Statement of Joe Buck on the Occasion of Joining the Lung Cancer Alliance’s National Awareness Effort

July 10, 2006
“Many have come to know me as the “voice” of Major League Baseball. Today, in honor of my father Jack Buck, who died of lung cancer four years ago, I am partnering with Lung Cancer Alliance to become a “voice” against lung cancer.

My family and I understand all too well the devastating effects of lung cancer. Because of these experiences, I am lending my voice and my heart to a cause that has for too long been ignored, stigmatized and misunderstood.

Consider this. Lung cancer is America’s #1 cancer killer taking the lives of over 163,000 people this year -- that is over four times the number of people who will fill the seats at PNC Park for the Major League Baseball All-Star game. That is also more than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney and melanoma cancer deaths combined.

The smoking stigma surrounding lung cancer and the sad fact that there are too few lung cancer survivors has resulted in a dismal level of support for lung cancer. Federal funding for research lags far behind dollars allotted to other major diseases. As a result, treatments and early diagnostic methods also lag far behind, contributing to lung cancer’s low survival rate.

This has got to stop. I know my father would agree with me that we must make fighting lung cancer a national health priority – deserving of the same level of compassion and support as all other major health diseases.

This is why I am delighted to be working with the Lung Cancer Alliance, the only national organization providing patient support and advocacy exclusive to those living with or at risk for lung cancer.

Now is the time that we can all come together - as a team - to begin to make a real difference for people with lung cancer or at risk for the disease. It has been done for other major cancers, with great success. Now it’s lung cancer’s turn. It has to be done. I am encouraging everyone touched by lung cancer, in the baseball community and beyond, to join me in this effort.”