Wayland Town Crier 11/13/09: Raising awareness about lung cancer. The date of Oct. 28, 2007 was probably a pretty ordinary day for most of us.

For Kathy Reilly of Wayland, however, it was not. She died of lung cancer at the age of 38. She had never smoked, was active and athletic, and she left behind her husband Dennis and two children, Jessica, now 8, and Ian, now 9.

“What’s so amazing about this story,” said Dennis recently, “is that it’s not amazing. It happens every day. Literally. Every day, young women who never smoked die of lung cancer, leaving behind husbands and young children. These patients want to be survivors. But most lack a fighting chance. They didn’t have access to early detection. Nor did they have access to the kinds of funds that are available to victims of other cancers.

“This is why November’s Lung Cancer Awareness Month is so important. And this is why Kathy’s story is so important.”