In January 2009, my 42-year-old sister, Arielle Hart Cohen, passed away after an 18-month battle with lung cancer. Her diagnosis in July 2007 came as a complete shock to all of us as she had never smoked.

My sister left behind a devoted husband, three wonderful children, and an extended family that loved her deeply. Losing her was devastating, and I’m determined to help change the outcome for other families facing this disease.

That’s why this August, I’ll be riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) to raise critical funds for lung cancer research.

My close friend David Legg lost his wife, Diane, to lung cancer as well. Together, we founded Team LUNGSTRONG to channel our PMC fundraising directly toward lung cancer research. Every dollar we raise, 100% of it, goes to the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center SPORE in Lung Cancer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. You can learn more about their groundbreaking work here: https://trp.cancer.gov/spores/abstracts/dfhcc_lung.htm

Team LUNGSTRONG has grown to over 60 riders and has raised more than $5 million through the PMC for lung cancer research. Please help us fight this terrible disease.

A Few Facts about Lung Cancer:

• -Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the world, yet research to combat the disease is the most under-funded of all major cancer research. For example, for every breast cancer death, $32,000 is spent on breast cancer research. For every lung cancer death, only $1,800 is spent on lung cancer research.
• -Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer among Caucasians, African-Americans, Asians, and Hispanic males.
• -About 50% of people with lung cancer never smoked or have long since stopped smoking.
• -Over 50% of new lung cancer cases will be diagnosed at a very late stage - Stage IIIb or IV.
• -This year, lung cancer will kill:
  • -Three times as many men as prostate cancer
  • -Twice as many women as breast cancer
  • -More people than: breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer and melanoma...combined

Please give generously if you can.
Donations are fully tax-deductible. Donating through this website is simple, fast, and totally secure. Please e-mail me if you have any questions: ira.hart@gmail.com

Also, please feel free to forward this page on to anyone whom you think may be interested in helping advance lung cancer research and fight this deadly disease.