Mother-son duo leads team to silence lung cancer

For many people in the Canton community, Joe Molinari was known as a kind-hearted man who loved to play with his grandson and friends and could often be seen driving around town in a restored vintage red convertible. For Susan Molinari, 45, of Canton, Joe was her father, a man with a larger than life personality who enjoyed life and paved the way for his children and grandchildren to do the same.

Joe was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer in 2010, a diagnosis that shocked him and his family when he went to the doctor after experiencing neurological problems, but no signs of shortness of breath or chest pain. At the time of his diagnosis, the cancer had metastasized to his brain. He underwent intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Eight months later, he succumbed to the disease at the age of 68.

On Saturday, Nov. 2, Susan will honor her father by walking in the LUNGevity Foundation’s eighth annual Breathe Deep Boston 5K Walk. She will be among the expected 2,000 people to participate in the one-day fundraising event with the collective goal of raising $250,000 to fund critical lung cancer research, advocacy and support across the country.

“I found the LUNGevity Foundation’s annual Breathe Deep Boston 5K Walk when researching for organization’s that raise awareness and funds to support lung cancer specific initiatives,” says Susan. “Lung cancer touches across a wide variety of people. It’s not just smokers or older people who are affected by this disease. It can happen to anyone.” 

Susan will lead “Nono’s Red Convertibles,” a returning team representing the Molinari’s friends and family members formed in her father’s honor. They will walk 15 members strong wearing t-shirts that are a solid red, her father’s favorite color. Together, they hope to raise $1,000 for the cause.

One member of the team, Susan’s son, Griffin Lincoln, 11, goes above and beyond with his fundraising to help silence lung cancer as a tribute to his nono, the word for grandfather in Italian. “My son, Griffin, and my dad had a wonderful relationship in which my dad would go to all of my son’s hockey and baseball games and was considered to be a grandfather figure to many of Griffin’s friends,” says Susan. “Since his passing, Griffin has walked as part of our team in the Breathe Deep Boston 5K Walk. He has also raised close to $15,000 for pediatric cancer patients at Boston Children’s Hospital over the last two years and has collected Halloween candy for patients at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in my father’s memory. He and I share the same mindset: we will do anything we can do to help current and future cancer patients, especially for the families affected by lung cancer.”

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, claiming approximately 160,000 lives every year. It can afflict anyone, regardless of smoking history, gender, or ethnicity. Currently, only 16 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer survive five years post-diagnosis. With early detection, there is hope of long-term survivorship.

LUNGevity Foundation is the nation’s largest private organization dedicated to research for the early detection and treatment of lung cancer. The Breathe Deep Boston 5K Walk is one of more than 80 LUNGeveity events that take place annually across the country. Since 2002, they have collectively raised more than $11.4 million. Participants often walk in honor of someone currently battling lung cancer or in memory of someone lost to the disease. Individuals and/or businesses are encouraged to sign up as teams. The walk will kick-off at 11 a.m. at DCR’s Mother’s Rest Area in South Boston. The course is stroller and wheelchair-friendly.

“The Breathe Deep Boston 5K Walk provides my family and me with the opportunity to remember my father and make a difference for lung cancer patients everywhere,” says Susan. “During the event you meet people who have been through various experiences with cancer and you come to an understanding that this thing called lung cancer is bigger than us and that every step we take, and every donation we make, can collectively make a difference.”

Since its 2006 inception, the Breathe Deep Boston 5K Walk has alone raised more than $1 million. The event was founded by two lung cancer patients, the late Rich Kaufman and the late Geri Norris, with the support of a small group of family, friends and volunteers also touched by lung cancer.

To register for the Breathe Deep Boston 5K Walk on Nov. 2, or to support a walker, visit lungevity.org/boston or call (312) 407-6100. Participants can enter the discount code BREATHE for $5 off the registration fee. November is lung cancer awareness month.