Nancy Grace to Emcee 4th Annual "Dancing for Joan" in Marietta to Benefit Lung Cancer

Feb. 10, 2011 - PRLog -- The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund has announced that HLN Host Nancy Grace will emcee their annual DANCING FOR JOAN fund raiser for the third year in a row. Ms. Grace will once again join Honorary Chairman Paul Scheinberg, Chief of Staff at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta, to lead this festive evening of cocktails, dinners, dancing, and silent auction. 85% of the net proceeds from the event will benefit the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI).  ALCMI connects the top thought leaders, scientists, researchers, and physicians from no less than eight institutions worldwide to date and has engaged community hospitals to lead and empower patients toward better treatment options. The remaining funds raised from the event will be used for awareness campaigns and support groups in the metro Atlanta area in 2011.

The event will be held at the Pavilion of East Cobb, 736 Johnson Ferry Road in Marietta on Saturday, February 26th, 2011. DANCING FOR JOAN honors the late Joan Gaeta's love of dancing with this call-to-action in the fight against lung cancer. It is an exciting and fun way to honor important contributors in the crusade against the disease, to educate guests, and to raise the funds needed for awareness campaigns, research, and support.

Tickets and sponsorship packages can be purchased at www.dancingforjoan.org.

Last year's third annual event raised over $30,000 and enabled The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund to fund initiatives such as research and clinical trials being worked on at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

LUNG CANCER FACTS

-Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States - 1 in every 3 cancer deaths.
-It kills more people than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney, and melanoma cancers combined.
-It kills more than three times as many men as prostate cancer.
-It kills more than twice as many women as breast cancer.
-It kills an average of 450 people per day in the United States alone.
-You do not have to smoke to get lung cancer.
-Over 60% of new cases are diagnosed in never-smokers or former smokers who quit decades ago.
-Lung Cancer in those who have never smoked kills more Americans each year than AIDS.
-1 in 5 women diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked.
-The five year survival rate of lung cancer is only 15% - the same as it was over 35 years ago.
-Federal research funding per cancer death, 2007: Breast - $24,000, Prostate - $12,000, Lung - $1,400

ABOUT NANCY GRACE

Nancy Grace is television's only justice themed/interview/debate show, designed for those interested in the breaking crime news of the day. Grace challenges guests on the most high-profile legal issues of the day by drawing on her unique perspective as a former violent crimes prosecutor and as a crime victim herself.  Nancy Grace provides viewers with a clear understanding of not only the top crime stories, but also the  cases often overlooked.

ABOUT THE BONNIE J. ADDARIO LUNG CANCER FOUNDATION AND THE ADDARIO LUNG CANCER MEDICAL INSTITUTE

Since it’s inception on March 6, 2006, BJALCF has grown into the first international collaborative entity of its kind, raising over $4 million in its first four years and funding lung cancer research and early detection programs in many states and other countries. BJALCF hopes to become the global leader in the Lung Cancer movement. Two years after BJALCF began, the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) was created to connect the top thought leaders, scientists, researchers, and physicians from eight institutions worldwide, to date, and has engaged community hospitals to lead and empower patients toward better treatment options. Only immediate results-oriented projects or programs promising to catalyze progress through early detection, genetic testing, drug discovery and patient-focused outcomes are considered. The Ultimate goal of BJALCF is to increase the inexcusably low survival rate of Lung Cancer by becoming the largest source of non-profit funding dedicated to turning Lung Cancer into a manageable chronic disease in our lifetime.

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ABOUT THE JOAN GAETA LUNG CANCER FUND

A life long non-smoker, Joan Gaeta was diagnosed with lung cancer in early 2004, she fought a three and a half year battle before succumbing in July of 2007.

During that time, Joan stressed the need for greater awareness of lung cancer, its low survival rate, and its tragic lack of research funds. She was most passionate about eliminating the stigma of the disease, since lung cancer also strikes non-smokers at a high rate.

The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund was created in the fall of 2007 as The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Foundation by her husband and children to raise awareness of the disease, to educate the public, and to be an advocate for research. We also strive to eliminate the stigma of lung cancer and to support survivors and their loved ones in our local community.

In July of 2010, we re-established ourselves as the The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund benefitting the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI).

www.forjoan.org