Give a Breath 5k Founder- Tim Monds’ story 

 

In the spring of 2016, Tim Monds received a diagnosis of stage I lung cancer at the age of 57. The diagnosis came after 20 years of recurrent bronchial pneumonia accompanied by various lung issues. In April of 2016 after going to the hospital for chest pains, an X-ray detected a nodule. A subsequent CT scan confirmed lung cancer. Tim had never smoked in his life.

 

After a PET scan and an upper left lobectomy later that summer, it was decided chemotherapy was not necessary, and Tim was back at work within 7 weeks of his surgery. For two years, his CT scans came back with no sign of cancer. In May of 2018, three weeks after his retirement, his CT scan showed 11 nodules in his lungs, confirming the cancer had returned. He was diagnosed with stage 4 Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). As time went on and his nodules started spreading, and Tim started his treatment with immunotherapy in the spring of 2021.

 

In 2019, with the support of his surgeon, Tim and his family set out to organize a walk/run to raise funds and awareness about lung cancer. Give a Breath 5k’s inaugural event was in 2019. The Monds family has since partnered with Lung Cancer Canada, and have seen incredible growth. Now in its fifth year, Give a Breath 5k is held in 4 cities across Canada, and has raised $350,000 to date.

 

April 2024 will mark 8 years since his lung cancer diagnosis. Tim’s story of resilience is a testament of what can be overcome. Give a Breath 5k aims to ensure that Lung Cancer is not a death sentence, however, there is still much work to be done. Lung cancer takes more lives than Breast, Colon, and Prostate cancers combined, and yet receives significantly less funding.

Together we can change this!

The Monds family wants people affected by lung cancer to know they are not alone,

and to never lose hope!