Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Foundation Donates $15,000 to Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) for Lung Cancer Research

ALCMI's founding organization, the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer (BJALCF) has been conducting an ongoing "One in a Million" advertising campaign to raise $20 from one million people in the belief that small donations add up. Generously donated by CBS Outdoor and friends of the Foundation to raise awareness for lung cancer, the ads currently appear on buses and billboards in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Atlanta.

"When it comes to raising money for an inexcusably underfunded disease like lung cancer, the money is going to come from people who care like the Gaetas," said Bonnie J. Addario. "I consider this donation a collective voice of 750 people. To me, the Gaeta Foundation and their donors are a part of our One-In-A-Million movement. Together, we are now one step closer to increasing survival of this horrible disease."

"As someone who has been involved with my own lung cancer non-profit for just over a year, I am all too aware of the challenges we face in capturing hearts and minds with our common cause," said Joe Gaeta. "The BJALCF One In A Million ad campaign on city buses and billboards remains the only high-profile visibility lung cancer gets."

On the eve of Bonnie J. Addario's five-year anniversary of surviving lung cancer, the Gaeta Foundation announced their first donation explicitly geared toward lung cancer treatment research. The foundation is donating $15,000 to the newly-created Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI). "Our mission statement includes advocating for research," said foundation president Joe Gaeta, who established the Gaeta Foundation after his mother Joan died of lung cancer. "We believe that ALCMI and its collaboration model will advance the research and treatment of lung cancer and finally begin to increase the survival rate of this horrible disease - a 15.5% survival rate that has remained virtually unchanged for nearly 40 years. We are extremely confident that ALCMI is the single-best use of our research funds for lung cancer." The donation resulted from the Foundation's second annual "Dancing for Joan" Dinner Gala, held in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 21, 2009, and emceed by CNN's Nancy Grace.

About the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation

Founded by Lung Cancer survivor Bonnie J. Addario on March 6, 2006, BJALCF (www.lungcancerfoundation.org) is one of the nation's largest philanthropies devoted exclusively to eradicating Lung Cancer. The non-profit organization works with a diverse group of physicians, organizations and individuals to identify solutions and make timely and meaningful change through research, early detection, education, prevention, and treatment. Contact: Sheila Von Driska, Executive Director, 415.357.1278, sheila@lungcancerfoundation.org

About ALCMI

Concerned by the continued lack of meaningful progress against Lung Cancer, in 2006-2007, the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation assembled the field's foremost researchers, clinicians, and business leaders from academic and community medical centers, biopharmaceutical companies, and the investment community in order to ask a fundamental question: "If money for research and development was not a barrier, and a true collaboration could be achieved, what would you require to achieve a cure for Lung Cancer in the least amount of time?"

The overwhelming consensus response was to establish a national, virtual Lung Cancer institute--an honest third-party broker that would develop and direct high-quality tissue specimen repositories, data systems, and fostered collaborations. As a result, Lung Cancer survivor Bonnie J. Addario established the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) in 2008 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

ALCMI is dedicated to catalyzing and accelerating the discovery, development and delivery of new and more effective treatment options for Lung Cancer patients. Contact: Tony Addario, CEO, taddario@alcmi.net

About the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Foundation

Established in the fall of 2007, The Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Foundation was created to raise awareness, to educate the public, and to be an advocate for research. They also strive to eliminate the stigma of lung cancer and support survivors and their loved ones in our local community. A life long NEVER-smoker, Joan Gaeta was a devoted wife, teacher, and mother of five. Diagnosed in early 2004, she fought a three and a half year battle before succumbing to the cancer in July of 2007. Contact: Joe Gaeta, 404.435.7376,

For additional information, please contact:

Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation/
Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI)
Sheila Von Driska/415.357.1278