Bud's Walk for LUNGevity Sat, Nov. 7

[Aikigreg]

As many of you know, our own Bud Baker as diagnosed with lung cancer
in 2007. I am asking for the LSR community for some help in the
cause. Many of us bent riders will be walking with Bud this Saturday
and we'd like your support. Please read Bud's Words below and
contribute what you can. I am personally matching dollar-per-dollar
riased by RBENT and LSR up to 150 dollars. His wife Rose is usually
the big cheerleader, but is having surgery related to Breast cancer
this weekend. Bud Says:

The 2009 DFW Walk/Run for LUNGevity event will be on November 7th, at
9:00 am at River Legacy Park.

Those who know me know that I'm not much for fund raising events. The
monster fund raising organizations that spend more money on themselves
than research just don't do it for me.

But I make an exception for this event for several reasons. First, as
most of you already know, I am a lung cancer survivor. Believe me,
there are few words to hear that are more terrorizing than, "You have
lung cancer." Most people diagnosed with the disease are dead within a
year. The five year survival rate is just 15 percent. Lung cancer
kills more people than the next five deadliest cancers combined.

And lung cancer research is the most under-funded of any major
disease. Lung cancer causes thirty five percent of all cancer deaths,
yet gets less than five percent of cancer research funding. There have
been major advancements in recent years in the treatments for most
cancers, but not lung cancer.

This event is hosted by Katie Brown. She lives in North Richland
Hills, and is the founder of the Lung Cancer Support Community web
site, one of the largest online lung cancer support groups, which she
later merged with the LUNGevity Foundation. Katie, who lost her father
to lung cancer in 2004, is a tireless advocate for lung cancer
research funding and patient and caregiver support.

The LUNGevity Foundation is a grass roots organization composed
completely of volunteers. There are no six figure executives in this
group. What it collects is used for research.

I have been very lucky so far, an almost two year survivor who is
still a long distance cyclist. That's pretty much unheard of. It
compels me to do what I can to try and help patients of this disease.
I participate in online lung cancer support forums. I attend monthly
meetings of a local lung cancer support group. I have accepted a
position as a consumer reviewer on a Department of Defense peer review
panel for proposed lung cancer studies. I've already done part of the
work for that online, and I'll be flying to Washington, DC in January
for the rest of it.

And I serve as a survivor speaker at this event. With Rose's upcoming
surgery making her uncertain for the event, I'm also the one who is
putting together a team for the event this year. I'm not much of a
walker, but I'll do the 5k walk on this day. To join my team, go to
this page (and search for my team name: Bud's Bunch). If you just want
to donate, you can do that at my page. The walk's main web page is
here. I'd love to see those who can make it out to walk with me. And
if you can't go, online donations are accepted and appreciated. It was
a good turnout of folks at last year's event.

Here is the webpage to donate or walk:
http://events.lungevity.org/site/TR?px=1479241&fr_id=1940&pg=personal