Famed Sportscaster Joe Buck To Team With Lung Cancer Alliance

Main Category: Lung Cancer
Article Date: 11 Jul 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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FOX's world-renowned sportscaster Joe Buck announced today that he has teamed up with Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA), the nation's leading advocacy organization representing those living with or at risk for lung cancer.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060710/DCM027 ) Buck knows first-hand the devastating effects of lung cancer, as his father, famed broadcaster Jack Buck, died from the disease in 2002. Buck's partnership with LCA is the first of its kind for the organization and the disease and will distinguish him as the inaugural member of the Lung Cancer Alliance All-Stars.

"I am proud to honor my father's memory by joining with Lung Cancer Alliance to raise awareness of lung cancer and its destructive effects on society," Buck said at a press event held prior to the Major League Baseball All-Star game in Pittsburgh, PA.

"Lung cancer has been ignored for far too long. Now is the time that we can all come together -- as a team -- to begin to make a real difference for people with lung cancer and those at risk. It has been done for other major cancers, with great success, and now it's lung cancer's turn. I am encouraging everyone touched by lung cancer, in the baseball community and beyond, to join me in this effort," Buck declared.

Federal funding for lung cancer research lags far behind dollars allotted to other, much less lethal cancers, and as a result, treatments and early diagnostic methods also lag far behind, contributing to the devastating mortality rate. Most lung cancers are not detected until it is too late.

"We're thrilled to be partnering with Joe Buck. We know he'll help us hit one out of the park in our effort to elevate lung cancer awareness and research funding," said Laurie Fenton, president of the Lung Cancer Alliance.

"Lung cancer has been stigmatized, misunderstood, ignored, and under funded for too long given its public health impact. In addition, the public health establishment has been slow to accept new technological advances in CT scanning that can diagnose lung cancer at an earlier, more treatable stage. I'm confident with Joe's help we can change this," said Fenton.

Through this partnership, LCA and Buck are encouraging people to log onto http://www.LungCancerAlliance.org and join the All-Star Team to learn more about the risks and detection methods for the disease, and sign the petition to support the call for lung cancer funding.

The Lung Cancer Alliance (http://www.LungCancerAlliance.org) is the only national non-profit organization solely dedicated to patient support and advocacy for people living with, or at risk for, lung cancer. As the number one cancer killer, lung cancer will kill more than 160,000 Americans this year alone, causing more deaths than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney cancers and melanoma combined. In January 2006, LCA issued the first-ever Report Card on Lung Cancer, an assessment of progress being made in the battle against this lethal disease. The majority of grades received were failing.

Lung Cancer Alliance
http://www.LungCancerAlliance.org

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