Pink Crusader

Support for Breast Cancer Events

2009-08-17T10:25:00.003-05:00

Greetings from the West Coast!

The Pink Crusader is kicking into high gear as October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, looms around the corner. As always, it is the commitment of this blogger (and 3-time survivor) to alert you to special events which promote research, education and awareness. Please take note of the following events in Houston, Texas, and join me in spreading the word to others.

Until next time, take care and stay well.

Love & BIG HUG

EVENT #1

The M. D. Anderson Network's 21st Annual Patient and Care Giver Conference, "Living with, Through, and Beyond Cancer."
Featuring Guest Speaker, Hoda Kotb, NBC Co-Anchor "Today Show."
September 10 - 12, 2009
Houston Marriott Westchase
2900 Briarpark Drive
Houston, Texas
Call 713-792-2553
or 800-345-6324
Online Registration still available: www.mdanderson.org/patientconference

EVENT #2

Special Fund Raising event for Dr. Anthony Lucci, Jr., M.D., F.A.C.S., Associate Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
on Thursday, August 27th, 2009
6:00 - 8:00 pm

Dr. Lucci will be discussing a recent discovery which identifies cancer cells before they travel through the bloodstream to attack other organs. He and his research team are preparing to test several promising drugs that would kill the identified cancer cells before they advance to other parts of the body. The results of this research could potentially forever change the way patients are treated, as well as save many lives. Please save the date and lend your financial support to help Dr. Lucci move forward with his research.

This event, including the reception, will be hosted by Emma Jacobs, in her home. (You may remember Emma as the spunky gal who brought the musical "Unbeatable" to the Houston stage last year.) There will be an open bar, with food, generously provided by John Sheely with Mockingbird Bistro. Valet parking will be available. Seating is limited, so please RSVP with Emma at emmajacobs@comcast.net

For those of you who cannot attend and would like to make a donation, please make check payable to: Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation, and mail to: 206 Terrace Drive, Houston, Texas 77007

thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

POST IKE UPDATE

2008-09-22T15:41:00.003-05:00

HURRICANE IKE UPDATE

Due to continued lack of power at Stages and to damage sustained during the storm, performances of UNBEATABLE and ALWAYS...PATSY CLINE have been moved temporarily to Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. We are grateful to all at the Hobby Center for helping ensure that the shows do indeed go on! Performance schedules and instructions for current ticket-holders are below.

If you do not currently have tickets and would like to purchase them for the dates listed below, please contact the Hobby Center Box Office at 713.315.2525 or http://www.thehobbycenter.org/ beginning Monday, September 22.

UNBEATABLE at the Hobby Center

Wednesday, September 24 - 7:30 PM

Friday, September 26 - 8:00 PM

Saturday, September 27 - 3:00 PM

Sunday, September 28 - 7:30 PM

Wednesday, October 1 - 7:30 PM

Friday, October 3 - 8:00 PM

Saturday, October 4 - 8:00 PM

Sunday, October 5 - 3:00 PM

ALWAYS...PATSY CLINE at the Hobby Center

Thursday, September 25 - 7:30 PM

Saturday, September 27 - 8:00 PM

Sunday, September 28 - 3:00 PM

Monday, September 29 - 7:30 PM

Saturday, October 4 - 3:00 PM

Sunday, October 5 - 7:30 PM

CURRENT TICKET-HOLDERS:If you are holding tickets for a Stages performance September 11 - October 5, a Stages representative will be contacting you to assist with rescheduling your tickets or whatever else you need. You may also contact the Stages Box Office at 713.527.0123. The box office will be available via phone 12:00 - 5:00 PM daily until power is restored, at which point regular box office hours will resume.

Pink Crusader Interrupted - Weeks #6,7,8, & 9

2008-05-03T16:17:00.035-05:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,
The Pink Crusader continues her wayward journey through the "Promised Land," and sends warm hugs and best regards to each and every one of you. Although it will be some time before we resume our weekly schedule, we'll make every attempt to keep you updated as frequently as possible. In the meantime, thanks so much for your patience and understanding during this transition....and please read on for the latest news...Enjoy!

“Life is the greatest journey you will ever be on." - Unknown

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SURVIVOR UPDATE

Cheryl P. Donlin (Excerpt from recent correspondence)

Today is Day 17 of my chemo and my hair is just now beginning to let go. I beat the 14-day prediction for hair loss by three days! It is a truly weird sensation to experience -- this losing hair thing....

