Category: Lung Power Team

Penny Runs for a Future Free of Lung Disease

Posted on by Sarah Meyer Hughes

Story by Amanda Sabino

Penny runs in her 50 States Marathon Club shirt. Members of the organization all share the goal of running a marathon in every U.S. state.

When Penny Wilbanks started a running program 15 years ago, she never imagined where it would take her. Now, after completing 18 marathons in 15 states, her goal is to run one in all 50.

“I truly have a passion for it,” she says.

Penny started running during junior high in Texas when she joined the track and cross-country teams. It was good training for soccer, which she played regularly into college.

While she stopped running for much of her adult life, motivation to restart a fitness routine led her to Google search “solo sports” in 2005. Shortly after, she attended an informational meeting at a local running store.

After running half marathons for 13 years, she decided in 2018 to run her first marathon — the Jack and Jill Marathon in North Bend, Washington. And she hasn’t looked back. “I knew I wanted to run in Chicago for 2020,” Penny shares. “And when I was looking for a charity to run for, Respiratory Health Association stuck out.”

For Penny, lung disease is personal. In 2008, she noticed running became more of a struggle. Often, she would have to stop and catch her breath. One day, she collapsed while training on a nearby track.

Penny was originally diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma. When she went to her family doctor, he prescribed an inhaler. She didn’t leave home without it until the possibility came up that she may not have asthma. This led to an echo cardiogram for valve problems in her heart which showed nothing. A scan revealed spots on her lungs. Although grateful when doctors ruled out lung cancer, the cause of her recent breathing troubles remained a mystery. Doctors believe she has weakened lung muscles, and knowing the value of good lung health she continues to see specialists.

Penny and her husband at a Dallas Cowboys game.

Penny’s lung disease story is just one of many in her family. Her grandparents both died of lung cancer – her grandmother only three weeks after diagnosis. Her aunt lives with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Seeing loved ones fight these battles has even led her father to quit smoking.

“Running on Lung Power Team is like running for my heart and soul – my family,” she says. “Each step is one toward healthier lungs and clean air.”

When the Chicago Marathon was cancelled in 2020, it threw a wrench in her plans. But as Penny puts it: “I just don’t believe in quitting.” She continues to run despite the cancellation.

This persistence defines her running style. In one particularly memorable half marathon race, she developed a giant blister that was so painful it slowed her considerably. Penny normally completes a half marathon in two and a half hours. Her husband even went to race officials when he couldn’t see her at the three-hour mark. She recalls her triumphant moment 30 minutes later at the 3:30 cutoff.

“There I came, ankle gushing blood, skipping across the finish. I just couldn’t give up until I saw the end.”

You find out a lot about her approach to life in a year full of challenges and cancellations when listening to her running philosophy: “You take that as your bad time, you take that as your licks. But you finish. Your medal looks the same as the first-place winner.”

The Chicago Marathon postponement, while disappointing, was just another challenge for Penny. She’s running in 2021 and the delay means Chicago will mark the halfway point of her 50 state marathon goal. And she cannot wait to reach this milestone while running for Respiratory Health Association.

To support Penny’s fight against lung disease, you can donate to her fundraiser here.

Penny sits with the pups post race.

Jen Runs to Be Part of Something Powerful

Posted on by Sarah Meyer Hughes

Written by Amanda Sabino

Jen Dorval admits her running background is not the most extensive. But for Jen, running with Respiratory Health Association’s Lung Power Team in the Chicago Marathon is about more than just the race. It’s to honor her sister, Dee, who passed away four years ago due to chronic asthma.

two young sisters sit next to each other

Dee (left) and Jen

“Her goal was to run a 5k,” Jen says. “That was so sad to me because all she wanted was to run three miles…that is what kick-started me into running. If I can run a marathon for her, I’m going to do it.”

Growing up in Massachusetts, the fun-loving and outgoing sisters had many similarities – including living with asthma. Jen’s case was mild, but Dee’s caused her to miss school and visit the hospital frequently. That didn’t stop her from making an impression on everyone. She was particularly talented in the sciences, and when Jen encountered her older sister’s teachers years later, they all had a clear memory of her.

“She was in your face and did not care,” Jen says while laughing. “She had no filter whatsoever. If she were thinking it, it would come right out of her mouth!”

