MADE IN ISRAEL * FASMONS FOR

* ABSOLUTE FREEDOM * PRANA

Wishing our clie fi4s y family & Mends
a happy & h alibi, Passover

rr.

inning
April 161fi
'pen mo
12-4

Against Cancer (USAC), a student
group devoted to cancer awareness
and advocacy.
I found a mentor in USAC member
Nina Catalfio, a junior who had lost
her father to lung cancer. With Nina's
help, I persuaded Whole Foods Market
in Ann Arbor to place LUNGevity
donation boxes by their registers and
the Friars, a popular U-M a cappella
group, to donate a portion of their
spring concert proceeds.

Support Builds
The next year, as a sophomore, I coor-
dinated the first annual LUNGevity
Walk-a-thon in Ann Arbor. In the
initial planning stages, I soon realized
that I had absolutely no idea what I
was doing. Fortunately, I met Dr. David
Reisman, a thoracic oncologist at
the U-M Cancer Center, and his wife
Melissa, who became invaluable advis-
ers.
On April 3, 2005,
more than 100 par-
ticipants — includ-
ing lung cancer
survivors and their
families, students
and members of the
Ann Arbor and Metro
Detroit communities
— gathered on the
U-M Diag for our
walk and rally. After several months of
fundraising endeavors, walkers raised
more than $10,000 for the LUNGevity
Foundation. At the rally, Missy deliv-
ered a moving speech about her own
struggle and the need for a cure.
The event gained momentum the
following spring with the added sup-
port of my co-coordinator Yelena
Adelman, a student who lost her
mother to the disease.
On April 9, 2006, participation more
than doubled and 14 teams of walkers
raised more than $25,000.
As the Ann Arbor Walk-a-thon
grew, so, too, did the foundation itself.
Now, less than seven years since its
inception, LUNGevity has committed
to co-funding more than $3.4 million
in support of innovative lung-cancer
research.

Upcoming Walk
Defying medical predictions, Missy
lived to shape the organization and to
witness its transformation until she
lost her courageous battle on Jan. 2,
2007.
In her honor, the foundation recent-
ly created the Melissa Lumberg Zagon
Memorial Fund, a research grant that
will be given annually. Our third Ann
Arbor walk, scheduled for Sunday
April 15, is dedicated to Missy and all
proceeds will be donated to the MLZ
Fund.
At the end of his essay "The
Median is Not the Message Stephen
Jay Gould disputed those who
equated the acceptance of death with
innate dignity. While he hoped to
face the end bravely, he wrote, "I find
nothing reproachable in those who
rage mightily against the dying of the
light."

The LUNGevity Foundation is
the only nonprofit organization
exclusively devoted to funding
lung-cancer resea. -ch.

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ORTHODONTICS

ADULTS & CHILDREN

From the moment of her diagnosis,
Missy's determination to beat the
odds never faltered. And although
her efforts on behalf of LUNGevity
did not save her own life, she brought
much needed hope to countless oth-
ers.
As I prepare for my post-college
future, I will carry two lessons Missy
taught me: Think beyond yourself
and always remember that attitude is
everything.

Kate Schmier is a senior at the University

Steven M. Lash, DDS, MS
Rebecca L. Rubin, DMD, MS

248-851-7272

6177 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, Michigan

www.lashorthodontics.com

of Michigan and a co-coordinator of the

Find Your Breath LUNGevity Walk-a-thon

in Ann Arbor. To find out more about the

Members

American Association of Orthodontists

April 15 walk, e-mail her at

schmier®umich.edu or visit the Web site
www.lungevity.org/findyourbreath.

March 29 a 2007

23