Feb 6, 2008 7:51 pm US/Pacific
Fighting Back Against Lung Cancer
Jefferson Award Winner: Tracy Sestili
(CBS 5)
In the corner of a busy East Bay cafe, Tracy Sestili shares a cup of tea with a friend. But the two women also share a common purpose, raising awareness in the fight against lung cancer.
"We all believe that we need to raise awareness," says Tracy. "We all believe we need to find a cure."
A year and a half ago, Tracy started her own non-profit dedicated to informing families about detection and research of the number one cancer killer in America.
She says, "The goal is to have a centralized source of information for families and people who are diagnosed with lung cancer and affected by it... that they can have something that is easy to understand and helps them with decisions."
That's the kind of Information Lori Hope needed 6 years ago, when doctors discovered she had stage one lung cancer by chance, during an unrelated abdominal scan.
"When you are out there and you are searching for answers and you are so, you're so afraid and you need information, but you need it short and sweet and clear and in plain English because you are so overwhelmed," explains Lori.
Tracy was also overwhelmed: her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of 58.
So, from her home in San Francisco's North Beach, Tracy started the Beverly Fund, named after her mother, who died two years ago.
"My vision was to get the message out to as many people as possible that lung cancer is becoming an epidemic in the United States," says Tracy.
When Tracy isn't at her full time job working for TiVo, she is busy updating the Beverly Fund website or planning events to raise awareness, like last summer's "Kites for Cancer Awareness" day.
The Beverly Fund handed out 5500 bags and coffee sleeves to remind people November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month.
Tracy says, "It's very difficult to get behind a disease that has a stigma associated with it. People are ashamed they have it. Nobody wants to talk about it. And the bottom line is that it's a real problem in the United States. It kills more women and men every year than breast, colon, and prostate combined."
She says new developments like spiral CT scanning and genome testing can help high-risk patients with early detection. And while she knows she's just one voice, she's determined to make a difference
"I don't want to be sitting across from you 20 years from now saying, you know, I'm the lung cancer crusader who got lung cancer because we couldn't find it early enough. And that's the problem," Tracy says.
So for lending her voice to stop a silent killer, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Tracy Sestili.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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