The sisters were both skilled swimmers, but Dee’s asthma eventually prevented her from continuing with the sport. She was fortunate the hospital was close to both home and school, which allowed her to quickly get care during frequent asthma episodes. The family still hoped that newer procedures would allow Dee to manage her asthma at home more often.

Dee and Jen with their mom

As this became more difficult, and the list of the activities she could no longer participate in grew longer, she considered a bronchial thermoplasty – an asthma treatment that heats and reduces the amount of smooth muscle in your airway wall. As a result, the immune system no longer tells the throat to constrict when triggered, making it easier to breathe. Unfortunately, due to her health, Dee was not a candidate for the procedure.

High-spirited and persistent despite this setback, Dee shifted her goals to new destinations. During Jen’s senior year in high school, Dee moved to sunny Florida. She felt that the milder climate would make it easier to manage her asthma triggers. Not only did her grandparents live there, but she met her fiancé and had her daughter Olivia, who she called Liv. Dee’s pregnancy was high-risk, and during the birth Liv suffered a stroke –which resulted in cerebral palsy that affected the left side of her body.

“Dee was a tireless advocate for Liv and made sure she got all of the therapies she needed,” Jen remembers. “She would have that girl in therapy all day to make sure she got the best care.”

As Dee settled into Florida life with her fiancé and daughter, her breathing struggles continued. Her oxygen levels were frequently low. Any time her levels were close to average, she would jokingly tell her sister how well she could breathe. Though they kept their conversations lighthearted, it illuminated a constant that had followed Dee throughout her life – she was not getting the oxygen needed to live comfortably.

On December 23, 2016, Dee woke up in the middle of the night struggling to breathe. Knowing she was in the middle of an asthma episode, her fiancé called the ambulance.

Jen and Liv

The resulting brain damage was too much for her to overcome, and she passed on Christmas Eve. Her family returned to Massachusetts – her final resting place – for a celebration of life. Loved ones drove through a giant snowstorm to attend the funeral – and Jen reflects a mischievous Dee would have enjoyed putting them through one last challenge.

“So many people like me, and they all drove through the snow for this?” she imagines Dee saying cheerfully.

Dee’s memory lives on in her daughter and family members like Jen, who carry her spirit and energy. Olivia also lives with asthma, and together with Jen, they run for a better future—one where even those living with the most severe cases of asthma can receive the care necessary to improve quality of life.

Adam’s Marathon Journey Keeps His Friend’s Memory Alive

Posted on by Sarah Meyer Hughes

by Amanda Sabino

Adam Giglia and his friend Tim McCarren had just finished a half marathon in Adam’s hometown of Rochester, New York. They took a moment to look back on an inconceivable 13.1 miles.

“Can you imagine,” they said between breaths, “doing a full marathon?” The two laughed.

Adam never considered himself much of a runner, though sports have always been in his blood. By age three – much like the rest of western New York – he was in skates and playing hockey.

When the Miller family moved-in across the street during Adam’s sixth grade year, he and new neighbor Erik Miller bonded over sports. Adam and Erik were only a year apart in school, and became fast friends.

Living across the street from each other meant getting together often, which was also the case for their families.

Runner poses after finishing run

Adam pauses for a post-run photo.

Adam’s father Lew and Erik’s father Jack would often take the boys golfing. It was competitive, but always fun. Jack would sometimes talk about his glory days running while growing up in Chicago – even showing his many photos from distance races over the years.

“He was passionate about it,” Adam says.

A couple months after running the half marathon with Tim, Adam stood alongside Jack. After five years battling lung cancer, Jack entered hospice care.

Adam knew what he had to do, but the steps to get there seemed daunting. Everything he read said how challenging marathons could be. Was it possible?

His mind was set. He promised to run the 2019 Chicago Marathon in Jack’s honor.

That commitment was the ultimate currency of their friendship to Jack. Though he ran the Boston Marathon, he had never done so in his native Chicago. Adam was hopeful Jack would have the chance.

“You’re going to win next year,” he said.

In September, Jack lost his life to lung cancer. Now, Adam runs not only for him, but for his grieving friend Erik and lung cancer survivors everywhere.

“I’m committed to do whatever it takes to cross that finish line.”