Big sigh. I know that life is intrinsically meaningless and that we must create meaning for ourselves, but what can losing my hair possible mean in the larger context? Where's Einstein, or Carl Sagan when you need 'em?!? Guess it's a good thing I got that sassy little wig. I'll have options. Wish me luck!

Love, Cheryl

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FYI

From Marsha Yeager:

Hi Ladies,
Some of you may know or remember Tammy Sweed of H.O.P.E Lymphedema Treatment Center. She has spoken to our group in the past about lymphedema treatments. She has for sale T-shirts that have the pink ribbon with wings and with "Hope" printed below. The colors are brown, black, white and raspberry. The cost is $27.50. If you are interested in purchasing one, I would call first to see if she has your size
(281 242 5807). Her business is located at 9914 Hwy 90, Suite A in Sugar Land.

Blessings, Marsha

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From Josie Sethi:
The Faces behind Breast Cancer
Great online review by Karen M. Lynch
Visit: http://www.pinkribbonreview.com/
April 28, 2008

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From Serenitea Tea Room
Mother's Day Tea
Saturday, May 10th

Celebrate Mother's Day with a very special tea service. Enjoy a three-tiered tray with an assortment of finger sandwiches, scones, dessert and tea! All Moms receive a gift compliments of Serenitea!
Limited Seating Available. By Reservation Only.

Serenitea Tea Room and Gift Shop
13889 Southwest Freeway
Sugar Land, Texas 77478
Tel: 281-491-4588
http://www.sereniteatearoom.com/

Hours
Monday - Thursday 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday - Saturday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Private Events by Appointment

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From Victoria Silva:
Feminine Living

Ladies, This month our meditation will be KINDNESS.

As always the seed for the month focuses on YOU first. Many of the qualities we have been focusing on in our meditation group is new to some of you. We live in a culture where we are conditioned to giving certain qualities to others and not to
ourselves... and the truth is your needs and wants should be first. When we
nurture and love ourselves as the most important person in the world... all
your other relationships will be healthy and right. Learning to say NO to
the demands of others, and giving yourself the space and time for
yourself... Is an act of kindness and self respect. We allow others to treat
us the way we want them to treat us. It is so common as women that we let
others treat us so badly, and yet we often bend over backwards to be kind to
others. This is crazy. Be kind to you, your life depends upon YOU. When we
practice kindness towards ourselves and feel complete and joyful, it is only
natural to treat others with kindness.
If we as women do not heal first, and GIVE to ourselves first... we will
never reach our full potential as women... nor learn to care for ourselves
in a healthy, empowered way.

KINDNESS MEDITATION
Lay or sit down comfortably and begin to breath deeply from your belly area.
Just allow your breathing to relax your body, mind and Spirit.Begin to
breathe into your heart area, slowly and deeply, going deeper into your
meditation space.
Now focus on the word kindness, repeating it as a chant... over and over
again. Allow any images, events, words or feelings to come up for you. You
might recall an unkind act you did to yourself... or allowed another person
to act againest you. These are clues to what you might need to heal... in
order to embrace the act of kindness towards self. Just practice this
meditation daily... and watch how kind you become.... towards YOU... and
then begin to send kindness towards others out into the world.

OUR NEXT MEDITATION IS MAY 31ST AT 7:00.
Love and kindness,
Victoria

http://www.feminineliving.com/
RSVP at http://www.feminineliving.com/ or 713.849.3535

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From Jane Weiner
Hope Stone, Inc.
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/

Hope Center is closed Thursday
May 1 thru Sunday May 4th due to renovations!!!!!!
Please note due to the move of sister organization Pink Ribbons Project this weekend, we are taking the opportunity to shut our doors for a few days and do some necessary renovations....to make Hope Center better and more efficient!
So please note ALL classes are closed from Thursday May 1st 8 a.m. and we will re-open for Maria's Pilates class on Monday May 5th @ 8:15 a.m. (a perfect way to start your week!)
Classes cancelled:
Thursday 9:30 a.m. Ballet
Thursday 3:45 p.m. CM II (make up is May 22)
Thursday 6:30 p.m. West African
Thursday 8 p.m. Yoga
Thursday Ballet @ DWDT is OPEN!!!
Friday 9:30 a.m. adv. modern
Friday 6:15 p.m. Iaido Sword
Saturday 9 a.m. CM I (make up May 24)
Saturday 10 a.m. Ballet
Sunday 4 p.m. Yoga

