Pink Crusader: Our Inner Child

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,

Holiday hugs and seasons greetings! Welcome to the Pink Crusader blogspot where the spirit of Christmas is in full swing. Santa has your cyber-gift ready and waiting, so grab your inner child and read on...

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

When was the last time we were free to embrace our dreams? Or, the last time we took a mental vacation from everything that is wrong in the world?

Christmas is a wake-up call to our inner child...an annual rebirth with permission to play, laugh, sing and dance. It's a time to abandon all caution, suspend our disbelief, and give our imaginations a good work-out. For some, it involves time travel to a nostalgic place called "home." For others, it is a comforting state of mind.

As 2007 comes to an end, our prayers for peace ring out strong. And while we focus with wide-eyed optimism on the challenges and uncertanties of 2008, now is the time to join together and surround ourselves with all that is merry, holy and bright. Remember, within the course of a year, Christmas is only a 24-hour event, but the problems of tomorrow will remain long after we've taken the time to enjoy the wonder of today.

To the Inner Child in each of us, we dedicate the following with a wish for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

From the Editorial Page of The New York Sun, written by Francis P. Church, September 21, 1897 We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

"Dear Editor--I am 8 years old.
Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun, it's so.'
Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?"
Virginia O'Hanlon, 115 West Ninety-fifth Street

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
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SURVIVOR UPDATES:

Josie Sethi:

Yes, it's true....the "Pink Crusader" turned 53 last week, and extends a personal word of thanks for all the kind e-mails and birthday wishes. I am humbled to be blessed with a loving family, loyal friends and supportive community and remain incredibly grateful for another year of well-spent life.

As good friend Cheryl Donlin wrote: Josie, ... I heard a song on the radio that I like, but today one lyric in particular caught my ear. We hear so often about life that there's no redo; that this isn't a rehearsal; that there's no rewind / reset button, etc. This lyric is in the same vein, but said it in a vivid, visual way:
"...And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table." Now there's an image for you! ... The singer is Anna Nalick and this is from her song "Breathe (2 AM)"
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Angie Elliott (update per Colin Elliott)

December 23rd, 2007
Angie's strength continues to improve, and she is beginning to get her voice back. She believes that with her current strength levels and the lack of commitments we have (along with all the equipment at home), she's up for going home tomorrow assuming everything goes along the same course. She can actually move around with a walker with only minimal help. She says that her legs are feeling more like a part of her body.

The doctor came in this morning and continued to be impressed and awed by her progress. Being able to be discharged on Christmas Eve is the plan right now, and it looks like we're comfortable enough and strong enough to get it done.

Angie said that her fight isn't over and that it'll take some time to get back to where she was. She will continue to fight the metastasis in the lungs, liver and bones. There are some good signs that the fight is going well, and her CA Antigen has dropped nearly in half from just over 150 to 77 in just over three weeks. While it doesn't prove that the cancer is going away, it does indicate that the cancer activity in her body has reduced significantly due to the chemotherapy and Herceptin.

She has asked for continued prayers for her healing as she knows she has not gotten to where she is on her own. She also asked that we be patient with her in terms of communication. She wasn't very quick on email before, and bombarding her with emails is a sure way to find yourself disappointed. We'll continue to update the CarePage as it seems to be a good way to disseminate information to a lot of people. So, go ahead and keep forwarding the information to more people. I'll see if we can start filling in the gaps with posts about how we got to where she is today.

Thank you God for another day. All of our love, Angie & Colin

http://www.carepage.com/ The page name is AngieElliottsCarePage
Please Note: For those interested in providing meals, Angie’s friend Cindy Wingo is organizing meals for Colin and family members. If you are interested in providing a meal, care package or gift cards for gas, groceries or take-out, please call Cindy at 713-927-4910

For those who would like to donate money, a bank account has been established at Wachovia Bank to pay for meals, groceries, unexpected medical costs, etc. You can make a check to either Colin Elliott or the Colin and Angie Fund and send it directly to our liaison at Wachovia Bank. She will be keeping track of the checks and depositing them directly into the account. Patti Lapp, Wachovia Bank, 2800 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 3400, Houston, TX 77056
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Laura Mannetti

Please say a special prayer for Laura and her family as she begins treatment for a metastatic recurrence.
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FYI:

From Emma Jacobs:

For those of you who still have dollars allocated for charitable giving for 2007, but haven’t quite found the right fit for those dollars...HERE IT IS!

The new musical Unbeatable is coming to town in September 2008 in a World Premiere production produced by Houston’s acclaimed Stages Repertory Theatre.

