Danbury Resident Honors Mother: Breathe Deep Boston 5K Walk

Dawn

Dettmering, 42, of Danbury, has lost her great-grandparents, grandparents and now,

most recently her mother Barbara Scavarelli, to lung cancer. Scavarelli passed

away just a few months after celebrating her 60th birthday. To say

that the mission of raising awareness and funds to aide lung cancer research is

important to her -- is an understatement.

Before

Scavarelli, passed, she made her daughter promise that she would take care of

herself and do whatever she could to promote awareness of this disease. “Losing

so many people I love to lung cancer motivated my cousin Britta and me to find

an organization that focused specifically on research for Lung Cancer,” says

Dettmering. “Everyone knows about the big nonprofits that fund breast cancer

research or cancer in general, but we wanted to help an organization that is

dedicated to helping fund clinical trials and open studies while supporting

lung cancer patient care.  We finally

found that organization in LUNGevity.”

Keeping

her word, on Saturday, Nov. 2 at DCR’s Mother’s Rest Area at Carson Beach in

South Boston, “Team Barbara,” will walk 10 members strong alongside 2,000

participants in LUNGevity Foundation’s eighth annual Breathe Deep Boston 5K

Walk. Dettmering serves as the team’s captain and the group hopes to raise

$3,000 in her name.  The team is

comprised of three generations of family from aunts, cousins, spouses and

grandchildren.

“This

is a bitter sweet event for us as there are so few of us left as a result of all

of the family members we have lost to this disease,” says Dettmering.

Lung

cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States,

claiming approximately 160,000 lives every year. It can afflict anyone,

regardless of smoking history, gender, or ethnicity. Currently, only 16 percent

of people diagnosed with lung cancer survive five years post-diagnosis. With

early detection, there is hope of long-term survivorship.

After

witnessing the grave effects lung cancer had on her family and having a strong

medical background as a nurse, Scavarelli was terrified that lung cancer would one-day

catch up to her. The former smoker, who had quit more than a decade ago, was

healthy and got regular checkups to head off any cancerous cells and masses. But

after her best friend, Peggy, a non-smoker, was diagnosed with the disease she

made Scavarelli promise that she would get a full lung x-ray.  She too, kept her word, and doctors did find a

small satellite on her lungs. Initially they diagnosed her with residuals from

pneumonia early that year, but six months and another x-ray later, after the

mass didn’t clear, Scavarelli chose to be proactive and had a biopsy. Shortly

thereafter, she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.

“Her

medical team was unbelievable and went right to work,” said Dettmering.  “Knowing the value and importance of the

clinical trials, my mom always volunteered for any trials that she was

qualified for, hoping that even if it didn’t cure her, it would provide her

with more time to spend with her family and perhaps help someone else down the

line. Even in the face of this horrible disease she was thinking of others and

we know that these important trials need funding to continue.”

Founded

in 2006, the Breathe Deep Boston 5K Walk has alone raised more than $1 million

and its 2013 fundraising goal is $250,000. The event was founded by two lung

cancer patients, the late Rich Kaufman and the late Geri Norris, with the

support of a small group of family, friends and volunteers also touched by lung

cancer.

The

Breathe Deep Boston 5K Walk is one of more than 80 LUNGevity events that take

place annually across the country. Since 2002, they have collectively raised

more than $11.4 million. Participants often walk in honor of someone currently

battling lung cancer or in memory of someone lost to the disease. Individuals

and/or businesses are encouraged to sign up as teams. The walk will kick-off at

11 a.m. and the course is stroller and wheelchair-friendly.

“We

were all shocked when Peggy was diagnosed with lung cancer, and it’s certainly

changed my view of things, knowing that you don’t have to be a smoker to suffer

from this horrible disease,” says Dettmering.  “You can’t take your health for granted for

one second.”   

Those

interested in supporting Team Barbara can visit lungevity.org/boston, click on

the “donate to this event” button and enter the name Team Barbara to make a

donation to boost Team Barbara’s 

fundraising efforts.

To

register for the Breathe Deep Boston 5K Walk, set for Nov. 2, or to support a

walker, visit lungevity.org/boston or call (312) 407-6100. Participants may

enter discount code BREATHE for $5 off the registration fee. November is Lung

Cancer Awareness Month.