Community Corner

Hermosa Lifeguard Walks for Cancer Research

The annual Breathe Deep L.A. kicks off at the Manhattan Beach Pier on Saturday.

For Hermosa Beach resident and county lifeguard , the annual in neighboring Manhattan Beach is a labor of love.

The 3-mile event, which will kick off Saturday, raises funds for cancer research through the Lungevity Foundation—and Alison has served as a volunteer, raising awareness of the need for lung cancer research ever since her sister Adriane, who didn't smoke, died at age 20 from lung cancer.

  • Last year:

"Anything I do is obviously inspired by my sister," Alison said in a statement Monday.

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During the day, Alison serves not only as a county lifeguard but also as a pharmaceutical sales rep for the company that manufactured the drug her sister used during her battle with lung cancer.

Proceeds from Breathe Deep L.A. will support two specific research tracks, according to Alison's statement: expediting the development of an effective early detection strategy to find all lung cancers while they are still localized and treatable, and identifying therapeutic agents that provide customized genetic intervention for lung cancer.

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"My sister’s chances of survival would have been greatly increased had we known about it much earlier," Alison said.


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