The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

Students Rally to Support Breathe Deep D.C.

To kick off National Lung Cancer Awareness Month, on Nov. 6, over 50 WJ students participated in “Breathe Deep D.C.,” an event supporting lung cancer research hosted by the LUNGevity Foundation. The event’s main feature was a 5K walk around D.C.’s National Mall, and proceeds from the participants’ registry went directly to help raise funds for lung cancer research.

In order to create additional motivation, LUNGevity created a system where individuals could register as part of a team. By fostering friendly competition, the organization hoped to reach, or exceed, its goal of raising $300,000. With nearly 2,000 participants, the walk aimed to unite the community in the battle against lung cancer.

WJ sophomore Margot Cohen headed a walk team named “Pirates of the Cure-ibbean,” consisting of her family and friends, including students from WJ and other schools. She heard about the walk from a friend who text-messaged her about the event. Afterwards, Cohen researched and began to organize it.

The past few months have been difficult, but she has been determined to stay strong. Having recently lost her mother to lung cancer, Cohen’s life has been heavily impacted by the loss. By supporting LUNGevity, and encouraging her friends and family to do the same, Cohen hopes to prevent the same experience from affecting others.

Story continues below advertisement

“My mom passed away over the summer from lung cancer and I wanted to raise money because I told myself that I just really wanted to make a difference,” said Cohen. “I didn’t want what happened to me to happen to anyone else. I wanted to help find a cure. I wanted to raise awareness and [to] honor my mom.”

Despite her strong motivation and determination, she expressed that the process had been challenging because she often needed to remind people to register for the walk online.

“I looked up [the walk] and I thought it would be a good idea to ask if the [WJ] chorus could come, [because] I wanted to get as much representation as possible,” said Cohen. “It would be good to get so much support, so I emailed [Jerry Sorkin], who organized the event. We [had] 20 people come from the chorus and about 200 people [were] invited.”

As a result of Cohen’s coordination, a performance by WJ’s chorus was featured at the event. In addition to the 5K walk, “Breathe Deep D.C.” also included other kid-friendly activities at the Sylvan Theater, such as face painting, songs and games. The kids’ tent also featured a station for “Treats 4 Our Troops”, a program that helps put together care packages for soldiers fighting abroad. Additionally, Monica Barlow was presented as the featured lung cancer survivor, and she shared her story of how lung cancer has impacted her life. Doug Kammerer, NBC News4’s chief meteorologist, and Tommy McFly from 94.7 Fresh FM served as the event hosts.

According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 157,300 Americans died of lung cancer in 2010. It is the second most common cancer found in both men and women, with hundreds of thousands of people diagnosed in the United States each year. Lung cancer has a high occurrence rate and it continues to be the number one cause of cancer mortality. On average, 430 people die of lung cancer each day. However, since more research has been conducted, mortality has decreased significantly.

A major proponent in the fight against lung cancer, the LUNGevity Foundation is a national institution that funds research for the early detection and successful treatment of lung cancer. By hosting more than 50 annual events in major cities across the United States, LUNGevity hopes to eventually reach its ultimate goal of finding a cure for lung cancer. It hosts Breathe Deep events in Maryland each year; another recent one included “Breathe Deep Baltimore,” which occurred this past September.

A nonprofit organization, LUNGevity is largely volunteer-based, supporting the largest national grassroots lung cancer network, as well as an online support community for those affected by lung cancer, which can be found on their website, www.lungevity.org.

0
0
Leave a Comment
Donate to The Pitch
$775
$1000
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Walter Johnson High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
About the Contributor
Claudia Nguyen, Print Editor-in-Chief
Now in her last year at WJ, Claudia Nguyen is one of the print editors-in-chief and business manager for The Pitch. She has loved being a part of The Pitch family for the past two years, and is grateful to be a part of it for a third and final year. During school, Claudia can be seen in the hallways making awkward faces with friends, bursting into song, and laughing, perhaps a bit too loudly. Although she is an avid reader and writer, Claudia also enjoys other activities including swimming, soccer, and playing covers of modern music on piano. On the weekends, Claudia is also a swim coach for young children at the FINS swim clinic.
Donate to The Pitch
$775
$1000
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All The Pitch Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *