In 1 month, I will undertake the most challenging event in my life – running the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, DC. Although I am sure it will be difficult, I am fortunate in that I will not be running alone. I am part of Team Hansen, an ad hoc group of 40-somethings who have joined together to run this marathon to raise money for Lung Cancer research. You see, many of us on Team Hansen lost a very special friend to lung cancer last year. Erik Hansen was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in 2001. Despite this dire diagnosis, Erik never lost his faith or spirit, and fought valiantly, beating the odds and living a very fulfilling and giving life for another six years. Erik inspired many of us in his life, and his death inspires us to raise funds to find a cure for cancer to honor his memory.

 

My reasons for wanting to defeat cancer are very personal, as cancer has been very prominent in our family over the last 14 months. In June 2007, my mother, Judy Mladsi, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Despite her courageous battle against this aggressive cancer, Mom died in early December, leaving a large hole in our family. In October 2007 Dee Dee’s father, Richard Maguire, was diagnosed with two cancers – Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). He also fought a courageous fight, inspiring his family and friends, before succumbing to side effects of his chemotherapy and passing away in late May 2008. These 2 family losses have galvanized Dee Dee and I to commit ourselves to raising money to fund research that will lead to the discovery and development of new treatments for all types of cancer. In April, I ran a half-marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, in Richard’s honor. This time, I am raising the stakes by extending my mileage and I hope you will join me by supporting our efforts.

 

Would you please support me, and the thousands of patients suffering from lung cancer, many of them whom have never smoked a cigarette in their life, by making a generous tax-deductible donation to the National Lung Cancer Partnership? Lung Cancer is the leading cancer killer of women and men in the US, taking more lives than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined. Yet federal research funding for lung cancer lags behind many other common cancers and common diseases. This needs to change, and research into lung cancer will likely benefit sufferers of other cancers as well. Please donate for this worthy cause by clicking on the orange "Sponsor Me Now" button above.

 

Every donation makes a difference. Thank you so much for your support!!

 

Scott and Dee Dee