Meet Carol Lendle, captain of Eau Claire Half Marathon Team Breathe:

The inspiration for becoming a lung cancer advocate is my late brother Don Stranathan.  He was diagnosed in June of 2009 with stage 4 NSCLC. He lived almost 11 years after that diagnosis and became a selfless advocate and helped countless others with their lung cancer journey.

Don had a five-year celebration on his “cancerversary” followed by a ten-year celebration last June. He turned that celebration into a fundraiser for GO2 for Lung Cancer. There was food, a band, several amazing speakers and staff from GO2 for Lung Cancer. It really was a life changing experience because I made the decision that day to become a lung cancer advocate.  I knew my brother Don was running out of time and even though I could never advocate like he did, I wanted to be a voice to educate people about lung cancer and the need for more funding for research.

I also met several of his friends who were bravely living with advanced lung cancer.  There was something magical about their energy, love of life and connection as lung cancer survivors and advocates. Many had traveled from all over the United States to be at this celebration.  Those friends continue to inspire me to be an active lung cancer advocate.

Fundraising is so important because lung cancer receives the least amount of government funding even though it is the leading cancer killer of men and women. Unfortunately, there is a misconception that if you don’t smoke, you won’t get lung cancer. Even though we know that radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers, we tend to focus on smoking and lung cancer. As a former public health nurse, I educated people about the dangers of smoking and helped educate people about smoking cessation resources.  This is still very important but unfortunately this has created a stigma for those living with lung cancer. Most people immediately wonder if the person smoked. I met several people at Don’s party that were non-smokers, young and otherwise healthy who were diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. I wanted to help raise awareness and funds to change the narrative around lung cancer going forward.

After Don’s party I connected with GO2 for Lung Cancer staff member, Susan, about her work with the Endurance Event program. Eau Claire Wisconsin, where I live, has an amazing marathon that I participate in. I had also made a connection with Kurt Jacobson, a former Lutheran pastor who had been diagnosed with stage 4 NSCLC. I had connected him to my brother Don who connected him with other ALK positive survivors. Kurt had a personal connection to the Eau Claire marathon race directors, and we approached them about having GO2 for Lung Cancer as a charity partner. We have a team of individuals that are running/walking and fundraising as well as a volunteer “cheer team” that will be at the marathon, if it is still held in person. The money paid to the cheer team and our other race volunteers will be given to GO2 for Lung Cancer.

Our team has four members which includes Kurt Jacobson who was diagnosed with stage 4 NSCLC in March of 2018. We all have been fundraising by sharing our individual GO2 fundraising pages on Facebook, email and just asking our family members to donate. After my brother Don passed in February of 2020, one of his memorials was for GO2 for Lung Cancer. That money has been directed to our Team Breathe for the Eau Claire marathon. I recently attended the Voices Summit and met with my elected officials, to advocate for more federal funding.  Later that week, our team participated in GO2 for Lung Cancer’s Summer Jam virtual 5K. We have raised over $6,500 to date. I feel it is important not only to raise funds but to raise awareness about lung cancer as well as radon.

I am motivated by my brother’s desire to continue living in order to help others. Although he ran out of time, I hope my efforts can also help others.

Thank you, Carol, and Team Breathe for honoring Don, raising awareness and funding critical to changing the narrative around and outcome of a lung cancer diagnosis. If you are inspired by your own Superman, click here to honor them by fundraising YOUR way.