LEWISTON — The diagnosis of lung cancer is devastating, not just for the seriousness of the disease, but the stigma that comes with it. Free ME from Lung Cancer seeks to reduce the suffering caused by a diagnosis of lung cancer by raising much needed money for research, education and community support.

Three Save Your Breath events were held in November in Augusta, South Portland and Lewiston.

“November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and an excellent time to acknowledge and support patients of this too-often forgotten and neglected disease, which kills more people than any other type of cancer,” said Debra Violette, president and founder of Free ME from Lung Cancer and herself a lung cancer survivor.

“The stigma society places on those who have lung cancer make them feel as though they caused their own illness, regardless of whether or not they smoke,” she said. “We can blow away that destructive haze with better education about what really causes lung cancer and what can be done to prevent or cure it.”

“It is not just a smoker’s disease. Anyone can get lung cancer. If you have lungs you can get lung cancer,” said Violette. “Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer. It is the second leading cause of all deaths. Yet lung cancer research continues to be woefully underfunded in comparison to other major cancers. We can change these statistics one step at a time and that’s what the Save Your Breath events are all about.”

The inaugural Save Your Breath one-mile walk hosted by the University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn nursing students Catherine Prendergast, Regina Marie Preston, Chelsea Dawn Hebert and Leah Beauboeuf and Free ME from Lung Cancer was held Nov. 16 at USM-LAC. More than 30 participants made the walk, raising more than $1000.

The money raised will support Free ME from Lung Cancer’s mission – research, education and community support. Vendors who participated were Claire Guy, reflexologist; Bill Stilwell, Radon Section Leader from the State of Maine Environmental Health; and University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn nursing students.