The Super Bowl Challenge started on November 1st, and it ends December 31st. It’s not too late to help me win!

I am excited to tell you that, thanks to many of you, I’m currently in third place!!! That means we could actually win a trip of a lifetime! If not to the Super Bowl (1st place), then perhaps to Atlanta, Georgia for Taste of the NFL (3rd place). Second place gets to go to Orlando, Florida for the Pro Bowl. I would love to win by finishing top three! Thank you for bringing this dream within reach!

Please give to lung cancer research at this link BEFORE December 31st: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/jill-hw-love-songs-for-lungs

Raising awareness and funds for lung cancer research is really what this challenge is about, and a terrific opportunity to speak to the urgency and importance of lung cancer research at a venue where there is significant media attention. I would be honoured to win the opportunity to be at one of these events, and to represent all lung cancer survivors there!

This is a friendly competition, and we are all lung cancer survivors and caregivers. You can get more information and track the numbers here, if you’re interested: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/2019superbowlchallenge

When we embarked on our “Love Songs for Lungs” adventure back at the beginning of November, we chose to restrict ourselves to limited rehearsal, a cheap phone/camera to record the songs, and generally one or two takes. It felt like we were setting off in a leaky old rowboat someone had deserted by the shore. Thirty songs in thirty days is demanding – even for people with good health. I wasn’t sure we would make it through the month! Along the way something surprising happened: a community gathered and joined in with us! Some good friends, some new friends, each bringing their own contributions. A generous freedom to risk and to be vulnerable fueled our journey and blessed us. Some sang or played with us, many encouraged us. Some excitedly checked in daily to see what the new song would be. Many thanked us for inviting them into our living room.

By the end of the month, our little boat had grown into something beautiful, something previously unrecognizable. It grew bigger and more confident, and a whole lot more fun. A small crowd had gathered, and there was a party going on! I was surprised by the extent to which our little project blessed others.

Kellylee Evans nearly knocked me over when she first sang beside me! She has one of the most exquisite voices I’ve heard, and hearing it in my living room was way more amazing than a recording or in concert. She came with a tremendously generous spirit, responding to this fan’s request.

Love Songs for Lungs even made it on the evening news, along with the Lung Cancer Patient & Caregiver Summit which I instigated and helped make happen. Here’s the clip, if you’re interested!: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/6b3b4a55-26ed-4a4a-b0a2-33447453c45f?token=e97ee4c1-be41-4e8c-91cc-ef807289667d

It was hard work, and it was fun work. I enjoyed the challenge of posting a song on YouTube every day during a busy month in which I not only helped pull off Ottawa’s first lung cancer patient summit, but also spoke at a big lung cancer fundraising gala (which raised almost $100,000 for local lung cancer research!), participated in at least four other local cancer events, and heard both of my sons perform at their schools’ music events.

Here’s a link to some pictures from The Ottawa Citizen, to give you an idea of the magnitude of work that Louise Bowles and her team put into An Evening of Hope – that big lung cancer fundraising gala, which raised almost $100,000 for local lung cancer research! https://ottawacitizen.com/sponsored/social-scene/social-scene-sponsored-by-star-motors-of-ottawa-an-evening-of-hope?fbclid=IwAR38cD352FfkFVcU9tWH4zG3k4OWLbgBm-suVrw0U93tht9hUnLZzFD70Js Many of the researchers, nurses, administrators and oncologists from the Ottawa Hospital come to the event every year. Some also volunteer!

Advances in lung cancer research obviously make a tremendous difference for me and many others like me. This new medicine that I’m taking is much better than the ones before. I have more energy and I’m able to function much better. There’s still a long way to go. Right now, I’ve got nerve pain in my arms and hands which is making it almost impossible to type. I hope the next generation of lung cancer fighting drugs overcomes this particular side effect! 🙂 I’m alive and I’m giving thanks and celebrating! I intend to live life to the full as long as I have breath! Thank you for journeying with me!

Please consider making a donation – whether small medium large or gigantic! – to lung cancer research and to help me win the Super Bowl Challenge! https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/jill-hw-love-songs-for-lungs