When Opportunity Knocks You've Got To Answer

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Lisa Moran on June 6, 2023.  As a cherished member of LungCancer.net and a source of inspiration, Lisa generously and bravely shared her journey, touching and inspiring many in our community. Her courage fuels our mission, and her legacy will endure in our work. Her absence will be deeply felt, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to all who held her dear. We consider it a privilege that Lisa allowed us into her life, leaving an indelible mark on our hearts and our community.

I participated in the 2017 Team Draft Lung Cancer Survivors Super Bowl Challenge (LCSSBC). I was the third highest fundraiser, earning a trip to the Taste of the NFL in Houston, TX during Super Bowl LI weekend.

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet and share my lung cancer story with celebrities, current, alumni and Hall of Fame NFL Players.

My motivation to enter the 2020 Team Draft LCSSBC

I decided in January 2019 that I would enter the 2020 Team Draft LCSSBC. I set my fundraising goal at $50,000. I was going to be the highest fundraiser and earn my trip to the Super Bowl to watch the Browns play in their first Super Bowl appearance in my lifetime.

Yes, I know. But one can dream. You don't have to follow football to know the Browns didn’t make it to the Super Bowl. Each Sunday, the slightest chances of the Browns going to the Super bowl got slimmer and slimmer to no chance at all. They didn’t even make the playoffs.

Sometimes opportunity knocks twice

My Browns were out but I was not going to back down from the Challenge. I made a commitment to myself and to the lung cancer community. I had a goal to raise $50,000 or more for my cancer center, the University of Colorado Cancer Center.

You may have heard about their lung cancer program or have seen one of their many researchers and oncologists speaking on panels. Chances are you or someone you know with lung cancer has benefited or is currently on a treatment that was researched and developed at CU Cancer Center. Their treatment developments have prolonged and saved survivors’ lives around the world, not just in Colorado and the United States.

I was the second highest fundraiser in the 2020 LCSSBC. I earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in Miami, FL.

The honor of representing

I had an idea of what the Pro Bowl trip to Miami would hold. But this time was different than the Taste of the NFL trip. I had three more years of lung cancer under my belt. I took the lack of research funding personally. More research could have possibly saved many, if not all, of my lung cancer friends that ran out of treatment options and time.

This trip wasn’t just me sharing my story. I was educating and enlightening everyone I spoke with about lung cancer while I was representing all those that have passed and all the lung cancer survivors that haven’t found their inner advocates yet.

No more missing out

There is a sense of urgency in the lung cancer community. We don’t have time to wait. It's up to us to step up. We need a team of 32 survivors, partnered with their cancer centers, every single year, to make the impact and take one hundred percent advantage of the platform the NFL has provided the lung cancer community.

We can’t continue to skip out on the opportunities to raise lung cancer awareness and the possibilities of raising millions of research dollars a year.