Training has lived up to its reputation. He describes it as the hardest thing he’s ever done in his life. He wants to finish in less than four hours, and after months of sacrifice he’s getting close to his goal.

His friends and family will be at the marathon to support him. Tim, who has played chief motivator during training, will once again run alongside Adam. But they’ll be missing Jack.

Runners pose after running half marathon

Tim, his wife Marissa and Adam after the half marathon in Rochester.

Adam imagines Jack would want to celebrate by buying a round of beers.

“Were this 20 years ago,” he says, “he’d be waiting for me at the finish and saying, ’what took you so long?’”

Those watching the marathon can spot Adam in his custom t-shirt with Chicago Bears colors. Jack was a huge fan of the Bears.

Adam sees every step of 26.2 miles as an opportunity to raise funds for lung cancer with Respiratory Health Association’s Lung Power Team. Money raised for research may prevent someone else from going through what Jack went through.

“This run’s for Jack.”

To support Adam’s run for lung cancer research, click here.

Nestor’s Giving Cancer a Run for Its Money

Posted on by Sarah Meyer Hughes

Before January 2018, Nestor Rivera had never even run a 5k. Now, less than two years later, he plans to run the Chicago Marathon with Respiratory Health Association’s Lung Power Team.

“You’d be amazed at what you can train your body to do,” Nestor says. “If you’re just consistent – not perfect – consistent.”

Nestor Rivera running a race

Nestor Rivera is going from couch to marathon in 2 years!

Nestor chose the Lung Power Team because of its mission to fight lung disease. His parents were in their teens when they began smoking. He recalls that his parents were chain smokers from the time he was born to the time he was 9 years old. As a child, he recognized them only with a cigarette in their hand.

But when his sister was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 21, they feared the possibility that their secondhand smoke had been a contributing factor in the development of her illness. They quit smoking right then. Then in 2013, Nestor’s mother Milagros went in for a lung biopsy to explore an unusual spot  found during tests. After the biopsy, Nestor got a call that he describes as “absolutely earth-shattering.”

“You think you’re going to get a phone call that says everything has gone routinely. Next thing you know, I got word that one third of her lung is gone.”

Nestor’s mother was diagnosed with stage one lung cancer and had a third of her right lung resected on the very same day. Immediately after the surgery Milagros’ breathing was different, but over time she settled into a new normal. Nestor says she’s now feeling great, and as of a few weeks ago, Milagros has been in remission for almost six years. “It’s amazing what your body can tolerate,” Nestor says.

 

Nestor Rivera with his parents in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Nestor Rivera is running the Chicago marathon in honor of his mother, a lung cancer survivor.

 

His mother’s diagnosis made a huge impact on Nestor and was part of what spurred him to take up running. He’d never been a smoker, but he began to consider – what are other actions could he take to improve his overall health? Since his first race, the Chicago Cubs Race to Wrigley, Nestor has completed eleven more 5k races, two 10ks and a half marathon. He has three more half marathons on the docket for 2019 before running with the Lung Power Team in the fall.

“If there’s a challenge, I’m gonna take it,” Nestor says. “All you really need are a good pair of shoes. It’s not about getting the best time. It’s about achieving things that you didn’t think were possible.”

Nestor’s fundraising has now hit $3,016.20, putting him in first place towards the Lung Power Team’s $42,000 goal. His advice to fellow fundraisers?

Personalize the message.

In addition to his mother’s story, he also shares that his father-in-law has had chronic asthma his entire life. Nestor runs for him, too.

“When I’ve reached out to people individually, I’ve gotten more results,” he says. One challenge Nestor says he faces is that donors don’t feel they can contribute enough. “Some [people] think it’s better not to donate than to donate less than $100, but that’s not true. Every bit counts.” He notes how important it is to make every person feel like their donation makes a difference, no matter the amount.

His final note for fundraising matches his advice for training:

“Persistence.”

To help Nestor and his family fundraise for lung cancer research, asthma, and Tobacco 21, visit Nestor’s fundraising page.

A Daughter’s Dedication Drives Stacey Woodward to Run

Posted on by Sarah Meyer Hughes
Denny and family

Denny and family

A Daughter’s Dedication Drives Stacey Woodward to Run

This year’s Chicago Marathon isn’t Stacey Woodward’s first, but it may be her most emotional. This marathon is dedicated to her father, Denny Wright, who passed away from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in December.

