HEATHER SALER 9TH ANNUAL LUNG CANCER WALKSaturday November 3rd, 2012!!!Come join us for a 3.8 mile walk/fun run around Jack Curtis Stadium, Cooper River Park, Pennsauken, NJ.Reg 9am, Walk begins 10am.Face painting, balloons, food, auctions, speakers, musicand lots of fun, all to benefit lung cancer research-Lungevity.If you would like to volunteer to helpplease contact www.heatherswalk.comClick the link below to get to the lungevity site where you can donate:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The day is more than about raising money, it's about making a difference. Thank you, Heather, for bringing us together.
Heather Saler was one of the first patient advocates for LUNGevity's Lung Cancer Support Community. In 2004, Heather pioneered LUNGevity's first fundraising walk, in South Jersey, and raised $31,000. Before that, LUNGevity had not raised money through regional events.
Before her death in May 2008, Heather helped raised over $250,000! And there are now about 40 events across the country modeled after her walk.____________________________________________
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Thank you all for joining us at our first fundraiser:Heather Saler 9th Annual Lung Cancer Walk joins with Saladworks.With what we raised plus a big donation from Saladworks, we havea $500 Saladworks sponsorship!!!Great job !!!!_________________________Please view the attached link regarding our good friend Jill Feldman. Jill and Heather were good friends and both have been instrumental in the spirit of Lungevity!
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Cancer is so limited that:
It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot kill friendship
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the spirit
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Tyler Rudnick, Heather's son, wrote about his hero, his mom, for a school report. It is so heartfelt!!
Tyler Rudnick Language Arts 3/9/11 Period 5-6
My mom. There are so many words that come to mind when i think of her. Funny, vibrant, caring, and most importantly my hero. I picked my mother as my hero because to so many people she was a hero, including me. She was such a great mother. Always putting my needs before her own. Always taking me on a new adventure every day. I never knew what to expect when i woke up but i always knew i would have a great day just because she was there. There was never a time that she didn't make me smile or laugh. Even all my friends loved her and she loved all of them. They all thought of my mom as a second mother to them, and she thought of them as her own children. Always welcoming and warm. She really did make you feel at home when you walked in. Everything was just perfect until she got diagnosed with lung cancer.
At first no one would tell me what was wrong other then she was just sick because of my age. But I always knew it was more than that. She had to go into the hospital multiple times but came out within a few weeks. But as the "sickness" got worse she went into the hospital for longer periods of time and I was told that it was actually lung cancer. I couldn't bear to hear those words, and neither could my mom. But do you think she let that slow her down? No. she stayed stronger than ever. Even stronger than me. She battled cancer for 5 years. But she never showed a trace of doubt. She made sure she did everything she could to beat cancer and still had fun at the same time. She went on cruises and climbed waterfalls and went to beautiful islands with my step dad who supported her the entire time. It wasn't until my birthday that she got real bad. She went into the hospital after my party and stayed there for many months. She slowly got worse and everyone starting losing faith. But not her. Not my mother. she's too strong. She made the nurses give her all her medicine at the right time and worked on breathing exercises. The tests that the doctors held showed no sign of improvement. It took a turn for the worse. she quickly became worse and was told she may only have a few days to live. Most people wouldn't know how to handle hearing something like this. But, of course she could. She took it as a chance to live the rest of her life to the fullest. She made tons of jokes and made everyone laugh and never stopped smiling. I didn't know she had a few days left until my guidance counselor took me out of class to tell me my dad was here. He told me he wanted to go to the hospital with me. I knew right then she didn't have much time at all. When we got to the hospital all the nurses and doctors looked at me with the saddest eyes I have ever seen. I walked into the room and saw my mom smiling of course. I stayed and talked to her a little while. My grandma took me out into the hallway and told me they were going to make her fall asleep. After she fell asleep they would turn off the machines that helped almost all of her breathing. When i went back int the room i was only allowed to stay a few more minutes. But I couldn't even stay that long without crying. My mom knew once I left it would be the last time she saw me and this would be the last time I ever saw her too. I kissed her on the cheek and whispered "I love you". She whispered "I love you too". I hugged her and walked into the hallway and cried. I was at my grandmas for my grandpa's birthday party when my dad took me into my room and told me she had not made it. It took me a few hours to register what exactly he had just said, and when it hit me I cried all night long. but I can't let those feeling get in the way. I need to only remember the good times and stay strong like my mother had. It takes so much strength to forget all your troubles and just live life like she had. In the worst of times, she remained confident and fearless thoughout everything. May she forever remain in all of the hearts she has touched.
My family, friends and I, have a walk to help raise money for lung cancer research She has inspired so many people to have a walk of their own. She was the first person to have a lung cancer walk in this country. Now there are many across the country. She started the walk when she had cancer . When she passed away we named it The Heather Saler Lung Cancer Walk. Over 600 people attend the walk every year and we raise about One hundred thousand dollars a year towards research. It may be too late to save my mother but it's not too late to save people in the future. Hopefully one day there will be a cure for lung cancer. Until then we will have this walk every year until a cure is found. This is why my mother is my hero
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GIFT IDEA in remembrance of your loved ones! Memory Bears and more!Memorybearsandmore.com
Sunny Collard makes items by hand from your loved ones clothing that to me provides special memories.
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Thank you everyone who helped make our 2011 walk such a success! We had approximately 700 people who shared the day with us and together we raised over $102,000 for lung cancer research!
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We want to thank you all for a wonderful turnout. Heather would be proud of our efforts. We will extend the fundraising efforts throughout the year. Thank you all again
*We raised 88,471.00 for Lungevity in 2010
Brad Saler
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Heather was awarded the 'Lung Cancer Advocate' of the year from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center during the Lung Cancer Focus Day on October 22nd, 2010
Brad Saler accepting the award on behalf of Heather
from Medical Oncologist Dr. James Stevenson.--------------------------------------
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Thank you all again for your support.Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women and in every ethnic group. It will take the lives of:
Our goal is to increase awareness of this dreaded disease. CLICK HERE to look at the funding differences between all the cancers' research. Lung Cancer is being ignored. We need to change this.
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So, folks if you are reading this, you took the first step to be part of our family. We hope you are here because you are looking to find support for our unfortunate commonality. If so, you've found it. We are a small group of volunteers - Heather got us together - but we are together for you. We want to grow, raise awareness for our lung cancer fight, and find funds to give to bright doctors so they can cure this dreaded disease. Please join us for the walk; please help us plan if you can. Help us find sponsors, but most importantly please remember to praise and love all who have been touched by lung cancer. I thank you...Heather thanks you...for being a part of this movement. I promise, on behalf of our committee, to keep this going and continue to make a difference.
Sincerely,
BRAD SALER
