Lung Cancer has hit my family hard over the past 10 years. I have lost my father, my husband Izzat and both of my in-laws to this disease. In 2011, my father’s diagnosis took us by surprise because essentially, he was fit and healthy and had no symptoms. Within a short time the disease deprived us of him. His morals, generous nature, intelligence and wit is what I hold onto every day when I think of him. In 2017, my husband developed back pain that turned out to be a metastatic lesion from Lung Cancer. We were devastated. But Izzat soldiered on through the pain, continued to work and live life to the fullest despite the disease. He refused to lie down and fought as hard as he could against the odds. I can’t put to words the devastation you feel when you are hit with a life changing diagnosis. His focus changed to ensuring that the kids and I were going to be ok.  Our family and friends were shocked because Izzat was relatively young (50) and was a much loved and respected member of the family and community. Lung Cancer once again claimed another member of my family. As I come to terms with my loss, I went in search of fundraising campaigns in Australia for Lung Cancer and I was disappointed to find very little if any. November is Lung Cancer awareness month and despite all the walks, runs and social campaigns that took place around the world, I could not find anything that I could contribute to in Australia. So I am determined to do some fundraising for Lung Cancer research and build awareness. Like Izzat, I will soldier on and work hard to help others and like my father, I will be generous and steadfast in my cause to fight Lung Cancer.

The Campaign

The stigma surrounding lung cancer has had a devastating impact on the level of funding, research and support available to people living with lung cancer. Although it is by far the most common cause of cancer death in Australia and worldwide, it only attracts 5% of research funding. The InLuCC fundraising campaign aims to break down the stigma and increase awareness of this neglected disease. All funds will go to the team of world class researchers at the Ingham Institute of Applied medical research specifically for lung cancer research. There are a number of different research opportunities in the Lung Cancer space, one of which is to establish a lung cancer biobank that will assist researchers to improve their understand of the disease and provide a basis for cancer control using targeted treatments and to hopefully find a cure.