Stacey is the assistant news director at WBAL TV in Maryland, and a member of Respiratory Health Association’s Lung Power Team for the Chicago Marathon. She’s running for advancements in COPD research as a way to memorialize her father, who spent much of his time learning more about the disease and researching COPD treatments.

“Besides being stubborn, we’re not alike at all,” Stacey laughs of her father.

After serving in the US Army during the Vietnam War, Denny took up flying as an amateur pilot.

“He was diagnosed with PTSD after the Vietnam War, and I think flying was a bit therapeutic for him,” Stacey reflects.

As Denny flew over the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Stacey was across the country in Sacramento. There, in a city where she knew no one, she found a community of runners. In her early 20s she joined a team and began training.

When he was later diagnosed with COPD, Denny had to make several lifestyle changes. Once he was on oxygen he could no longer fly. “That really upset him,” Stacey says.

But Denny continued to seek adventure, including traveling and spending time with friends where he was “always the life of the party.” As travel became increasingly difficult, Denny’s determination and curiosity only grew. He decided to become as informed as he could about his condition, which included reading the latest research on COPD and working with his health care providers to explore additional treatment options.

Denny with a young Stacey

Denny with a young Stacey

The Department of Veterans Affairs later confirmed that chemical exposure during his time in the army had contributed to Denny’s illness, along with several other risk factors. While tobacco use is the most common cause of COPD, environmental factors and genetics also play a role.

Unfortunately, COPD research remains vastly underfunded and the role of environmental factors, including chemical exposure, in the development of COPD isn’t fully understood.

Despite Denny’s effort and attempts to receive a lung transplant, he passed away on December 1, 2017 at 70 years old.

Denny donated his body to science to contribute to the advancement in COPD research. Stacey joins him by running for the Lung Power Team and fundraising for current and future research.

When she struggles during a run, Stacey thinks of her dad—and she surrounds herself with support, including many of his friends from the VFW. There’s a certain amount of stubbornness—perhaps better called persistence—required to run a marathon, and she has her dad to thank for that.

Stacey says of the calm that she experiences after a run, “It’s rejuvenating. Running is a journey. Often I do not look forward to it, but I love the feeling after I’m done.”

To support Stacey and her father’s dedication to COPD research, donate to her fundraising.

Her Mother’s Memory Pushes Melanie to the Finish

Posted on by Sarah Meyer Hughes
Two women smiling

Melanie with her mother

Melanie Santarelli ran the Chicago marathon when she was 10 weeks pregnant. 

The accomplishment speaks to a toughness that Melanie learned from her own mother, Theresa, whose battle with cancer spurred Melanie to begin running. 

At 47, doctors diagnosed Theresa with stage four squamous cell cancer of unknown primary. Squamous cell lung cancer accounts for 30 percent of all lung cancers. After ruling other cancers out, doctors strongly suspected lung cancer. Theresa was a smoker for many years although she quit several years earlier on her 40th birthday. 

Melanie recalls her mother as healthy and active, and the cancer diagnosis came as a shock. 

“You think you’ve quit,” Melanie says, “You don’t realize that these effects carry with you even if you change the behavior. The body just doesn’t turn around like that.” 

Despite the diagnosis, Theresa continued her work as a family and child therapist, working long hours to help families in crisis. Melanie recalls that despite a mentally and emotionally demanding job, her mother always made time for her family. 

Theresa endured rounds of radiation and chemotherapy, always putting her family ahead of herself. She experienced terrible pain as the cancer spread and hindered her ability to walk. 

After three years of struggling, Theresa passed away, just four months before Melanie’s wedding. 

“She was and is an absolute inspiration,” Melanie says, “She never wanted to give up.” 

Woman with stroller and toddler running

Melanie running with her children

Melanie took up running as a way to process the loss. Theresa was a sprinter, and Melanie felt connected to her as she ran up and down Chicago’s lakefront. 

This year Melanie will run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon as a member of Respiratory Health Association’s Lung Power Team. The funds raised benefit the Association’s work to advance lung cancer research and help people quit smoking. 

Though this is her third marathon, Melanie continues to set the bar higher for herself and hopes to finish with a 4:20 time. During her most difficult training sessions, the memory of Theresa’s determination pushes her toward the finish. 

