Purchase your Lung Cancer Patches here.
Please be sure to
indicate how many patches you want and your shipping address
The patch is 2.875” W and 4” tall,
has 6 colors total and has an Iron on backing if you don’t wish to sew it on.
Patches currently cost us $1.54 per patch and ALL profits above the cost and
mailing expenses go to benefit
the Vanderbilt Cancer Center lab equipment fund.
If you don't happen to wear patches, but will still like to contribute, you can do so by clicking below
Lung Cancer Sucks
The Patch project and beyond
 This is a picture of Lori, taken at our Grandmother's 90th Birthday Party |
 This is a recent picture of me taken at a recent bike show. |
 Dr. David Carbone. One of the people responsible for Lori being alive today. |
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For those of you who don't know me or what this is all about, please let me introduce myself. My name is Jeremy Whitehead otherwise known as GA Rainman on some of the motorcycle forums. That's me in the picture in the top right. I'm a 32 year old biker whose older sister Lori has stage 4 Lung Cancer. Since Lori was first diagnosed in 2001, I've been struggling with the issue and always wanted to help but really didn't know how. For some reason, I was lying in bed one night thinking about Lori and remembered being up at her place in Kentucky and seeing her daughters making these buttons that read "LUNG CANCER SUCKS". For some reason, that phrase stuck with me. As a biker, I have a patch vest that I have had patches sewn on that reflect who I am, what I ride and things that are personal to me. I decided that if I could have a quantity of patches made up and then sell them to my fellow bikers and then donate the profits to the people that are at the forefront of lung cancer research, that would certainly be a step in the right direction. There's not be a whole lot done in the biker community to support lung cancer research so I figured - it's gotta start somewhere.
When Lori was first diagnosed, the doctors told her to make preparations to die and gave her 6 months to live. As Lori was recently divorced and the mother of two teenage daughters, she decided not to accept this diagnosis and sought out many second opinions till she found one that finally gave her some hope. In the past few years, she has undergone 4 different surgeries to remove various cancer infected parts of her lungs and has managed to beat the odds and stay alive for 4 years now. It's been a hard road. She's undergone chemo and various cancer fighting drugs, but ultimately, it has been through the research and action of her oncologist, David Carbone and her surgeon, Matthew Ninan at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville that has allowed her this much time. At present, her most recent scans have not detected the presence of the cancers return, but we fear it is only a matter of time till it does.
Every year, lung cancer kills more people than the next 3 most common cancers (breast, colon and prostrate) combined. However, there is also a bigger picture- the NIH/NCI (National Cancer Institute) has completely dropped the ball for lung cancer. The research money from the federal government for breast cancer stands at $23,474 per breast cancer death, and $14,369 for prostate cancer per prostate cancer death, and only $ 1,829 for lung cancer per lung cancer death, HIV/AIDs funding is 30 times that of lung cancer.
My goal in creating this small project is to simply bring some awareness and raise a little money to help fight lung cancer. This is not a disease that you simply go get treated for then go about your life. It kills and kills quickly. The 5-year survivability for lung cancer is only at 15% (30 years ago it was 13%!). Lung cancer doesn't share the same successes that other cancer groups, such as prostate and breast do. The reason for this is mostly because the research simply has not been there for lung cancer. There are very few survivors; therefore very few advocates to bring attention to the disease. There is a negative stigma surrounding this disease.... placing the blame for lung cancer on the patient; the questions are always "...but you smoked, right?" Very few patients want to talk about having lung cancer. They mostly feel guilty about having the disease and what they are putting their families through. Even Peter Jennings, when he made his announcement on national TV, said "I'm sorry, I was weak and I smoked". This guilt-trip is unique to lung cancer...we don't question others about how they acquired their diseases such as heart attacks, diabetes II, or hypertension.... all of which are mostly avoidable with diet and exercise. 50% of patients diagnosed in 2005 will be in former-smokers, and another 10-15% in never-ever smokers. The truth is, any smoker--former or current is at risk for lung cancer and yet very few are screened, therefore 85% are diagnosed when the prognosis is only 6-10 months. 174,000 people will be diagnosed in 2005, and 163,500 will die from the disease.
With regards to the patch, it is 2.875" across and 4" high and features an iron on backing in case the owner doesn't want to sew it on. It currently costs me $1.54 each to produce them and I've been selling them for $4.50 each shipping included. ALL of the profits from this project are being donated to lung cancer research. Specifically, the lab at Vanderbilt is attempting to raise money to purchase a new piece of lung cancer research equipment. As you might suspect, this equipment is very expensive and therefore, every penny counts.
Today, Lori is healthy and strong. That could all change tomorrow or the next day after that. We just simply don't know until a cure is found. However, she has dedicated every spare moment these days to helping others and finding a cure. She has met with Governors, Senators and Congressmen trying to raise more funding for research. Her story was the topic of a Pulitzer Prize winning Wall St. Journal front page article by Amy Marcus. http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/SB108845334318249415.htm I know of no one who has been more at the forefront of the fight than my sister. We are all proud of her and this small project of mine is my simply way of trying to help her reach out to a segment of the population that is usually ignored - bikers. We will accept all donations large or small and will be happy to ship as many patches as you like. Please understand that we are not taking out ANY money for "administrative costs" or "consultants". This is one biker reaching out to other bikers. Every dime above the cost of producing these patches will be donated to the fund.If you would like to make a tax deductible donation and really aren't interested in the patches, please go to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's website at http://www.vicc.org/index.php
Bare in mind, the patch project isn't tax deductible as we are not a registered charity and don't have non-profit status with the government. Perhaps we'll do that in the future if we can generate enough donations and interest to cover the fees. The patch project is about as grassroots an effort as you can get. If you need a tax receipt for this, please consider giving to the center's lab equipment fund as that's where your money will be going anyway.
The future:
Eventually, we'd like to hold a Lung Cancer ride here in the North Georgia area sometime either in late fall 2005 or spring of 2006. To pull this off we're going to need volunteers who are willing to help, sponsors and riders Again, the proceeds of the ride will go to benefit lung cancer research. If you're interested and would like to either help work or ride, please send me an E-Mail at jeremywhitehead@comcast.net and I'll let you know when things get rolling.
Take care, ride safe and breath easy
Rainman