Rays of Hope Awardee Terri Ann DiJulio

We are excited to announce our 2021 winner of the Rays of Hope Award—Terri Ann DiJulio. This award—bestowed on an individual that has demonstrated leadership and inspired hope— honors the late Richard Heimler, a past Lung Cancer Alliance board member who was a powerful voice for hope in the lung cancer community.

Terri Ann is a two-time lung cancer survivor and one of five members of her family diagnosed with the disease. Since her second diagnosis she has dedicated her life to fundraising, legislative advocacy, and sharing her experiences with the lung cancer community. Her message of hope, gratitude, and resilience in the face of hardship has inspired countless others. Earlier this year, she celebrated the end of a yearlong fundraising and awareness campaign in which she raised $80,000 for GO2 for Lung Cancer, bringing her lifetime lung cancer fundraising total to over $180,000.

Terri Ann is a member of our National Ambassador Council, the Lung Cancer Voices Summit Planning Committee, and is a Phone Buddy in our peer-to-peer patient support program. She has shared her experiences at our COE and SCOE Summits and at the Lung Cancer Living Room, she was also one of the recipients of our 2021 Advocate of the Year award. Terri Ann has also served as a Consumer Reviewer for the CDMRP’s Lung Cancer Research Program, as a Patient Panelist for the American College of Radiology, and as an advisory board member and/or patient speaker with numerous industry partners.

Terri Ann accepted the Rays of Hope award at the annual Lung Cancer Voices Summit on Thursday, March 25 from Laurie Fenton Ambrose, our Co-Founder, President and CEO; and Rachel Heimler, Richard’s daughter. The Rays of Hope Award honors a member of the lung cancer community who has demonstrated leadership and who inspires hope in patients and their families through their own battles with the disease. We are thrilled to spend this year working with Terri Ann to continue to spread her voice of hope with the lung cancer community.

Read more about Terri Ann DiJulio’s creative fundraising efforts in this recent blog.