“The training is harder than the marathon,” Melanie explains. “The marathon is the reward at the end. If you can get the through the training, you can get through anything. That’s the mental toughness.” 

Now a mother herself, Melanie feels closer to her mother than ever. Whenever she runs, she mentally checks in with her mom and updates her on her life. 

“She gave me this body, and I’m able to do this because of her. She’s my motivator and my strength.” 

To support Melanie Santarelli and lung cancer research, donate to her fundraising campaign.

Make Every Mile Count with Lung Power Team

Posted on by Sarah Meyer Hughes

Planning to run a race this year? Whether it’s your first triathlon or your 100th 5K, dedicate your efforts to healthy lungs and clean air as a member of Respiratory Health Association’s Lung Power Team.

Joining is easy and the option to choose your own race gives you flexibility to find an athletic pursuit that matches your schedule and skill level.

Team benefits include complimentary training resources, fundraising support, and all the motivation you need to reach the finish line.

“Training is more meaningful knowing that I’m making a difference for people living with lung disease. The support I’ve received from RHA has been terrific,” shares Christopher N. of Chicago, who has run with the Lung Power Team since 2013.

Asthma, COPD, lung cancer and other lung diseases may have touched you personally and clean air affects us all. Make every stride more meaningful in the race of your choice by raising funds for education, research and policy changes that help people live better.

If you’d like to join, contact Rebecca Weinberg-Doptis for more information.

Her Son’s Songs Push Esperanza Fe Borg

Posted on by Sarah Meyer Hughes

Esperanza has lived through the unthinkable. Six years ago her son, John, died of pulmonary hypertension.

This is how John described himself on Facebook: “I’m a pretty simple person to satisfy. Just surround me with good friends and good people, and what more could I want?”

John rarely complained after his diagnosis. As his condition progressed, John would casually mention that he needed to raise his feet, but nothing more. He even helped his friend move. Though able-bodied friends did not show up, John did. He tried to carry small items up the stars, and when he got too tired, he rested on their sofa. As he gained some strength back, he joked about the lightness of the furniture they carried. They said he made the move easier because he made them laugh.

Only once did he say this, “life sucks, I don’t want to have this disease.”

Esperanza told him, “If I could take this disease away from you, I’d take it in a heartbeat.”

Guitar and music were a way for John to relax. It was also a way for mother and son to connect. Esperanza had bought John his first guitar and taught him the basics. But he soon surpassed her skill to the point where she was asking him for advice. John also started singing and recording songs. Later, Esperanza downloaded his YouTube recordings.

John made an effort to travel the country even though he was sick. He elected an experimental treatment, both to be part of the search for a cure and also for freedom of movement. This allowed him to travel to concerts in every state, including Bonnaroo. An admirer of Incubus, Ray LaMontage and Ben Harper, John liked every genre and made friends with fellow music lovers all over the country.

As months passed into years, breathing and doing the activities he enjoyed became more difficult for John. Now attached to the intravenous medication he’d tried hard to avoid, traveling to concerts became a dangerous risk and he had to stop.

Around the same time, another blow hit the family. Esperanza was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now she was fighting for both of their lives.

One day while she was still on chemo, they both felt particularly ill. However, John was always looking to try new things and wanted a certain drink. Esperanza went to many stores looking for the brand even as the bottoms of her feet started hurting, a side effect of chemo. Esperanza finally returned home with the beverage in hand. To this day, she regrets remarking to him, “I hope you know, I had to go all over to get this.”

John said, “Mom, if I could do it myself, I would.”

Even as John’s mobility became limited, Esperanza knew that he could still find joy in his music. In August 2011, he saw a guitar gleaming in the storefront window with a price tag of $2,500. Esperanza agreed that he could have it for his approaching birthday. “Okay,” John had smiled, “but can I have it now?”

“I was glad that I bought it that day,” Esperanza remembers. “He was able to play it twice.”

By Thanksgiving Day of 2011, John’s condition had deteriorated. He asked if he could stay out of the ICU until after Thanksgiving, but this was no longer possible. For John it wasn’t imaginable to be apart from his friends and family on the holidays. Those who knew him understood that he could fill a stadium with his talent. As it was, he filled a whole room in the ICU with those who cared about him.

