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Taylor Bell never imagined she would be a spokesperson for the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership, but then, the 22-year old college student also never imagined she would be a lung cancer survivor.
Bell, a lifelong non smoker and a former member of the varsity soccer team at East Carolina University, was diagnosed with lung cancer last year. She underwent surgery to remove most of her left lung and spent many months recovering. Now that Bell is on the mend, she plans to participate in the second annual Duke Cancer Center Raleigh Free to Breathe® 5K Run/Walk and Rally for lung cancer on Saturday, November 8, at 9:00 a.m. at North Carolina State University Centennial Campus. Title sponsor for this event is Duke Cancer Center Raleigh and net proceeds will support lung cancer research and awareness. Media sponsor for the event is NBC-17, and anchor Bill Fitzgerald will be emcee of the event for the second year.
"I am excited about speaking out for this cause and being able to run in the Free to Breathe® 5K, not only because I am glad to be well, but because I really want to raise funding and awareness of this awful disease." said Bell. "The first thing everyone asks when you are diagnosed with lung cancer is ‘Did you smoke?'" No one deserves lung cancer, Bell said. She wants lung cancer patients to be treated with compassion, like those with other illnesses. "People with lung cancer, like other cancers, should have access to effective treatments and better detection," she said.
Bell was fortunate that her cancer was discovered in the early stages. Lung cancer is frequently diagnosed too late because there is no standard screening test and symptoms can be subtle. More than half of those diagnosed will succumb within a year, and only 15 percent will live five years or more.
As a volunteer for the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership, Bell is working to change those grim statistics. The young college student has already raised more than $5,000 from sponsors for the Raleigh Free to Breathe® 5K.
This year, the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership also is organizing a Triad Free to Breathe® November 15 in Grandover Parkway, Greensboro, North Carolina.
"Lung Cancer is the number one cancer killer in this country but the least funded of all cancers," said Amy Cipau, President of the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership. "It kills nearly twice as many women as breast cancer, and kills more people than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. And Taylor is a testament that it can happen to anyone."
Looking at Bell, it is hard to absorb that she has been gravely ill. She is the picture of health and youth. And she is an anomaly. Most lung cancer patients are not alive to tell the tale. But events like the Free to Breathe® races in North Carolina are aimed at changing the deadly shadow of lung cancer so the disease can be caught earlier and treated. With more research and awareness, there will be more survivors like Bell.
The North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership is the first state chapter of the National Lung Cancer Partnership, the only nonprofit lung cancer advocacy organization founded by physicians and researchers dedicated to increasing lung cancer awareness and research funding. In addition to the North Carolina Free to Breathe® events, the North Carolina chapter also sponsors an annual yogathon in December and an evening reception in the spring at the Duke University Nasher Art Museum.
Taylor Bell never imagined she would be a spokesperson for the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership, but then, the 22-year old college student also never imagined she would be a lung cancer survivor.
Bell, a lifelong non smoker and a former member of the varsity soccer team at East Carolina University, was diagnosed with lung cancer last year. She underwent surgery to remove most of her left lung and spent many months recovering. Now that Bell is on the mend, she plans to participate in the second annual Duke Cancer Center Raleigh Free to Breathe® 5K Run/Walk and Rally for lung cancer on Saturday, November 8, at 9:00 a.m. at North Carolina State University Centennial Campus. Title sponsor for this event is Duke Cancer Center Raleigh and net proceeds will support lung cancer research and awareness. Media sponsor for the event is NBC-17, and anchor Bill Fitzgerald will be emcee of the event for the second year.
"I am excited about speaking out for this cause and being able to run in the Free to Breathe® 5K, not only because I am glad to be well, but because I really want to raise funding and awareness of this awful disease." said Bell. "The first thing everyone asks when you are diagnosed with lung cancer is ‘Did you smoke?'" No one deserves lung cancer, Bell said. She wants lung cancer patients to be treated with compassion, like those with other illnesses. "People with lung cancer, like other cancers, should have access to effective treatments and better detection," she said.
Bell was fortunate that her cancer was discovered in the early stages. Lung cancer is frequently diagnosed too late because there is no standard screening test and symptoms can be subtle. More than half of those diagnosed will succumb within a year, and only 15 percent will live five years or more.
As a volunteer for the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership, Bell is working to change those grim statistics. The young college student has already raised more than $5,000 from sponsors for the Raleigh Free to Breathe® 5K.
This year, the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership also is organizing a Triad Free to Breathe® November 15 in Grandover Parkway, Greensboro, North Carolina.
"Lung Cancer is the number one cancer killer in this country but the least funded of all cancers," said Amy Cipau, President of the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership. "It kills nearly twice as many women as breast cancer, and kills more people than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. And Taylor is a testament that it can happen to anyone."
Looking at Bell, it is hard to absorb that she has been gravely ill. She is the picture of health and youth. And she is an anomaly. Most lung cancer patients are not alive to tell the tale. But events like the Free to Breathe® races in North Carolina are aimed at changing the deadly shadow of lung cancer so the disease can be caught earlier and treated. With more research and awareness, there will be more survivors like Bell.
The North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership is the first state chapter of the National Lung Cancer Partnership, the only nonprofit lung cancer advocacy organization founded by physicians and researchers dedicated to increasing lung cancer awareness and research funding. In addition to the North Carolina Free to Breathe® events, the North Carolina chapter also sponsors an annual yogathon in December and an evening reception in the spring at the Duke University Nasher Art Museum.
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