Hyattsville Area Resident Walks to Support Lung Cancer Research in Honor of Mother, Cousin

For Jeanine Goldsmith, supporting family members diagnosed with lung cancer takes more than just cutting a check for a cause.

It means being a part of a Lung Cancer Awareness Month walk in honor of her mother, who died from the disease, and her cousin, who is now recovering from it.

“Usually, every year I donate money to the American Cancer Society, but I wanted to do more to feel like I was contributing,” Goldsmith said.

An Internet search gave her information about the LUNGevity Foundation’s Breathe Deep D.C. walk for lung cancer.

“When I found out they had a walk, I was like, ‘Great, I want to do it,’” she said.

Goldsmith raised almost $1,400 that will be used to help fund early detection research for the cancer.

The Hyattsville area resident was just 15 when her mother died of lung cancer in May 1997, only four months after being diagnosed. Her mother showed no signs of the disease until it had spread to other parts of her body.

“One day I hope to get married and have kids, but my mother will never be there to see me walk down the aisle or help me out with my kids or give me advice,” she said.

Last year, Goldsmith’s world turned cold again when her older cousin Lydia “Lottie” Jenkins, who stopped smoking 10 years ago, was diagnosed with lung cancer in the fourth stage.

“My cousin is like my second mother,” she said.

Goldsmith worries that she would have to see Jenkins through the same thing her mother faced.

According to LUNGevity.com, about 55 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked or are no longer smoking. Lottie is recovering from lung cancer now and was able to attend Breathe Deep D.C. in a wheelchair, Goldsmith said.

“My cousin Lottie is an example that there is hope,” she said. “I was with her through the whole thing. I saw her when she lost her hair and couldn’t walk. She was bedridden. To see her [out there], even though she couldn’t physically walk—that was inspirational.”

Goldsmith said she’s waiting for the day when people like her mother and cousin won’t only be first diagnosed until they reach stage four lung cancer. She believes researchers soon will find a way to detect the disease earlier.

Goldsmith plans to walk in the LUNGevity fundraiser each year. Her fundraising goal for next year is $2,000. 

“I feel like I have a call of action, like I must do something,” Goldsmith said. “I feel that my efforts will hopefully help someone overcome the disease so that their kids won’t be affected daily the way I am.”

Editor's Note: To read more stories about great things people are doing, check out the Huffington Post's Greatest Person of the Day series.