John struggled to talk, and as the night wore on, even to breathe. He leaned forward to a friend to share an inside joke. Memories closed the gap of what he no longer had the energy to express. It was his old fallback: even as he struggled, John understood that they could still laugh. There wasn’t enough strength left to do much else. Still, he didn’t complain.

When John passed, his group of friends attended his funeral. “I’ve never seen young men cry,” Esperanza recalls.

In the weeks that followed, Esperanza had a difficult time leaving the house. Eventually she joined a number of support groups. In 2012 she found a program called 9 to 5 – a 9-week prep program for a 5K race. Esperanza didn’t socialize much at first. But eventually she began to open up about her reason for running – John.

“Talking about him was a way that I was able to go on. He loved life. I should continue to do things and enjoy whatever life has to give me. That’s how he would want me to live and that’s how he would live. There’s so many things we wanted to do when he got better. He wanted to travel more. He wanted to go to Europe. And hike. I’m doing this for him now. I carry him with me. He’s my strength to keep me going. To do the things that life is giving me.”

John’s friends and Esperanza meet every year on his birthday, which is near Esperanza’s birthday as well. Now they call it “everybody’s birthday” and use the day to celebrate life the way that John did.

“His friends have become my family now. When there’s a wedding… three weddings now,” Esperanza gives a quiet laugh as she considers this. “One of them has a child. His friends invite me. Any kind of event that’s going on, they invite me. They don’t feel sorry for me. They accept me. I’ve become John for them.”

“Just love life. Whatever life puts in front of you. Sickness, whatever it is. Just continue living like today is your last day. Sometimes it’s easier said than done,” Esperanza admits.

As time passed, Esperanza progressed from 5Ks to marathons. John’s YouTube recordings have found permanence on her iPod. On marathon day, her son will sing: not to the crowd, but as part of a conversation, mother-to-son, encouraging her through her earbuds to embrace each step of the 26.2 miles.

“I’m able to walk and run, so I do it. And I do it for him. Because if he were able to do it, he would.”

Visit Esperanza’s fundraising page to support her goals.

Spots for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon are gone but you can still make every step of your next race count. Join the Lung Power Team for some great benefits. You can help RHA achieve healthy lungs and clean air for all!

 

Dr. Cory Sellers is Running on Love

Posted on by Sarah Meyer Hughes

All the text said was “Call us.”

Dr. Cory Sellers knew right away that something was wrong. He had always been close with his parents, and their interactions were normally warm and conversational. But nothing about the past few months had been normal.

It had started with a cough in October of 2016. A primary care physician believed Dr. Sellers’ mother had allergies. Her diagnosis then progressed to pneumonia — a risk among seniors in the winter months. Now his mother was on oxygen, on her birthday, awaiting a pulmonologist’s assessment.

When Cory called his parents back, his shock swallowed his hope for happy news. It was the worst possible diagnosis – stage 4 lung cancer with pleural effusion. The family was devastated.

At 77 years-old, Shirley Sellers had never smoked. Still an avid runner, she was in good shape. In fact, nothing about her life added up to a lung cancer diagnosis.

“I watched this really strong woman — she was the oldest in her family, had younger brothers, grew up on a dairy farm — this was the woman who raised me. To see her collapse under the weight of the diagnosis… you go through the “why her?”

Growing up, both Cory and his mom scuffed their shoes on a baseball diamond. “When I was a Little League pitcher I was so nervous,” Cory chuckles. “She’d come out and practice with me before the game. She had this old Babe Ruth 1920s glove. It was like her pet glove. It had been so beat up that it didn’t have any padding in the palm,” he laughs.

That glove was a relic from Shirley’s childhood, when she took the hard work and pluck that she’d learned on her family’s dairy farm and applied it to a bevy of skills – including developing her pitching arm at a time when participation in sports was exceptional for a young girl.

When the pulmonologist gave her a terminal diagnosis, Shirley and her family became determined to find a way to save her. His sister Kimberlee took care of the day-to-day visits to their mother. Cory — working out of his practice several time zones away in Springboro, Ohio — provided a clear head as their family launched into a search for an alternative solution.

