STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund Join Forces

Two leading lung cancer organizations unite to push for international efforts to eradicate lung cancer

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For more than three years, the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (http://www.lungcancerfoundation.org) in San Francisco and the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund (formerly Foundation) in Atlanta, have worked tirelessly back and forth across the country in their efforts to eradicate lung cancer.

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Now, as the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (BJALCF) prepares to celebrate its sixth anniversary in 2011, the organizers of the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund (JGLCF) have agreed to form a strategic alliance and pool their efforts with the California group. A long-time and generous donor to the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI), the Joan Gaeta group was launched as a foundation in 2007 when its namesake lost her courageous battle with lung cancer. They are changing their name to the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund, and have agreed to funnel significant amounts of their fundraising profits from their annual gala, "Dancing for Joan," and other efforts to support the work of ALCMI through BJALCF.

Why BJALCF and ALCMI? "Mom always believed in doing the right thing," says Joe Gaeta, president of JGLCF.  "I know if she were here right now, she would agree with us that this is the right thing to do. These are the two foundations moving the ball forward at a rapid speed and with the kind of urgency we needed forty years ago. I can't bring my mom back... but we can fight this disease together and make a real difference in the lives of others."

Bonnie J. Addario strongly agrees: "History shows that when people feel disconnected and their concerns are going unaddressed, it's time to coalesce toward victories to right injustices. There's power in numbers. With power comes influence. And with influence comes success. I have always considered Joe and the Gaeta family as part of our team and now what a great gift to make it official. Together, we are now one giant step closer to increasing the survival of this horrible disease."

JGLCF and BJALCF are joining their collective energy to change the landscape of lung cancer. Joe Gaeta will join the BJALCF Board of Directors and the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund, a BJALCF affiliate, will direct its fundraising efforts toward BJALCF and ALCMI projects and programs.

About Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (http://www.alcmi.net/)

Since it's inception on March 6, 2006, BJALCF has grown into the first international collaborative entity of its kind, raising over $4 million in its first four years and funding lung cancer research and early detection programs in many states and other countries. BJALCF hopes to become the global leader in the Lung Cancer movement. Two years after BJALCF began, the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) was created to connect the top thought leaders, scientists, researchers, and physicians from eight institutions worldwide, to date, and has engaged community hospitals to lead and empower patients toward better treatment options. Only immediate results-oriented projects or programs promising to catalyze progress through early detection, genetic testing, drug discovery and patient-focused outcomes are considered. The ultimate goal of BJALCF is to increase the inexcusably low survival rate of lung cancer by becoming the largest source of non-profit funding dedicated to turning lung cancer into a manageable chronic disease in our lifetime.

About the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Foundation (JGLCF)

Established in the fall of 2007, The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund was created as a foundation by her husband and children to raise awareness of the disease, to educate the public, and to be an advocate for research.  JGLCF also strive to eliminate the stigma of lung cancer and to support survivors and their loved ones.

A life long non-smoker, Joan was a devoted wife, teacher, and mother of five. Diagnosed in early 2004, she fought a three and a half year battle before succumbing to the cancer in July of 2007. During that time, Joan stressed the need for greater awareness of lung cancer (the number one cancer killer in the world), its low survival rate, and its tragic lack of research funds. She was most passionate about eliminating the stigma of the disease, since lung cancer also strikes non-smokers at a high rate.

SOURCE Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation