Survivor at Every Stadium: Chicago Bears #NFLPlayoffs

January 06, 2019


Survivor at Every Stadium: Chicago Bears #NFLPlayoffs
Survivor at Every Stadium: Chicago Bears #NFLPlayoffs

Chicago, IL. University of Chicago Cancer Center lung cancer survivor Diane Spry will represent Team Draft at Soldier Field on Sunday. Diane and her husband will watch the Chicago Bears take on the Philadelphia Eagles during week of the NFL Playoffs.

In 2014, Diane Spry’s life was going great.  She had a job she loved working in business development at a Ford dealership, and she was enjoying spending more and more time with her boyfriend, Robert.  When she developed a cough that lingered for close to a month, she didn’t think much of it, let alone guess that she was already fighting lung cancer

One Sunday evening, however, she and Robert were en route to a party when Diane realized that, for the first time in her life, she was wheezing and, perhaps more concerning, she had a deep pain in her upper left chest.  Robert and Diane decided to forgo the party and made a visit the ER instead.

While at the hospital, Diane learned that she had a blood clot, a pulmonary embolism in her right lung, and a mass on her left lung. She was admitted, underwent a bronchoscopy that Wednesday, and received her diagnosis on Friday: stage 3b non small cell adenocarcinoma. Diane was just 30 years old, had never smoked, and had no history of lung cancer in her family. Read More

I was diagnosed  with  stage  iv  lung  cancer  at  30  years old.  I  am  now  35 and  surviving!  ~ Diane Spry

In 2012, we launched our inaugural Team Draft Survivor Series initiative on CNN during a nationally-televised prime time special focusing on lung cancer and our National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer. Our Survivor at Every Stadium, leverages our connections with the NFL, its teams and players with our relationships with many of the top cancer centers in the country. As a part of our International Campaign, the games allow us to celebrate our survivors, raise awareness, and give hope to those battling the disease, as well as shine a light on the important work being done at cancer research and treatment centers around the country.

Team Draft’s goals are to create a unique experience for participating survivors and to raise awareness on a local, national, and international level by using each game and each survivor’s story to weave a broader narrative about the state of cancer and the hope that now exists for those battling the disease.

Team Draft’s fifth annual Lung Cancer Survivors Super Bowl Challenge kicked off on November 1, 2018. This unique fund raising challenge gives lung cancer survivors the opportunity to raise funds for public awareness and cutting-edge research that is giving new hope to those battling this often misunderstood disease. The top three fundraisers, Patty Watkins, Gina Hollenbeck and Jeff Meckstroth were announced on December 31, 2018, and they have earn trips to Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta, GA, the 2019 NFL Pro Bowl in Orlando, FL and the Taste of the NFL in Atlanta, GA. The survivors have an opportunity to share their powerful stories with key individuals with influence from across the country.

The Challenge is over but the fundraising continues until the day after the Super Bowl.

I  have  chosen  the Universiy  of  Chicago  as  the  beneficiary of  this  fundraiser.  I  have  chosen  this hospital because I  am  currently  in  a  clinical trial  there.  My amazing oncologist,  Dr. Patel,  is  at  the forefront  of lung cancer  research. She is leading  many  new clinical  trials  to  date. #RepChiTown #RepUChicagoCC

**The lung cancer survivors that raise over $5,000 will be able to designated a beneficiary (Cancer Center or LC Organization) that will receive 80% of their raised funds (-fees) and the remaining 20% will support Team Draft’s mission to change the face of lung cancer.

Special thanks to the Chicago Bears, Astra Zeneca, the NFL and all of our Team Draft supporters for helping make this event possible.

Donate now to Support the National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer!