Monday, September 15, 2008
"2 young"
Those of you who use RSS feeds to follow my blog, please click out to the actual blog.
First, you will see happy new Fall graphics.
Next, I'd like to ask you to scroll down a bit and peruse the "2 young" menu on the right side of the page. These are some of the women I've encountered on the Young Survival Coalition bulletin boards. It is by no means a comprehensive list of all the women there who have their own blogs, web pages, MySpace pages, Caring Bridge pages, Facebook pages, etc. But I quail at adding more names because it's a pretty long list, even here.
Two of the pages in the list now belong to women who have died from their breast cancer. "Jayme" would have been 36 at the end of this past July, but she didn't make it to her birthday. "Courtney - bccourtney" died last night at the age of 23. She was a dancer; she was diagnosed three years ago and the disease ate her body away.
I don't really know what to do with the links, because they won't be updated. Do I just whittle the list down, or do I leave the names, knowing that nothing new will be posted; no answers will be listed on their personal pages about where they are and what they are doing?
Sorry for the downer. It's just vitally important for people to know that young women do get breast cancer, and that young women also die from it. "Early detection" and "prevention" are worthy concepts, but insufficient. Is "Cure" too much to hope for? I hope for myself and for the women listed in the right margin--and for all women dealing with breast cancer who aren't in my feeble list--that it isn't.
I guess if you are bummed now, try looking at the happy Fall graphics again.
Love,
Janet
First, you will see happy new Fall graphics.
Next, I'd like to ask you to scroll down a bit and peruse the "2 young" menu on the right side of the page. These are some of the women I've encountered on the Young Survival Coalition bulletin boards. It is by no means a comprehensive list of all the women there who have their own blogs, web pages, MySpace pages, Caring Bridge pages, Facebook pages, etc. But I quail at adding more names because it's a pretty long list, even here.
Two of the pages in the list now belong to women who have died from their breast cancer. "Jayme" would have been 36 at the end of this past July, but she didn't make it to her birthday. "Courtney - bccourtney" died last night at the age of 23. She was a dancer; she was diagnosed three years ago and the disease ate her body away.
I don't really know what to do with the links, because they won't be updated. Do I just whittle the list down, or do I leave the names, knowing that nothing new will be posted; no answers will be listed on their personal pages about where they are and what they are doing?
Sorry for the downer. It's just vitally important for people to know that young women do get breast cancer, and that young women also die from it. "Early detection" and "prevention" are worthy concepts, but insufficient. Is "Cure" too much to hope for? I hope for myself and for the women listed in the right margin--and for all women dealing with breast cancer who aren't in my feeble list--that it isn't.
I guess if you are bummed now, try looking at the happy Fall graphics again.
Love,
Janet
Labels: awareness, cure, metastasis, prevention, YSC
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Project Runway Auction: Benefitting the Young Survival Coalition
Remember the Project Runway Hershey Challenge? The dresses are now being auctioned off to benefit the Young Survival Coalition (YSC).
The Young Survival Coalition is the only international, non-profit network of breast cancer survivors and supporters dedicated to the concerns and issues that are unique to young women and breast cancer. Through action, advocacy and awareness, the YSC seeks to educate the medical, research, breast cancer and legislative communities and to persuade them to address breast cancer in women 40 and under. The YSC also serves as a point of contact for young women living with breast cancer.
I love candy and am thrilled that Hershey provided an excuse to raise money for an organization from which I personally get a great deal of support.
I personally loved these designs:
Sadly, none of these dresses will fit me as I am not a ridiculously tall toothpick. I suppose since I'm scared of bees, it would be stupid to wear a Twizzler bustier even if one came in my size.
The Young Survival Coalition is the only international, non-profit network of breast cancer survivors and supporters dedicated to the concerns and issues that are unique to young women and breast cancer. Through action, advocacy and awareness, the YSC seeks to educate the medical, research, breast cancer and legislative communities and to persuade them to address breast cancer in women 40 and under. The YSC also serves as a point of contact for young women living with breast cancer.
I love candy and am thrilled that Hershey provided an excuse to raise money for an organization from which I personally get a great deal of support.
I personally loved these designs:
Rami
Jillian, who used actual candy!
Chris
Sadly, none of these dresses will fit me as I am not a ridiculously tall toothpick. I suppose since I'm scared of bees, it would be stupid to wear a Twizzler bustier even if one came in my size.
Labels: YSC
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Preventing a Recurrence
Recently over at YSC, a discussion arose about how to prevent a recurrence of cancer.
Whereas I can understand people wanting to feel like they are being proactive about their health--and that they have some control over their destiny, this sort of topic always makes me angry. Will cutting out alcohol help? Taking vitamins? Exercise is the key, isn't it?
If by omitting something, or by adding something else one can prevent a recurrence, the implication is that I did something wrong. Did my cancer recur because I still drink diet soda? Did it recur because my BMI is too high? Did I just not pray hard enough?
This was my response:
A lot of literature focuses on breast cancer prevention--early screenings, better evaluation of whose cancer will be aggressive, a vaccine--but I also hope that everyone remembers we do also need a CURE for those of us who didn't get lucky in our treatment.
I'll be waiting.
Whereas I can understand people wanting to feel like they are being proactive about their health--and that they have some control over their destiny, this sort of topic always makes me angry. Will cutting out alcohol help? Taking vitamins? Exercise is the key, isn't it?
If by omitting something, or by adding something else one can prevent a recurrence, the implication is that I did something wrong. Did my cancer recur because I still drink diet soda? Did it recur because my BMI is too high? Did I just not pray hard enough?
This was my response:
I refuse to believe that anything I did, or did not do, contributed to my recurrence. I've suffered enough shock/grief/anger/sadness about it without adding self-recrimination.
