June 24th–An Exciting Day for Lung Cancer Awareness at The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation

June 24th–An Exciting Day for Lung Cancer Awareness

Posted on June 8, 2009

newpicturefobaseballweb Thank you for helping us knock Lung Cancer out of the park. Click here to see feature in Diablo Magazine. Over 600 people joined a sell-out crowd at the Oakland Coliseum for the first annual Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Awareness Day “Battle of the Bay–Oakland A’s vs. the San Francisco Giants.” This year’s first place winner of the “Dear Mr. President” Essay Contest (read winning essay below), 5th-grader Emma Olsen, threw the first pitch at the ballgame with Bonnie J. Addario. A book of all the essays will be sent to President Barack Obama to help him solve the Lung Cancer Epidemic. Congratulations to 2nd place winner, James Saitz, and third-place tie-winners: Jake Guerrero and Daria (Dasha) Myankonkova.

FIRST PLACE WINNER: EMMA KUULEILANI OLSEN: Dear President Obama, YES WE CAN create Lung Cancer awareness across America! YES WE CAN have more Lung Cancer survivors! YES WE CAN declare Lung Cancer a national health priority! YES WE CAN reduce Lung Cancer’s high mortality rate! YES WE CAN focus on early detection and more effective treatments! YES WE CAN do this President Obama, but we need your help to stop the Lung Cancer Epidemic.

My name is Emma Olsen and I am in the fifth grade at Cabrillo School in Pacifica, California. I have always heard about Lung Cancer but never really knew much about it. I knew it was bad and killed people, but I really started to understand when my grandmother was diagnosed with stage three Lung Cancer in May 2005. For the following year and a half she went through numerous treatments of radiation, chemo therapy, and a painful surgery. The praying and treatment fortunately paid off and she survived! My grandmother is hoping that she will never have to face this frightening disease again. She still goes for a CT scan on a regular basis to see if the cancer has returned. Today she is a Lung Cancer survivor. (essay continued below picture)

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Many people think they will never have Lung Cancer because they don’t smoke and are perfectly healthy. The sad truth is just because you’ve never touched a cigarette in your life doesn’t mean you can’t get Lung Cancer. Most people would not know that because there is not enough awareness about Lung Cancer. You always hear about breast, melanoma, kidney, liver, prostate and colon cancers. But, Lung Cancer is the number one killer! In fact, it kills more people than all of those cancers combined. If everyone had the facts straight about Lung Cancer, I know there would be a lot more survivors. We need to promote public awareness to bring about early detection. A horrid fact is that over 450 people die a day every day in the United States of Lung Cancer.

The cost for chemo, radiation, and surgeries are very expensive. More awareness and early detection would mean less medical costs. More research will hopefully lead us to better and more effective treatment and hopefully a cure for Lung Cancer. I would love to eradicate all cancers but right now it is urgent for us to put more attention, money, and research toward Lung Cancer.

President Obama, with your help and attention to Lung Cancer…YES WE CAN declare Lung Cancer a national health priority and reduce Lung Cancer’s high mortality rate! YES WE CAN have more Lung Cancer survivors! I am certain with your help President Obama, we can make a difference! I can’t wait to write my next essay entitled YES WE DID!

Sincerely,

Emma Kuuleilani Olsen

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