonality now and that’s what fans have fallen in love with. He is a little star.” CBS: What’s up next for you? What are your hopes and plans for football in the future? HB: “I have moved on from the NFL and it has been a great transition – I’m not looking in the rear-view mirror. I fully enjoyed my time playing in the NFL but there comes a day that it comes to an end. And I’m not one of the players that is going to try and hold on for 1, maybe 2 more years while other opportunities are coming my way. When you spend too much time looking at the door that’s closing you lose track of the many more that are opening up. That’s what I’m trying to do, stick my head in as many of them doors that I can until I find out what’s the next best step for myself. This can all be seen on this season of Kendra on Top. I wanted to let people see that there are plenty of NFL players that will continue to work once their careers are over.” CBS: Little Hank was voted one of our favorite celebrity toddlers in our recent Readers’ Choice Awards. How does it make you feel that Little Hank has ‘fans?’ Is he scared by the paparazzi? HB: “I find it pretty funny that Little Hank has fans. Definitely never expected this when I thought of having children. But it’s been good. What’s funny is he doesn’t mind the paparazzi at all. In fact there are times where he will notice them even before we do. Most of the paparazzi that have shot Little Hank have been very understanding and respectful. They know not to come between us and him and to keep the proper distance.” 5/9/2012 Woman w/ #lungcancer aims to end #stigma associated w/ the disease by getting on @TheEllenShowRead NowThis article was originally published on www.ksby.com on May 9th, 2012. by Carina Corral A Lompoc resident has terminal lung cancer, even though she never smoked a day in her life. Now, Mary Anne Rios now aims to end the stigma associated with lung cancer and her mission involves Ellen DeGeneres. She has a lot of fond memories of her family, friends and years as a counselor at Lompoc High School. She would like one of her last to be of dancing on the Ellen Show. "I can't find anybody to support lung cancer because there's such a stigma on it.. She's so tolerant and accepting of so many people that maybe she would do this." An on-line petition has been started to get Mary Anne on the Ellen Show. In just a short time, it has collected thousands of signatures. "I just don't want anyone else to go what I went through, misdiagnosed, because my story is not unique." Mary Anne is not a smoker and no one in her family is, so she said doctors never thought her chronic cough, hoarseness, and a lump in the back of her neck could be lung cancer. They were wrong. "The biggest problem with lung cancer is that it's the least funded and the number one killer.. I've had to tell so many medical personnel about the symptoms of lung cancer and I shouldn't be the ones telling them they should be telling me." It went untreated for so long, it spread to her brain and spine. Doctors don't give her much longer to live. "I call it my bucket wish list because of the movie The Bucket List." Mary Anne has checked many things off her list that include meeting Kurt Russell and going to Disneyland with her family. "I want to ride in a limo bus, a dancing one with my friends, and I want to make it to my birthday and dance with my husband," Mary Anne said of the items on her list that remain unchecked. Dancing with Ellen also tops the list. She wants it to be a fun way to spread her important message, "that anyone with lungs can get lung cancer." Mary Anne is trying to raise money and awareness for lung cancer research. On her own, she has already raised $20,000 by organizing walks and vigils in Lompoc. Click here to sign the online petition to get Mary Anne on the Ellen Degeneres show. © 2012 KSBY.com 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.