“I felt as though I had to help with the attitude department,” Cory says. “Let’s wait until we get more information, let’s wait until we find out.” He treats patients with significant injuries and who have gone through cancer and knows the value of perspective.

After consultation with an oncologist, they were suddenly renewed with hope. That doctor told them Shirley qualified for gene therapy, and which she began immediately. Gene therapy has been a promising development in the quest for a lung cancer cure, but as a new advancement, it is accordingly expensive. “Fortunately my parents had the wherewithal to stand for that,” Cory acknowledges.

During this process, Cory flew out to Salt Lake several times. The last of these visits was the final time that Cory saw his mother. Just 10 days after beginning gene therapy, the malignant cells invaded the wall around Shirley’s heart. She died of a heart attack.

“My mom had a running partner and they would run about 3 miles every day. Where my parents lived, they would go hiking and skiing in the mountains as well. As she got older, some of those things declined, but the running continued.”

Cory has undertaken his mother’s legacy: one of an adventurous woman who worked hard to set and meet goals for herself. “If you look at the long mile, you’ll be intimidated. But if you break it up, then you’ll reach the end point.”

On his first Mother’s Day without Shirley, Cory was distracting himself by perusing race information for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Fittingly, he found the Lung Power Team. “RHA benefits the Chicagoland area, but I’d like to think that on the greater whole, it benefits everybody. My mom was a runner. This was an easy find to think of Mom.”

Visit Cory’s fundraising page to support his goals.

Spots for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon are gone but you can still make every step of your next race count. Join the Lung Power Team for some great benefits. You can help RHA achieve healthy lungs and clean air for all!

Matt Cantu Runs for His Family

Posted on by Sarah Meyer Hughes

Matt Cantu has lots of good reasons to run with RHA’s Lung Power Team, but initially, he was worried about fundraising.

Now, he’s over 75% of the way to his $1,500 goal.

His first donors were his wife’s parents. Then, Matt put out a request for donations on social media, but he did more than just copy and paste a link. He made his posts – including the message on his Lung Power Team fundraising page – a testament to his decision to run the Chicago Marathon.

“Make sure you write something about why you care,” Matt advises.

Matt is as green to marathons as he is to the world of fundraising. But his reasons for running are rooted in respect for family and his health. Remembering the why helps him tackle these new challenges.

“If you’re not listening to anything while you run, you play things in your mind. It’s easy to give up until you remember all of the reasons why you’re doing it. It helps you to keep going.”

His reasons include his wife, Megan, who lives with asthma and sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis involves collections of cells that inflame organs in the body, including the lungs. Four years ago, she struggled to breathe. Her symptoms improved dramatically with medical care and a healthier, more active lifestyle.

Although her experience isn’t typical of many people living with sarcoidosis, and she still has both conditions, she’s running 5Ks now.

When she first invited Matt to join her last year, running was painful, but he continued to work hard to improve his running times. Now Megan – who Matt describes as his best friend – is always there to support him for his races.

Although racing is a fun challenge and a bonding activity for them both, they carry a sense of responsibility to stay healthy for themselves and their family – because Matt also runs in remembrance.

Megan’s grandfather, Robert E. Lundberg, lost his life to lung cancer last June.

“He was a Vietnam Vet; that was something that he was really proud of. He wore his Vietnam hat every day; he walked the lifestyle of a soldier. When that disease took over him… to see his body just go down…” Matt trails off in thought.

Robert was a longtime smoker. Though he battled bravely, his health continued to deteriorate. After witnessing this painful progression, as well as the decisions of other family members to become healthier and quit smoking, Matt decided he wanted to get more fit. He believes that if more people witnessed a loved one go through what Robert did, they would make the same choice.

“He went from a really strong man to someone who couldn’t do anything. It was a sad thing, but I always try to learn from every situation that I’m in.”

Matt personalized his Lung Power Team fundraising approach by sharing Megan and Robert’s stories. This helped his network connect their support to RHA’s efforts, such as helping people quit smoking through Courage to Quit and funding lung cancer research. Many have already joined Matt in making a difference as he prepares to run the Chicago marathon on October 8, 2017.

Visit Matt’s fundraising page to support his goals.

Spots for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon are gone but you can still make every step of your next race count. Join the Lung Power Team for some great benefits. You can help RHA achieve healthy lungs and clean air for all!