From San Francisco to Boston, 22-year-old who lost her cancer battle continues to guide coast-to-coast efforts to wipe out Lung Cancer.

Like most patients with Lung Cancer, college student Jill Costello was well aware of the disparity in research funding and sympathy, and she set out to make a difference to advocate for others with Lung Cancer. In one short year, she inspired a nation of her peers – thousands of college students from Berkeley to Harvard to Northeastern to Yale who have rallied to raise funds and put an end to this #1 cancer killer.

Philadelphia, PA (May 16, 2011) The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (BJALCF) will honor Jill’s Legacy™, its advisory board that pays tribute to the life and legacy of Jill Costello, a UC Berkeley Varsity Coxswain and PAC 10 Athlete of the Year, this weekend at the Stotesbury Cup in Philadelphia.,

Dianne Caridi, Sandy Uhl-Solomon and Caren Gorenberg all have something in common: none smoked and all developed lung cancer.

They are the personification of an alarming statistic — nearly 18 percent of female lung cancer patients have never smoked. Another 60 percent stopped smoking years or decades ago.

“I want people to be aware — it can hit anybody,” said Uhl-Solomon, 54. She was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer on March 24, 2010. She has had three surgeries, spent 28 days in the hospital and endured six months of chemotherapy. She is now back to running/walking five miles a day.