As World Lung Cancer Day approaches, a married couple in Colorado have been attracting attention because of their unique awareness initiative.
Lung cancer survivor Heidi Onda and her husband Pierre have been using jigsaws to cut ribbons made from wood since 2020. They paint them white, label them with a “Lung Cancer Awareness” sticker and ink their signature with a personal note as a finishing touch.
It started with Onda asking her spouse to make one white ribbon out of plywood to hang outside their front door. Once this was achieved, she shared pictures on social media and several people started requesting their own. Now, more than 10,000 of the symbolic items from their non-profit can be found throughout the United States and 36 other nations.
Onda, a non-smoker, was diagnosed with the disease in its late stages over six years ago. She is grateful to be alive and motivated to spread the message that anyone with lungs can get lung cancer. Doctors told her that she only had four to six months to live and that surgery would not be possible when she received the shocking news about her health.
Her survival is the result of successful chemoradiation treatment and immunotherapy. Her last treatment session took place in 2020.
Earlier this month, Heidi and Pierre invited the public to come make ribbons with them at their Colorado home to promote The White Ribbon project.
“We need more research funding, treatment options, and better screening,” said Onda in an interview this week.
Aside from tobacco use, one of the main causes of lung cancer in Colorado residents is radon gas. Onda and her husband discovered that the level of radon in their home was high after receiving the unfortunate news in late 2018, which likely contributed to Heidi developing the condition.
This dangerous natural poison that lurks in the basements of houses does not receive adequate attention.
The White Ribbon Project is one of many U.S. lung cancer initiatives, including American Lung Association screening campaigns and the American Cancer Society’s ‘Get Screened’ offensive. The country is also home to influential medtech innovators pioneering new screening devices, like Breath Diagnostics.
One 20-year-old University of Notre Dame student just road across the country on a bicycle to raise awareness about the deadly disease.
World Lung Cancer Day will be observed on Aug. 1.
Read more: Breath Diagnostics leader speaks at lung cancer education event in Louisville
Read more: Breath Diagnostics takes aim at lung cancer with One Breath
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Heidi Onda
July 24, 2025 at 8:50 pm
Please make these corrections:
I have never been a surgical candidate. The cancer treatments that brought me to no evidence of disease status were chemoradiation and immunotherapy. I have not had any cancer treatment since January 2020. My husband and I have built about 10,000 wooden ribbons made by hand with jigsaws.
Rowan Dunne
July 24, 2025 at 9:22 pm
Thanks for informing us about the inaccuracies, we have corrected them.