But now in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle I avoid:
snorting asbestos
bathing regularly in benzene
eating used aluminum ashtrays
playing in traffic
leaping into a pit of wild ferrets while dressed in a suit made of steak
blaming myself for things I can't control.
A lot of literature focuses on breast cancer prevention--early screenings, better evaluation of whose cancer will be aggressive, a vaccine--but I also hope that everyone remembers we do also need a CURE for those of us who didn't get lucky in our treatment.
I'll be waiting.
Labels: cure, metastasis, prevention, YSC
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
No, It's not a Star Trek Convention
So this past weekend I met up with some ladies from the Young Survivors' Coalition Bulletin Board. I had no idea there were so many young women with breast cancer in this area...somebody on the boards asked, "What, is there something in the water?"
Anyway, we met at Big Buck--which I'd only ever driven past before on I-75. It has a giant beer bottle outside and much of the furniture and lighting fixtures inside are made with antlers. It is HUGE. There are tv screens everywhere, including the bathrooms.
So after a while the cameras materialized and various pictures were taken. I am relieved to know that I can give up on spending any time whatsoever drawing eyebrows on as they are invisible anyway. The most entertaining photo is the one where the people at varying stages of baldness and wigness took off our hair/hats/scarves and lined up in order of hair regrowth from cue-ball smooth to several months' growth. I cannot imagine what the other people in the restaurant must have thought.
See if you can spot me:
(Hint: I'm the short one.)
I only regret that I wasn't terribly outgoing and didn't manage to talk to the ladies at the other end of the table. Next month there is some talk of getting together for a cookie exchange; I will be happy to go with or without my hair.
Anyway, we met at Big Buck--which I'd only ever driven past before on I-75. It has a giant beer bottle outside and much of the furniture and lighting fixtures inside are made with antlers. It is HUGE. There are tv screens everywhere, including the bathrooms.
So after a while the cameras materialized and various pictures were taken. I am relieved to know that I can give up on spending any time whatsoever drawing eyebrows on as they are invisible anyway. The most entertaining photo is the one where the people at varying stages of baldness and wigness took off our hair/hats/scarves and lined up in order of hair regrowth from cue-ball smooth to several months' growth. I cannot imagine what the other people in the restaurant must have thought.
See if you can spot me:
(Hint: I'm the short one.)
I only regret that I wasn't terribly outgoing and didn't manage to talk to the ladies at the other end of the table. Next month there is some talk of getting together for a cookie exchange; I will be happy to go with or without my hair.
Labels: baldness, eyebrows, Michigan, star trek, wigs, YSC
Friday, September 29, 2006
Think Before You Pink
I want to say first that I do not personally object to the use of pink to represent breast cancer awareness. I don't mind pink ribbons. I've got a pink ribbon Beanie Baby sitting on top of my computer monitor, and am eating special edition pink M&Ms which Brian bought yesterday. It makes me feel good when I realize the ribbon on the car in front of me isn't one of those red white and blue "Support our troops" ribbons (no offense, troops...y'all need to come home), but a pink one in support of ME.
However, not all breast cancer survivors are thrilled with the pink, or with the pink ribbons, and it might be a good idea to ponder why.
Think Before You Pink is one organization which raises some serious questions about the history of the pink ribbon campaign, where the funds go, what actually gets supported, and whether or not it's all just a marketing gimmick designed to make people shell out big money while feeling warm fuzzies.
I've been reading messages on the Young Survivor's Coalition bulletin boards posted by women who've had their love for pink (if, indeed, they ever had it to begin with) utterly destroyed by its association with breast cancer. One woman even wrote to comment that seeing little girls dressed in pink is now very weird and creepy. Another wrote to say that her husband had black shirts made with "cancer sucks" printed on them in teal for her family.
Try to be sensitive, and don't assume that the pink bracelet or pink ribbon ribbon pins will be welcomed by those dealing with breast cancer. The pink campaign isn't really meant for us, you see. Survivors, especially those actively battling the disease, are already perfectly aware of breast cancer.
Aren't we all already aware that cancer is bad? Can we hope for action, instead of just awareness? Can we hope for prevention or a cure, instead of old hormonal medications (I'm talking about YOU, Tamoxifen) that cause other cancers, or highly toxic treatments that destroy healthy cells in addition to cancer cells? More on that later. Right now I've got pink chocolate candies to eat.
However, not all breast cancer survivors are thrilled with the pink, or with the pink ribbons, and it might be a good idea to ponder why.
Think Before You Pink is one organization which raises some serious questions about the history of the pink ribbon campaign, where the funds go, what actually gets supported, and whether or not it's all just a marketing gimmick designed to make people shell out big money while feeling warm fuzzies.
I've been reading messages on the Young Survivor's Coalition bulletin boards posted by women who've had their love for pink (if, indeed, they ever had it to begin with) utterly destroyed by its association with breast cancer. One woman even wrote to comment that seeing little girls dressed in pink is now very weird and creepy. Another wrote to say that her husband had black shirts made with "cancer sucks" printed on them in teal for her family.
Try to be sensitive, and don't assume that the pink bracelet or pink ribbon ribbon pins will be welcomed by those dealing with breast cancer. The pink campaign isn't really meant for us, you see. Survivors, especially those actively battling the disease, are already perfectly aware of breast cancer.
Aren't we all already aware that cancer is bad? Can we hope for action, instead of just awareness? Can we hope for prevention or a cure, instead of old hormonal medications (I'm talking about YOU, Tamoxifen) that cause other cancers, or highly toxic treatments that destroy healthy cells in addition to cancer cells? More on that later. Right now I've got pink chocolate candies to eat.
Labels: awareness, cure, pink ribbon, prevention, tamoxifen, Think Before You Pink, YSC