Sincerely, Jane Weiner
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/

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From Donna Fong:
http://www.breastcancer.net/

Download a free copy of Living Beyond Breast Cancer's Guide for the Newly Diagnosed. This brochure talks about the physical, emotional and practical aspects of the first few months after diagnosis and provides an overview of breast cancer and a general understanding of the medical options, available support and resources, as well as practical tips to help talk to your healthcare team. Order bulk copies at a low rate for your office, or get a free single copy for yourself.
Living Beyond Breast Cancer is also unveiling two new website communities, one for women recently diagnosed with breast cancer at
http://www.lbbc.org/newly-diagnosed.asp
and one for women living with advanced (metastatic) disease at
http://www.lbbc.org/advanced-breast-cancer.asp
for easy access to a wealth of cutting-edge information.
Each section features the latest breast cancer news, updates on clinical trials, and comprehensive information on medical and quality-of-life issues. Use our search to easily find and access topics of interest, ranging from chemotherapy treatments to anxiety and depression to side effects and pain management. Other features include survivor profiles, frequently asked questions, a message board, information for caregivers and direct links to additional resources.

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Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Advocacy Alliance - Action Alert

Legislation has been introduced in Congress for a Mother's Day commemorative coin. A portion of the proceeds from this coin will benefit breast cancer research.
In the United States, one woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes.

Just stop and think about how many families will be affected by this diagnosis, how many children will have to see their mothers go through treatment, and how many will ultimately lose their mothers.

We must put an end to this heart-breaking disease - and the Mother's Day commemorative coin will help us do just that. Please click here to honor your mother by urging your members of Congress to support the Mother's Day coin. http://komenpolicy.org/campaign/us_mothersday_coin/8kgxk8n4h7w8bej8

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From the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS)
Advocacy Alert

Cancer Survivors' Bill Reaches the Senate!
The Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act, S.2790 was introduced in the Senate this month! S. 2790, is the companion to H.R. 1078, which now has more than 100 co-sponsors in the House. Having a bill in the Senate as well moves important cancer care planning that much closer to becoming a reality. This bill will improve cancer care by ensuring that cancer survivors have access to care plans and survivorship plans that will enhance their decision-making about treatment and assist them in managing all elements of their care.

Please contact your senators and urge them to become co-sponsors of S. 2790, the Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act.
Read the full text of, S. 2790, The Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act.
Thank you for working with us to improve the quality of cancer care for all Americans.

Sincerely,
Ellen L. Stovall
36-Year Cancer Survivor
President & CEO, NCCS

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From Cure Today, online:
Spring, 2008

Attention Caregivers! Coming this summer, CURE will publish a special issue for Caregivers, and we want to hear from YOU! Send your tips and essays on caregiving to editor@curetoday.com by May 19th.
http://www.curetoday.com/currentissue/departments/findinghope/index.html
Just launched! You can still find us online at http://www.curetoday.com/ / , but take a look at all we have to offer at http://www.curemediagroup.com/ /

Disclaimer:
Information presented on the CURE website is not intended as a substitute for the personalized advice given by your health care provider. The information is provided solely as a resource for you to become an informed participant in understanding treatment options for management of cancer and blood disorders. Although CURE strives to present only current and accurate information on the website‚ you should not consider it as professional advice‚ which can only be given to you by your health care provider. The views expressed and opinions expressed on the pages of the CURE website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor or publisher. Although great care has been taken in compiling and checking the information given in this publication to ensure accuracy‚ the authors‚ CURE Media Group‚ LP, and its servants or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for the continued currency of the information or for any errors‚ omissions or inaccuracies on this site‚ whether arising from negligence or otherwise howsoever or for any consequences arising therefrom.

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From Emma Jacobs:
Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation
The Unbeatable movement has begun! Next Fall, Unbeatable – A New Musical, which chronicles one woman’s struggle with breast cancer, will have its world premiere production at Houston’s acclaimed Stages Repertory Theatre and the anticipation is remarkable. More importantly, the comprehensive network of support that this new musical has already generated is awe-inspiring: M.D Anderson, The Pink Ribbons Project and The Susan G. Komen Foundation have joined dozens of individual donors to pledge significant support to develop this amazing project. Now is your moment to join our Unbeatable movement and bring this inspirational musical to Houston.

