Buffalo Grove's 'Queen Bee' Celebrates 5 Years Cancer-Free

BUFFALO GROVE, IL — Hundreds will join Buffalo Grove's "Queen Bee" as she celebrates five years of being cancer-free. Maureen ‘Mo’ Welborn will join family and friends at the American Lung Association in Greater Chicago’s LUNG FORCE Walk in Libertyville on Sunday, September 22.

Welborn was diagnosed with lung cancer in April 2014. After a surgery that removed the cancer and 36 weeks of pulmonary rehab, she was cancer-free thanks to early detection, according to a news release.

“After my diagnosis I realized how fleeting life can be. We need to let people know that they can stay active and that cancer is not a death sentence,” said Welborn. “As long as there is hope, there’s a chance.”

This year, she will celebrate the five-year anniversary of living cancer-free. This is a huge milestone, because less than 20 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer live five years. In fact, the average five-year survival for lung cancer is among the lowest of all types of cancer, according to a news release.

“I am the product of early detection. That is key,” said Welborn. “Thank God the American Lung Association is bringing lung cancer to the forefront and raising research dollars to help find treatments to ease the pain of this killer disease.”

This is her fifth year participating in the LUNG FORCE Walk. Since joining LUNG FORCE, her team raised more than $35,000 for lung cancer research. Her efforts to raise awareness don’t stop at fundraising. She was also chosen to be part of LUNG FORCE Advocacy Day in 2018 where hundreds of advocates took to our nation’s capital to ask Congress for the more lung cancer research funding, according to the American Lung Association news release.

The LUNG FORCE Walk presented by Northwestern Medicine is a unique and festive fundraising event at the American Lung Association. At the event, hundreds of local residents rally friends, neighbors, and colleagues to raise their voices against lung cancer and lung disease. Funds raised support research, advocacy and educational programs right here in Illinois.

For more information on the LUNG FORCE Walk in Libertyville, or to register for the event, visit the LUNG FORCE Website.