3/23/2012 The Joan Gaeta #LungCancer Fund Commits $30,000 to the Addario Lung Cancer Medical InstituteRead Now Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) March 23, 2012 - For the fifth consecutive year, The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund's annual “Dancing for Joan” event was a huge success and served as the climax to their most successful year of fundraising. Today, the Gaeta Fund announced their commitment of $30,000 to international lung cancer research through the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALMCI). They also announced the commitment of $6,000 to local awareness initiatives in 2012. On Saturday, February 25th, nearly 200 supporters gathered together at the Pavilion of East Cobb in Marietta, Georgia for the fifth annual lung cancer fundraiser. They were treated to great food, great music, and - of course - dancing. Guests were also educated and inspired by an impressive lineup of speakers. Leading things off after the cocktail hour was the Honorary Chairman of the event, Dr. Paul Scheinberg, Chief of Medical Staff at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta, Founder of Atlanta Pulmonary Group, and tireless lung cancer advocate. He explained the changes in the profile of the "typical" lung cancer patient over the last 20 years and urged people to fight the stigma. Next, guests welcomed former NFL linebacker Chris Draft, who recently lost his wife to lung cancer a mere month after they were married. They viewed his profile from ESPN and heard his inspiring words as he honors the memory of his beautiful wife Keasha with the launch of "Team Draft". We then heard from Bonnie Addario, Founder and President of the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI). The cornerstone presentation of the evening recapped the advances these organizations have made in the fight against lung cancer. In July of 2010, the Gaetas announced their formal partnership with ALCMI, committing 85 percent of their net proceeds to the excellent work they are doing. Remaining funds are used in metro Atlanta for annual awareness initiatives. The “Dancing for Joan” presenting sponsor was represented by Patti Owen, Director of Oncology Services at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. She gave an update of the exciting things that are taking shape at Northside regarding the treatment of cancer - in particular lung cancer. “We are very excited about our partnership with ALMCI and for what our annual event was able to accomplish,” says Joe Gaeta, president of The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund, and son of the late Joan Gaeta, in whose memory the organization was founded. “We are confident that our supporter’s generous donations will make a deep and immediate impact with ALCMI.” “We are incredibly and deeply thankful to the Gaeta Family for their commitment to ending lung cancer in Joan's memory,” says Bonnie J. Addario, founder. “It is with partners like the Gaeta Fund that will allow ALCMI to begin to raise the 'curability' of lung cancer in a significant way.” A lifelong non-smoker, Joan Gaeta was a devoted wife, teacher, and mother of five. Diagnosed with Lung Cancer in early 2004, she fought a three and a half year battle before succumbing in July of 2007. During that time, Joan stressed the need for greater awareness of Lung Cancer, the number one cancer killer in the world, which has a very low survival rate and a tragic lack of research funds. She was most passionate about eliminating the stigma of the disease, since lung cancer also strikes non-smokers at a high rate. # # # 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. We also strive to eliminate the stigma of lung cancer and to support survivors and their loved ones in our 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. 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. 3/15/2012 #lungcancer survivor spearheads awareness with license plate proposal @jackieshope @bonniejaddario @joegaetaRead NowBy: Jessica Wagner. This article was originally published by the Cherokee Ledger-News on March 14th, 2012 From a former Holly Springs councilwoman to philanthropist, Jacqueline Archer has her hands full, but not to the point where she can’t take on a project that could change lung cancer research for the better. Archer, with the backing of Rep. Sean Jerguson, R-Holly Springs, is asking state legislators to approve a specialty license plate that will not only fund lung cancer research but also spread awareness. However, in order for the state to manufacture the vanity plate, Archer said 1,000 pre-paid commitments are required; roughly 300 have signed up so far. “All of the required paperwork and insurances have to be submitted to the Department of Driver Services (DDS), as well as the logo design,” she said. “Once all of that is approved, that message is sent over to Rep. Jerguson, my dear friend. He will then take it to the delegation, present it and they will vote on it.” Archer said she is trying to speak before the Georgia legislators prior to a vote being cast. As the driving force behind a vanity plate, Archer said she was passionate about the initiative due to her own survival story. Six years ago, Archer was involved in an accident that required transportation to an area hospital for further evaluation. It was then the mother of three learned that she had been battling Adenocarcinoma, the fastest spreading lung cancer. The mass was described as being the size of the doctor’s fist. Now at 47, Archer called the car accident a blessing in disguise because the doctors were able to remove the orange-sized, stage III lung cancer before it spread to her brain, which would have lessened her chance for survival. Thirty-one lymph nodes also were removed from her body. Twelve weeks later, she beat the odds. Archer’s story took an interesting twist when she told the Ledger-News that she was a lifelong nonsmoker who overcame a disease that kills more than 400 people a day, many of whom have never lifted a cigarette to their mouths. Archer said she was determined to pinpoint the reason why nonsmokers develop lung cancer. “There is nothing done for lung cancer; nobody knows why people get it,” she said. Figures from the Lung Cancer Foundation illustrate the lack of understanding, as the survival rate has risen a mere .2 percent between 1971 and 2010 (15.5 percent to 15.7 percent), while the breast cancer survival rate has more than doubled.
