Lung Cancer Survivors & Advocates Come Together to Spread Awareness & Raise Funds
Posted: 10-26-2009 : RALEIGH, N.C.

Raleigh, NC -- Justin Andrews first picked up smoking at the age of 14, yet had quit only five months before doctors diagnosed him with stage IV lung cancer. At the time of diagnosis the cancer had spread through most of Justin’s 28-year-old body with tumors in both lungs, liver, neck, ribs, shoulder, hips, and spine.

Given Justin’s age, his Duke doctors speculated that his case was not solely related to smoking, for Justin does have a family history of lung cancer. Justin is the proud father of a three-year-old son, Jeffrey. Through positive thoughts and colossal faith, Justin, Jeffrey and his wife, Kristy, showed the world that Justin is not just another statistic. On August, 11, 2009, after months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments and just weeks before his one-year diagnosis anniversary, Justin's PET scan was clean, showing no evidence of disease and he was declared in remission.

Lung cancer is frequently diagnosed too late because there is no standard screening test and symptoms can be subtle. More than half of those diagnosed will succumb within a year, and only 15 percent will live five years or more.

“Don't let the statistics for lung cancer alarm you.” Justin says. “You have to enter this fight and continue through it recognizing that those statistics aren't based off YOU... there are survivors, and you have to realize if 15% of lung cancer patients survive past 5 years, who's to say that you can't be part of that 15%? Go against all odds and beat them!”

Now that Justin is on the mend, he will be this year’s keynote speaker for the Free to Breathe® Lung Cancer 5K Run/Walk and Rally Raleigh, North Carolina. The third annual event will be on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at North Carolina State University Centennial Campus. The presenting sponsor for this event is Duke Raleigh Cancer Center and net proceeds will support North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership’s research and awareness programs.

“Duke Raleigh Cancer Center is honored to be a part of this important community effort in raising awareness and funds enabling more research to positively impact so many lives of those who have been affected by lung cancer,” said David White, MD, Duke Thoracic Surgery of Raleigh.

This year, the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership also is organizing two additional Free to Breathe® 5K events in North Carolina; in Boone on October 31, 2009 and the Triad on November 14, 2009.

“Lung Cancer is the number one cancer killer in this country but the least funded of all cancers,” said Amy Cipau, President of the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership. “It kills more people than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. Justin is a testament that it can happen to anyone.”

Events like the Free to Breathe® in North Carolina and across the country are aimed at changing the deadly shadow of lung cancer so the disease can be caught earlier and treated. In 2009, Governor Bev Purdue also declared November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month in North Carolina. With more research and awareness, there will be more survivors like Justin.

The North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership is the first state chapter of the National Lung Cancer Partnership, the only nonprofit lung cancer advocacy organization founded by physicians and researchers dedicated to increasing lung cancer awareness and research funding. In addition to the 5K events, the North Carolina chapter also organizes an annual Free to Breathe® Yogathon in December and an evening reception in the spring in Durham, NC.

www.FreetoBreathe.org for more information on the Free to Breathe® 5K events. www.NationalLungCancerPartnership.org/NC