This brilliant new musical follows the true story of a strong-willed woman and her life-changing confrontation with Breast Cancer. It will touch the hearts of so many people, not only the ones who are in the struggle of their lives but those of you who have been affected by Breast Cancer. This musical will inspire and empower people whilst they laugh, cry and understand better what such a journey is really like.

We are currently raising funds to support this ground-breaking event and by making a year-end donation you can be a huge help. Here are some levels of support to consider:

$10,000
A Table for Eight to the opening night Gala
Eight Seats to the opening night performance
Eight invitations to a private cocktail party with cast and creators
Eight seats for the arrival party (when the cast comes from Phoenix)
An invitation to the first rehearsal
A signed copy of the script by cast and creators
A signed copy of the marketing poster by cast and creators

$5,000
Four Seats (1/2 table for the opening night Gala
Four Seats to the opening night performance
Four invitations to a private cocktail party with cast and creators
Four seats for the arrival party (when the cast comes from Phoenix)
An invitation to the first rehearsal
A signed copy of the script by cast and creators
A signed copy of the marketing poster by cast and creators

$2,500
Two Seats to the opening night gala
Two seats for the opening night performance
Two invitations to a private cocktail party with cast and creators
An invitation to the first rehearsal
A signed copy of the script by cast and creators
A signed copy of the marketing poster by cast and creators

$1,000 and above
Eight seats for the arrival party (when the cast comes from Phoenix)
Eight seats for first preview
An invitation to the first rehearsal
A signed copy of the script by cast and creators
A signed copy of the marketing poster by cast and creators

$500
Four seats for arrival party
Four seats for first preview
A signed copy of the marketing poster by cast and creators

$250
Two seats for the arrival party
Two seats for first preview
A signed copy of the marketing poster by cast and creators

$100
Two seats for first preview

$1.00 from every ticket sold must go to support a breast cancer care/research or housing facility in Houston. For those of you who have already donated you qualify at the level of your donation or you can increase your donation to qualify at a higher level. Thanks to your support we are well on our way to our goal of bringing Unbeatable to Houston!

Checks made payable to the Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation, 206 Terrace Drive, Houston, Texas 77007. OR, If you would like to make your donation via credit card you may contact Emma via the Pink Crusader (thepinkcrusader1@aol.com ) for additional instructions. Thanks for your support, Emma Jacobs

Portions of your donation to the Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation (a 501c3 organization) may qualify for tax deductions under the laws of the State of Texas.
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From Beverly Slaughter:

Hello All! Here is the first issue of the Survivor Newsletter. Our committee goal is to mail/email a newsletter every couple months all year to keep Survivors in the loop and let them know we are thinking about them!

"Hello Everyone!
I’m so happy to tell you that Beverly Slaughter, Bridgette Ferguson and
Angela Marcotte will be heading the Survivor Celebration for the 2008
Relay For Life. They are so excited and have been very busy coming up
with different ways to make sure that you know what we all know ---- SURVIVORS ARE THE HEART OF RELAY! You make Relay For Life personal for so many. When the teams see you take your lap around the track in triumph and victory over cancer, it really drives home why we work so hard to raise money and awareness to defeat this awful disease.

This year marks the 10th anniversary for the Angelina County Relay For Life. I hope that you will let Beverly or I know what we can do to make this year’s Relay For Life more enjoyable for you. If you have never been to Relay For Life before, I hope you will mark May 2 on your calendar and make plans to attend this year. We are working hard to make it a very special and FUN celebration. - We hope to see you there! - Jennifer B. Collins
Chairman, Angelina County
Relay For Life

Please feel free to forward this. It will be snail mailed soon to the Survivors I have info for. Send in those Survivor Stories! If you want to share your story to be featured in a future issue please email your story to Survivor Celebration Chairperson 2008 beverly@slghtr.net

Relay Kick Off, January 8, 2008, Behannon’s Warehouse, Downtown Lufkin
Visit www.relayforlife.org to make the pledge!
Angelina County
American Cancer Society
212 Gene Samford Dr.
Lufkin, TX 75904
936.634.2883

Thank you!
Beverly Slaughter
Bridgett Ferguson
Angela Marcotte
Survivor Celebration Coordinators 2008

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From Cheryl Donlin:

I saw this in Better Homes & Gardens (Jan. '08 issue) and thought it was cool. I know there are other groups like this, too. What a personal gesture of support! My sister and her daughter in New Orleans did this with a different group a year or so ago. A lot of tears, but of joy.

GROW. Cut. Share. Shine.