Colon and prostate cancer survival rates also have risen from 25.3 percent to 64.8 percent and 21 percent to 99.9 percent, respectively. Archer said when she realized how much this disease is underfunded and how little research has been done, the license plate initiative began. The money collected from the vanity plate sales are pre-designated for the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) through the listed recipient The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund. “Joan Gaeta died of never-smoking lung cancer. I met Joan 11 weeks after my surgery, and she died the following year,” Archer said. “Her family started a foundation and an annual fundraiser, and I personally chose to align myself with Joan and her family because we have a lot in common.” Archer said she supports ALCMI, as the organization is on the cutting edge of research and development. “From what I found out, there are some organizations that are devoted to patient advocacy and awareness, while there are others that are devoted toward research, prevention, early detection and establishing protocol,” she said. While Archer said she thinks advocacy is good, she wants to back it up and find out how to prevent this disease. “Working with some of the hospitals nearby, we need to establish some kind of standardization of care so that when someone presents with lung cancer that molecular testing is done because it is not being offered right now,” she said. Archer said not enough is being done for a disease where time is a factor. “It spreads quickly; lung cancer patients do not have the luxury of time,” she said. “They have to stop everything … they have to have urgent care and they need to have it from the multi-disciplinary approach, which includes the radiologist, the oncologist, the dietician, the surgeon, etc.” Until a difference is made and a standardization of care is in place, Archer said lung cancer would continue to claim hundreds of lives daily. Pre-paid lung cancer vanity plates, which cost $25, can be ordered through www.lungcancerlicenseplate.org. Additional fees implemented from the DDS might apply. Those interesting in pre-paying for the plate need to provide the county they reside and their driver’s license number. Pre-paid plates can be obtained at the DDS by this summer. By Madonna Behen, HealthDay Orginally publshed on January 12, 2012 at USAToday.com. Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in the world, and only about 15 percent of cases are diagnosed at an early stage, when it's most treatable. But two preliminary studies that are scheduled to be presented at a medical meeting this week suggest that scientists are moving closer to developing new screening tests that could potentially detect lung cancer in its earliest stages. In one report, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City evaluated tissue samples from healthy smokers and were able to identify precancerous changes in the cells lining the airways leading to the lungs. "We found that the earliest molecular changes related to lung cancer are present in the airway epithelium of healthy smokers who do not have any detectable microscopic abnormalities in the lung tissue," said study author Dr. Renat Shaykhiev, an assistant professor of genetic medicine at Weill Cornell. Shaykhiev added that the findings "may lead to the development of novel strategies to prevent lung cancer development at the very early stages, before the development of clinically detectable cancer." In the second study, researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston developed a blood test that can analyze and determine the exact genetic mutations of circulating tumor cells in a sample size as small as three cells. "We have developed an extremely sensitive test that could be able to detect mutations present in circulating tumor cells, and we are hoping that from their characterization we would be able to understand diagnostic, prognostic and predictive markers," researcher Heidi Erickson, an assistant professor of thoracic/head and neck medical oncology at MD Anderson, said in an American Association for Cancer Research news release. "By being able to collect a blood sample from a patient instead of having to do a biopsy, we'll have an opportunity to monitor the patient throughout treatment in an easier way," Erickson said in the release. One leading lung cancer researcher said the findings, while still very preliminary, are particularly relevant in light of a 2011 groundbreaking study, which showed that screening current and former heavy smokers with three annual low-dose CT scans reduced the risk of death from lung cancer by 20 percent, compared with three annual chest X-rays. "More than a quarter of patients had one or more pulmonary nodules, but 96 percent of these nodules were not cancer," said Dr. Paul Bunn, the James Dudley chair in cancer research at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in Denver. "So what we'd like to have is some kind of test that, if you have a CT scan and a nodule is found, would help distinguish whether or not that nodule is cancerous." Bunn noted that other scientists are working on detecting early lung cancer based on proteins in the blood, as well as volatile organic compounds in breath, and that all of the research is still many years away from yielding commercially available tests. "We make advances one step at a time and these are first steps, but that's important," Bunn said. The findings were to be presented this week at a lung cancer meeting in San Diego that was jointly sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. ---- Copyright 2012 HealthDay. All Rights Reserved. |
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