Lung cancer advocate Atkinson U.S. Open pledge
13 May 2008 by Wendi Lewis under Events
Last week I helped spread the word that Lung Cancer Alliance advocate John Atkinson has been selected by Golf Digest magazine to play the U.S. Open golf course, on Father’s Day, June 15, as part of a celebrity foursome with NBC Today Show’s Matt Lauer, entertainer Justin Timberlake, and NFL star Tony Romo. He plans to use the opportunity to advocate for lung cancer awareness and research. NBC Sports will broadcast the celebrity event from 2-3 p.m. ET, where John hopes to break 100 on the tough Torrey Pines course.
John was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer a little more than a year ago at age 38. He was selected from among 56,000 people who entered a contest sponsored by Golf Digest, the United States Golf Association and NBC Sports to play the U.S. Open Course as part of the celebrity team. You can read more of his inspiring story at Golf Digest online.
In addition to raising awareness, John and the Lung Cancer Alliance would like to use this event as an opportunity to raise funds for lung cancer research. They are encouraging people to make a donation or pledge to LCA in John’s honor. There’s even a great idea for a “game day” event, where lung cancer awareness supporters can collect pledges and host a pledge party with family and friends. John is urging donors to consider doubling their pledge amount if he breaks 100!
Visit the Lung Cancer Alliance U.S. Open pledge page for donation information, pledge party forms, and links for help and more information.
What a GREAT opportunity to raise the profile of lung cancer awareness, and communicate to America – and beyond – what an important issue this is for national health! Watch for John in the coming weeks, as he is scheduled to appear on national news programs like NBC Nightly News, The Today Show and The Tonight Show. I’ll try to update when his appearances are scheduled.

Comments to “Lung cancer advocate Atkinson U.S. Open pledge”
Thank you so much for your comment. It is so good to see that people are
willing to help speak out about mesothelioma, to raise awareness of the
disease and the dangers of asbestos. I hope that people like John and
groups like LCA are successful in their efforts to secure funding for
cancer research.
Wendi
sorry to hear he passed away yesterdy.
peace.
patrick h.
Hi Patrick,
We were too.
There's a new post on the myMeso site today with a link
to a very nice tribute video that Matt Lauer presented this morning on
The Today Show. It's very touching. He was a remarkable man with a
wonderful, positive and giving spirit.
Wendi L. Lewis
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