Pantene Beautiful Lengths was created to bring people together to share their strength and donate their beautiful, healthy hair to create free wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment. For more information visit: http://www.beautifullengths.com/en_US/index_home.jsp

This article on male breast cancer caught my eye in the Chronicle this week because the very first Open Journal radio show Pink Ribbons Project did on KPFT 90.1 FM was on male breast cancer. I'm glad to see that the topic is getting some mainstream attention. It is something that we all need to be more informed about and that all the men in our lives need to be aware of.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/health/5381274.html

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From Donna Fong:

The Breast Cancer News (BCN) News is delivered daily to nearly 20,000 breast cancer patients, survivors, cancer organizations and health professionals. Links to these articles, along with an archive of our last four years of cancer news coverage, are available in our newsroom at: www.breastcancer.net

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From Fran Visco
President, National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC)

You've heard of National Breast Cancer Coalition's Less Pink, More Research and Breast Cancer Caucus efforts. Now, we're expanding our creative grassroots outreach even further and harnessing the power of internet outreach. For those of you familiar with the networking sensation Facebook, we have great news: NBCC has gotten on board and joined this vibrant online community of more than 50 million users.

As the President of NBCC, I want to personally invite you to join us on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/

Here are a few ways you can help make these Facebook efforts a success:

Join the Facebook community - it's easy, free and the place to be.
Make me your friend on Facebook.
Visit and join the NBCC group "Less Pink, More Research." You can post comments about breast cancer issues that matter to you most.
Visit the NBCC page and become a "fan" of NBCC.
Support our cause and donate to the NBCCF using the causes application.
As always thank you so much for your support of our work to stop breast cancer. Join our Facebook efforts to help make our collective voices even louder.

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DAILY REMINDER #1:
"Fund Free Mammograms" Go to The Breast Cancer Site at http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/tpc/EEB_0115_BCSm and help fund free mammograms for the homeless, working-poor, and un-insured women. It costs nothing to you, except one daily click on the pink "Fund Free Mammograms" button. You can even request automatic reminders via e-mail. Please make your free click now, and thanks for your continuing support! The Breast Cancer Site, One Union Square, 600 University Street, Suite 1000, Seattle, WA 98101 Phone: 1-888-811-5271

DAILY REMINDER #2:
Help eliminate Breast Cancer with a daily click at http://breastcancer.care2.com/ebc-about.html You'll be one of the first people to participate in the largest virtual mountain climb in the world! With every click, (or "step") you generate a donation to eliminate the environmental causes of breast cancer--for free. Sponsors pay for your click and fund The Breast Cancer Fund's programs focusing on environmental links to breast cancer. It only takes a second! The Breast Cancer Fund is the leading national organization focused on identifying – and advocating for the elimination of – the environmental and preventable causes of the disease. For more details on the organization’s work, visit http://www.breastcancerfund.org/
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UPCOMING EVENTS: Mark Your Calendars and Save the Dates!

VICTORIA'S DECEMBER EVENTS AND CLASSES
Enjoy Reiki Treatments, The Winter Solstice Celebration, Chocolate & Shopping at Victoria's Feminine Living Calendar Viewing. To register call Victoria at 713-849-3535 or visit http://www.feminineliving.com/
December 1st - 31st - Reiki Treatments - by appointment

ROSEBUDS II MEETING
December 27th, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
For those who have had or are at high risk for recurrence and/or metastasis, 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet. Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors Future Meetings: January, 2008

HOPE STONE
World Premiere of "See Me"
just hit our sweet new website (http://www.hopestoneinc.org/ ) go to the MONEY MATTERS tab and buy yourself some tickets for a good ole fashion art date! Hey, you can even buy one or two for a deserving child.....they make handy holiday gifts as well! Come early to see photographer Simon Gentry's silent no more photo exhibit in the green room (doors open 6:15 p.m.)Vitals: Jan 10 & 11, 2008, 7:30 p.m., Cullen Theater, Wortham Center
Note: SEE Me Tickets so on sale! http://www.hopestoneinc.org/
http://www.stubdog.com/ (1/2 price tickets...great for tight holiday budgets!)

ROSEBUDS MEETING
January 15th, 5:45 - 7:30 pm Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet. Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month

KNOCKOUT ROSES
A support group for women diagnosed under 40. 2nd Monday of each month, at 5:45 pm, January 14th, 2008. The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet. Contact Amy Rigsby, Technical Director of
The Rose, 713-660-6675.

THE ALICE THOMSEN LYMPHEDEMA AWARENESS GROUP of Houston
Meetings are scheduled on the 3rd Tuesday of every other month at the American cancer Society Building, 6301 Richmond (between Hillcroft and Fountainview) at 7:00pm. Next scheduled meeting is Januaruy 15th, 2008.
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"SHARING is CARING"As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to thepinkcrusader1@aol.com
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