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News Release
Grays Peak Climb to Benefit Lung Cancer Research, Treatment
AURORA, Colo. (Aug. 18, 2005) — The stamina and drive needed to summit a 14,000-foot peak have an important symbolic relationship with the adversities faced by those who suffer from lung cancer. On Saturday, Aug. 20, dozens of hikers will face that challenge as they climb to the top of Grays Peak to raise awareness and proceeds for lung cancer research during the seventh annual See You at the Top! Summit to Cure Lung Cancer.
Proceeds raised from the climb will benefit the University of Colorado Hospital Center for Integrative Medicine, one of the first of its kind in the Rocky Mountain region. The center emphasizes wellness and healing through the integration of western and complementary, or alternative medicine.
Each year, the climb is held in memory of the late Ethel Mendel, a Denver woman who survived two years of chemotherapy treatment for lung cancer. In 1998, Mendel's family established the Mendel-Asarch Family Lung Cancer Foundation, which has sponsored the hike since its inception. As in past years, participants from around Colorado and the United States will make the climb this year to honor those they have lost to cancer and those who are fighting the disease.
Venus Mann, a breast cancer survivor and the business administrator at the University of Colorado Hospital Center for Integrative Medicine, said the center is providing cancer patients and others with unique programs and services as well as a level of care that is second to none.
"The Mendel-Asarch Foundation had a dream of creating a place where cancer patients could receive treatments and care they couldn't find anywhere else," Mann said. "Along the way, those who participate in the annual climb to benefit the center have grown into a close-knit family of people strongly committed to reaching their goal of increasing and improving lung cancer awareness, research and treatment."
The Mendel-Asarch Family Lung Cancer Foundation has hosted the climb for the past six years, and recently fulfilled a $250,000 pledge to the Center for Integrative Medicine. Although the climb may continue under other auspices, this will be the last year the foundation will host the event.
According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. More people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined. This year, some 172,570 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. Of those, 163,510 people will die of the disease, which can strike both smokers and non-smokers alike.
Grays Peak, rising to some 14,270 feet, is one of Colorado's "fourteeners," a group of mountains over 14,000 feet. The peak is only 45 minutes from Denver, west on Interstate 70 at exit 221. All climbers are encouraged to participate and enjoy spectacular views of Colorado's Rocky Mountains in an organized, fully supported hike. Registration is $25 per person, and climbers have the option of pledging an additional $75 to the foundation.
University of Colorado Hospital is the Rocky Mountain region's leading academic tertiary care and referral center, and has been recognized as one of the United States' best hospitals, according to U.S. News & World Report. Located in Denver and Aurora, Colo., the hospital is part of the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, in the University of Colorado system. For more information, visit the Web site at www.uch.edu.
For more information about See You at the Top! Summit to Cure Lung Cancer, and to register for the climb, visit www.seeyouatthetop.org, or call the office of development at the University of Colorado Hospital at (303) 724-5309. Those who would like to volunteer should call the Center for Integrative Medicine at (720) 848-1080.