Hertford-Gates Relay for Life Highlights Lung Cancer
MURFREESBORO, NC--(April 15, 2011) Dusty Donaldson, lung cancer survivor and founder of the Dusty Joy Foundation, addressed a gathering of nearly 1,100 participants including cancer survivors and their supporters during the annual Hertford-Gates Relay for Life held at Chowan University.
"Coincidentally, this year in Gates and Hertford Counties, 36 people will be told, 'You have lung cancer,'" said Ms. Donaldson. "And 36 people will be told, 'You have breast cancer.' And 36 people will be told, 'You have prostate cancer.'
"So the diagnoses of these major cancers are strikingly similar in this community. Yet, consider the mortality rates of these diseases. Six women will die from breast cancer. Five men will die from prostate cancer. Meanwhile, 27 people will die from lung cancer."
Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer. It claims more lives than breast, colon, prostate and pancreatic cancers combined. A balloon release recognizing the projected new lung cancer diagnoses in Hertford and Gates counties followed Ms. Donaldson's formal remarks. Approximately 1,100 participants registered for the event.
ABOUT THE DUSTY JOY FOUNDATION
The Dusty Joy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization based in North Carolina, uses balloons to help bring levity to a serious topic. Symbolic of our lungs, balloons floating toward heaven also represent our hopes for tomorrow. The balloons are environmentally friendly, organic and biodegradable. For more information about the Dusty Joy Foundation, visit www.DustyJoy.org.
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