When you hear lung cancer do you immediately picture a chain smoker [1] that inhales a pack a day? Sadly, this isn’t the case. 3,400 people die as a result of secondhand smoke each year.
DoSomething.org member [2] Kelcey Harrison looks to run circles around this issue (literally!). She’s jogging across country this July—starting in NYC and ending in San Francisco.
Harrison was inspired to take action after a good friend’s unexpected death from lung cancer. It's the number one cancer [3] killer in both men and women. Check out our interview with the inspiring 24-year-old.
DoSomething.org: Can you tell us about your friend Jill?
Kelcey Harrison: Jill was diagnosed with lung cancer in the summer of 2009. She was just 21-years-old. She spent the next year of her life living with great grace, courage, beauty, and spirit. (Jill died at 22.)
DS: How did she inspire your cross-country jog/the Jog for Jill program?
KH: [She] spent countless hours raising awareness for lung cancer with the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation. The first Jog for Jill [4] was held on the Cal campus when she was still alive. After her passing, Jill’s Legacy was born. Our mission is to carry on her dream to beat lung cancer.
DS: Where does your run start/end?
KH: I will touch my toes in the Atlantic Ocean. Then make my way west, to end in San Francisco and touch my toes in the Pacific. The run will start on July 29. And should take about 4 months, if I average 30 miles per day. (Whoa, we're BEYOND impressed.)
DS: Are you running alone?
KH: I am. There is no team, but I have recruited some friends [and kind strangers] to meet me along the way.
DS: What do you hope to accomplish through this?
KH: I am not sure where to set my sights in terms of a fundraising goal, but I would hope to raise over $20,000.
DS: What future plans do you have for continuing Jill's Legacy?
KH: We are launching a new campaign called “What Can You Do with Your Lungs?” The idea is [to have] videos of people telling the world what they can do with their lungs.