As you know, lung cancer has been a disease I've been fighting on behalf of my mom for the last 13 years. 

This year, it's touched another person I hold dear, my old friend Kiley.

Kiley and I met 15 years ago when we were both training for our first marathon, the LA Marathon. We were part of Team in Training, a group that runs marathons and raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Back then, neither of us had deep ties to cancer, but we soon would. A few years after we met, Kiley lost his dad to Lymphoma and shortly after that, I lost my mom to lung cancer. 

Earlier this year, Kiley got news we never thought we'd hear: Kiley was diagnosed with lung cancer. To say that he's the "last person you'd expect" is an understatement. Kiley doesn't just run marathons, he runs 100+ mile ultra marathons. He also coaches and teaches and is one of the nicest people I know. 

But lung cancer doesn't discriminate. It doesn't care how nice you are, or how healthy you are, or how few cigarettes you smoke or smoked. If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer. 

Luckily for Kiley, his cancer was caught early, AND he's eligible for a lot of treatments that simply weren't available when my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer 13 years ago. They're available now because of people like you, who donated to fundraisers like mine, which raise money for lung cancer research. So Kiley's prognosis is good, and we're grateful. 

This year, the PMC was virtual, and I'm not really a virtual kind of gal, but I did committ to raise money for lung cancer.  Even though we're in a pandemic and I know it's a crazy year, I want to at least make an effort to reach some kind of goal and make some kind of impact for Kiley and others like him who are fighting this battle today. 

I appreciate any help you can give! 

Love,

Julia