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Nashville, TN. Lung cancer survivor-advocate Jenny White led a group of lung cancer survivor-advocates to the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN on Tuesday night. The survivors watched the Nashville Predators defeat the visiting Anaheim Ducks. #PredsvsDucks #HockeyFightsCancer #LCAM15
Nothing Shall Be Impossible
Jenny White came through her experience with cancer a changed woman.
“I now realize I am going to die someday. I started asking myself ‘what am I doing with my life?’ I think differently now. I always thought I had all the time in the world. Now, I know I’d better get moving.”
Since that time, Jenny has gone to school on women and lung cancer. What she has learned has been shocking: More women will die of lung cancer than breast, cervical and ovarian cancers combined. More non-smokers will die of lung cancer than those with melanoma, brain and thyroid cancers combined. Most of those are women. A woman’s five-year survival rate for lung cancer is 18% versus breast cancer at 89%.
So Jenny got involved. She founded the Tennessee chapter of the Lung Cancer Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit working for more federally funded lung cancer research and dedicated solely to patient support and advocacy for people living with lung cancer or those at risk for the disease.
“There’s no pink army for lung cancer like there is for breast cancer,” she said. “So, I’m creating our own army.”
“People assume if you have a lung cancer diagnosis that you smoke,” she said, “and they stop listening. Lung cancer research is minimal and grossly underfunded. An overwhelming percentage of the time, people diagnosed with this disease either never smoked or they quit between 15 and 30 years ago.”
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Martha Lesnick
I’m a songwriter, and a two time lung cancer survivor….
Please find a video link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Keurd2TMcNc) of a song I wrote (“Breathe Hope”) several years ago for a LUNGevity-sponsored event. It’s an honor for me to make this contribution to our cause.
“I am grateful to Team Draft and the Preds for making tonight possible. We have a close-knit, enthusiastic group of survivors here in Nashville who are involved with different organizations and who are very supportive of each other.”
Patty Fought
“Thank-you so very much for a great evening of hockey fun! I appreciate what Team Draft is doing to put a face on lung cancer. Sometimes I feel like I don’t belong in the groups because I didn’t need chemo or radiation, but I remind myself that what I had was cancer and that I still have a couple of nodes that require chest CTs every 6 months and blood tests every 3 months. Next month I have a full body scan scheduled, also. So thank-you! We are BIG hockey fans and thoroughly enjoyed the game!”
Given the overwhelming success of our Survivor at Every Stadium initiative, in 2012, we expanded it beyond the gridiron to the ice through our Survivor at Every Rink initiative. As part of Team Draft’s National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer, this celebration of survivorship raises awareness, gives hope to those battling the disease and shines a light on the important work being done at cancer research and treatment centers across North America.
Through our Survivor at Every Rink initiative, we are working with all NHL teams to have a lung cancer survivor attend one of the team’s home games as a part of their national initiative, Hockey Fights Cancer!
Team Draft’s goals are to create a unique experience for participating survivors and to raise awareness on a local, national, and international level by using each game and each survivor’s story to weave a broader narrative about the state of cancer and the hope that now exists for those battling the disease.
Special thanks to the Nashville Predators, the NHL, St. Thomas Health, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, Tennessee Oncology, Gilda’s Club Nashville, lung cancer survivor-advocate Jenny White and our Team Draft supporters for helping make this experience possible.
Donate now to Support the National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer!
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