Awareness • Early Detection • Treatment • Research • Survivorship

ABC2 Baltimore: Team Draft in town raising awareness for lung cancer after losing his wife

BALTIMORE – Chris Draft, a 12-year-veteran of the National Football League, got a special tour of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins today.

Draft says he was happy to bring awareness to the work being done at Johns Hopkins, especially for the fight against Lung Cancer.

He lost his wife Keasha Rutledge to the disease last December.
Rutledge was diagnosed with stage four Lung Cancer just 11 months before the couple married.

Draft says she had never smoked, and lived a very healthy lifestyle.
Although there is still a huge amount of work to be done, Draft says he has already seen tremendous progress.

“Yes, when you look at some of the numbers see a five-year mortality rate, it might not be that different than say 30-years-ago. But there’s a lot of things that are changing and there is hope for people.”

In addition to bringing attention to the important work being done at Johns Hopkins, he is also an Ed Block Courage Award Winner.