Thanks to the Texas Jewish Post for writing this article about the founders and inspiration for The Happy Lungs Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n By Deb Silverthorn<\/strong><\/p>\n Almost four years ago, Ilana Stromberg<\/a>, a mother of five with a healthy lifestyle, was just turning 50. She was diagnosed with RET positive non-small cell lung cancer<\/a>. The family\u2019s world turned upside down, but together they are helping her heal.<\/p>\n They are also hoping to fund research, treatments and more through the 501(c)3 they formed last year: The Happy Lungs Project. The organization supports medical teams at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital\/Harvard Medical School, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Stanford University Medical Center.<\/p>\n Born in South Africa and raised in Houston, Stromberg, with her family, attended United Orthodox Synagogue and Congregation Beth Yeshurun. She graduated from Memorial High School, Emory University and Southern Methodist University.<\/p>\n Having visited numerous doctors while the family lived in Dallas, she was following up on a cough that just wouldn\u2019t go away; tests, exams and consultations over eight years resulted in \u201cjust\u201d a small spot that posed no concern. With two teens, and three children under the age of three, to Stromberg, that news was good news.<\/p>\n The Stromberg and Fineberg family\u2019s story moved forward when in 2018 Stromberg\u2019s sister, Dallas resident Donna Regenbaum, was diagnosed with breast cancer. While she had no symptoms, a mammogram found that Regenbaum had stage zero breast cancer; she has since recovered from her ordeal.<\/p>\n Following her sister\u2019s diagnosis, just after the Strombergs\u2019 move to Austin, Ilana arranged for a mammogram. It was a gynecological oncologist whom she could see in a timely fashion and, armed with her medical \u201cnon\u201d-history, Stromberg met with the doctor. While her mammogram was fine, the doctor was concerned about much she saw in Stromberg\u2019s files and a battery of tests was ordered.<\/p>\n Unlike earlier reports, the news was terrifying. She had cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cLung cancer kills more women than ovarian and breast cancer combined,\u201d said Stromberg. Her RET positive non-small cell lung cancer diagnosis is found in just 2.6% of cancers, typically in a younger, nonsmoking population.<\/p>\n \u201cI had the right middle lobe of my lung removed, more than half of my liver and I went through treatment when the disease progressed to my brain,\u201d Stromberg said. \u201cThrough chemo, radiation and more I am living, and thriving, with cancer. I, we all, are doing all we can to lengthen my life and that of other patients.\u201d<\/p>\n The Happy Lungs Project is a family affair built by Ilana and her husband Dr. Dan Stromberg, their children Allie, Sammi and Camila Stromberg, as well as her ex-husband Joel Fineberg and their children Braden and Sophia Fineberg. In addition, Ilana Stromberg\u2019s parents, Glenda and David Regenbaum of Houston, Dan Stromberg\u2019s mother, Rosie, and the couple\u2019s siblings and their families [Luanne Lorance, Donna (John Kerr) Regenbaum and Katelyn Kerr and Mark (Beth) and Ariella and Ben Stromberg] have been dedicated and involved.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen bad things happen, people feel helpless. We, as a family, became empowered,\u201d said HLP Board<\/a> Chair Joel Fineberg, an attorney who now calls Boulder, Colorado, home. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t prevent this horrible disease but we can stand up and make a difference through our passion.\u201d<\/p>\n Also on the HLP board are Susan and Dennis DeBakey, Carolyn Farb, Sophia Fineberg, John Jamail and Upal Basu Roy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s incredible to see my family rally together,\u201d said Sophia Fineberg, a Yavneh Academy graduate, now a senior in the double degree program at Barnard College and Jewish Theological Seminary. \u201cFor Mom to see us care and work so hard pushes her to work hard at being healthy.\u00a0 That is her job and we\u2019re doing ours to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Sophia Fineberg now fills a board seat vacated by Braden Fineberg, both graduates of Ann and Nate Levine Academy. An alumnus of Dallas Townview Magnet School and the University of Pennsylvania, Braden is now CEO of the Austin-based Roundup App.<\/p>\n Sophia and Braden learned devotion from their parents and they set the example for their younger sisters. It was a lemonade stand set up by Allie, Sammi and Camila, who attend Austin Jewish Academy, that brought in The Happy Lungs Project\u2019s first $1,400.<\/p>\n Serving as HLP\u2019s scientific advisory board are Dr. Steven Artandi, director of the Stanford Cancer Institute; Dr. Alexander Drilon, chief of the Early Drug Development Service and medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Dr. Justin Gainor, director of the Center for Thoracic Cancers at Massachusetts General; and Dr. John Heymach, chair of Thoracic Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Doctors from the University of California\u2013Los Angeles and the University of Colorado are also joining the effort.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”1136,1143,1144,1145,1146,1172,1502,1503″ image_grid_loading=”default” layout=”2″ item_spacing=”default” gallery_style=”7″ load_in_animation=”none”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]The doctors involved are supporting each other\u2019s research focused on targeted therapies<\/a>; immunotherapy; investigating mechanisms of therapeutic resistance to targeted agents; understanding the regulation of angiogenesis in lung cancer; and the development of biomarkers for targeted agents and immunotherapy.<\/p>\n Together they are developing a \u201cRETgistry\u201d with a clinical data group and specimen repository, organizing preclinical models and drug resistance data and studying immune-based approaches, including vaccines.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve established an incredible team and we won\u2019t stop short,\u201d said Dan Stromberg, who was raised at Temple Emanu-El and is an alumnus of Hillcrest High School, Princeton University and the University of California\u2013San Francisco Medical School; he is HLP\u2019s medical liaison. He and Artandi, college roommates, have been instrumental in creating the team and support behind the Happy Lungs Project.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to find other treatments, other drugs, and we\u2019ll keep going. The medication Ilana and hundreds of others are on right now, Retevmo, is something many become resistant to \u2014 that can\u2019t happen,\u201d said Dan Stromberg, previously the director of the congenital heart surgery unit at Medical City Children\u2019s Hospital, now director of Cardiac Critical Care at Dell Children\u2019s Medical Center in Austin. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to cure this disease or at the least turn this into a chronic situation with which its patients can survive.\u201d<\/p>\n Coming together, the Fineberg and Stromberg family members are each lending their talents to the Project. Research, publicity and fundraising are supported by their drive and absolute dedication.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the story of too many young, healthy women diagnosed with this cancer that seems to come from out-of-nowhere,\u201d said Donna Regenbaum, leading the charge in setting up the Happy Lungs Project Shopping Card<\/a> effort. \u201cThe Happy Lungs Shopping Card is an easy way for anyone to pitch in to keep my sister, and the others who fight this disease, healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization\u2019s first fundraiser, The Happy Lungs Shopping Card (ShoppingCardAustin<\/a>), will debut in October. For 10 days, Austin vendors will offer a 20% discount to cardholders. Proceeds of the $50 cards will support the work behind the Happy Lungs Project.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m grateful for everyone\u2019s time, donations and overall support,\u201d said Stromberg. \u201cThe doctors are optimistic, and we will fundamentally change the landscape of this horrible, and often undiagnosed until so late, disease.\u201d<\/p>\n To inquire about further progress reports or participation in the medical research process, or to donate, visit HappyLungsProject.org<\/a>. To participate as a vendor, or for updates on release as a consumer, of the ShoppingCardAustin<\/a>, visit shoppingcardaustin.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n