Free to Breathe Event

    The second annual Free to Breathe 5K run/walk and one mile walk will take place in Tacoma on September 19th at Dickman Mill Park.
    This event is part of the National Lung Cancer Partnership, which was founded by physicians and researchers who work together with survivors and advocates to increase lung cancer awareness and research funding.
    One of those advocates is Julie Drobny, whose mom, Judy Cooley, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004.

    Cooley, a non-smoker, fought the disease for over four years and was present at the 2008  event that her daughter and two sons, Kyle and Kevin, organized.
    “When my mom was diagnosed with stage four, my family was devastated,” said Julie.  Cooley was diagnosed at what was considered to be a non-treatable stage.   After the diagnosis Julie went right on line and began to gather information and found the National Lung Cancer Partnership website, saw there was an advocate summit coming up in Chicago and wrote an essay on the spot about how she would like to attend.
    The group paid her way to Chicago and it was there that she gathered the tools necessary to organize the first ever event in Tacoma in October of 2008.  That event raised an astounding $28,000 for the cause.
    Lung cancer, said Julie, is one of the least funded and least talked about cancers because of the stigma associated with smoking.  Lung cancer kills almost twice as many American women as breast cancer annually and three times as many men as prostate cancer.  Every 2.5 minutes someone is diagnosed with lung cancer and 20,000 to 30,000 of those diagnosed each year have never smoked.
     Julie and her brother Kyle attended the summit this year in Dallas, along with 52 patients and advocates.  Twenty-six of those attending were lung cancer survivors, said Julie.  “The face of this disease is not an old smoker, it is the young female and male.  This is not an old person’s disease.”
    Julie’s mom, Judy Cooley won’t be at this year's event, cheering as the participants cross the finish line like she did last year. Two months after that successful event, Cooley died of the disease.
    To sign up for the event or to donate on line go to www.FreetoBreathe.org.  The cost to participate is $25 if you register on line and $30 the day of the event.