Free to Breathe 5K to spotlight insidious nature of lung cancer

We do it all day, every day, so it’s easy to take breathing for granted. But those who have been diagnosed with lung cancer never will.

According to the Lung Cancer Foundation of America (LCFA), in Nevada, an estimated 1,700 residents will be diagnosed with the disease this year. To help combat it, the inaugural Las Vegas Free to Breathe 5K Run/Walk is planned for April 23 at Sunset Park, 2601 E. Sunset Road, to raise money for funding research.

At the helm of the event is Courtney Friedman, Beginning/Lower School librarian and technology integrationist at The Meadows School. Friedman, a Summerlin resident, decided to do the event in honor of her late mother, Kathleen, whom she described as positive and upbeat, family-oriented and always a dreamer.

Kathleen Friedman, a longtime smoker, was 58 when she died from lung cancer. The disease is easily masked, and Courtney said her mother wasn’t aware she even had it.

In October 2002, Kathleen tripped and fell, fracturing her shoulder. The X-ray showed something more there — a tumor.

Other X-rays were taken, as well as biopsies. More tumors were found — in her brain and on her spine. Doctors traced it back to the lungs.

“We had no idea,” Courtney said. “There were so many symptoms that were attributed to other things. When she had trouble breathing, the doctors attributed it to her being overweight. When her back hurt, she got a cortisone shot. … all those years (while the disease was progressing), we could have done something differently.”

Courtney, an only child who was 19 at the time, interrupted her college studies to care for her mother. They passed the time reminiscing and talking about the trip they’d always planned to take to Barcelona, Spain.

Her mother died less than three months after the fall that broke her shoulder.

“Free to Breathe — their goal is to fund research to increase the survival rate and double it by 2022,” Courtney said.

She said the organization asks questions such as ‘How do we catch things earlier?”; “If we don’t, how can we treat them better?”; and “What medication should we be using?”

“There are a lot of new things out there,” she said.

Lung cancer kills more people than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined, according to the American Cancer Society, yet the LCFA said its research funding lags behind all those types of cancers.

According to its site, lcfamerica.org, the five-year survival rate for lung cancer remains at 17 percent, almost the same as it was in 1971.

Part of the problem is that people may not be aware they have lung cancer until it’s progressed.

“Lung cancers grow at varying rates,” said Dr. Brian Lawenda, a board-certified radiation oncologist with 21st Century Oncology. “Some grow very slowly (years), while others can grow and spread quickly (months). As lung cancers grow, they can cause symptoms, such as increasing shortness of breath, cough, blood in the sputum, pain, unexplained weight loss, neck or facial swelling, new hoarseness and, occasionally, hormonal and neurological changes.”

The American Lung Association is working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research, according to its website, lung.org. The association fights lung disease in all its forms, with a special emphasis on asthma, tobacco control and environmental health. Its Better Breathers Clubs offer the chance to learn ways to cope with lung diseases and get support. Additionally, its Lung Connection Community is an online forum for members to discuss how lung disease is affecting them and share their life experience with their peers.

Lawenda said that new or worsening pulmonary symptoms need to be evaluated by the patient’s physician as soon as possible.

“Most of the time,” he said, “these symptoms are not going to be due to a cancer. But being cautious and getting checked out is still very important. Never ignore any of these symptoms.”

Registration and check-in for the 5K are set from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., with the run to start at 9 a.m. Registration is $35 for the run and $20 for the walk, with reduced rates for early signups.

Email lasvegasfreetobreathe@gmail.com or visit freetobreathe.org.

To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.