In a time when there are so many worthy causes drawing our attention, I encourage you to consider Unbeatable as a unique way to support the arts and provide a message of great hope to those taken ill with an insidious cancer. Thanks to your support we are well on our way to our goal of bringing Unbeatable to Houston!

Sincerely,
Emma Jacobs
Fundraising chair, Unbeatable
Stages Repertory Theatre

Checks made payable to the Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation, 206 Terrace Drive, Houston, Texas 77007.
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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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/ / /

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ UPCOMING EVENTS: Mark Your Calendars and Save the Dates!

HOPE STONE
Teen Yoga Classes
Saturdays 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.
Hope Center
1210 west clay #26
May 3
713.526.1907

ROSEBUDS SUPPORT MEETING
May 6, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet Future Meetings: May 20

ROSEBUDS II SUPPORT GROUP
May 8th, 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.

UNBEATABLE FUND RAISER - PAMPERED CHEF
As you know Emma has been feverishly working with Stages to bring Unbeatable to Houston. For those of you who have still not had a chance to sample the music, this is it! The ladies will be show casing the songs from the musical at the home of another of Stages board members. Please try to drop by and enjoy the music and if you happen to purchase something from Pampered Chef even better as a portion of the proceeds will go to Stages Theatre and the American Cancer Society.

RSVP: 281-261-4878 or 713-449-2792
Saturday, May 10th at 2:00pm
Home of Thomas Spiriti and John Marcellus
6431 Ivy Falls
Missouri City, TX 77459
tspiriti@comcast.net

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer? pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

KNOCKOUT ROSES
A support group for women diagnosed under 40.
2nd Monday of each month, at 5:45 pm, May 12th, 2008.
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet.
Contact Amy Rigsby, Technical Director of The Rose, 713-660-6675

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County. Survivors Offering Support (SOS), a peer Breast Cancer support group will meet on Tuesday, May 13, from 7-9p at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in New Territory.

Do not forget our "Honoring of Survivors" (5 year, 10 year, 15 year) meeting next month. As for refreshments, please bring something that you can share with the others. However, bringing a refreshment is not a requirement for attendance. This will be the last formal meeting of the year. Please let me know if you are planning to join us.

During the summer we meet informally at no-host luncheons held at various restaurants in the Sugar Land area. Notice is by email. Directions: http://sosporchlight.blogspot.com/ /

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). Please join us on May 20, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

VICTORIA'S PLACE
Our next meditation is May 31st at 7:00 pm.
For information visit: http://www.feminineliving.com/ /
Or call 713.849.3535 to register.

SUSAN G. KOMEN for the Cure - Houston Affiliate
Survivorship Houston ‘08
Teaming Up to Fight Cancer: Hope, Inspiration & Fun
Celebrate cancer survivorship on Cancer Survivor’s Day, Sunday, June 1 at a free city-wide event for all cancer patients, survivors, caregivers and their families. The event takes place at the Methodist Training Center – Home of the Houston Texans at Reliant Park from 1 – 4 p.m.
The program, to begin at approximately 1:30 p.m., will be hosted by former news anchor, Linda Lorelle. Registration is required.

Activities
· Hear inspirational words from cancer survivors and others
· Learn more about community resources
· Talk with cancer survivorship experts
· Meet Houston Texan Cheerleaders
· Enjoy live entertainment and more!

Activities for kids include: face painting, football toss and cookie decorating.
This event is sponsored by the Survivorship Houston Coalition. For more information, including event registration, visit www.survivorshiphouston.org or call 713-745-0549.
(A Komen Houston Affiliate funded event.)

M.D. ANDERSON NETWORK 20th ANNUAL
LIVING FULLY WITH and BEYOND CANCER CONFERENCE
Save the Date!!!!!
This annual event for patients/survivors and caregivers celebrates its 20th anniversary with the theme, “Live, Reach, Celebrate,”
Keynote Speaker, Actor Gerald McRaney
September 4 - 6, 2008
Houston Marriott Westchase
2900 Briarpark Drive
Houston, Texas
Online Registration starts Monday, June 16, 2008
Details TBA or visit www.mdanderson.org/andersonnetwork

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
Tour de Pink 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tour de Pink is the annual fundraising bike ride sponsored by Pink Ribbons Project to raise funds for breast cancer education and awareness.
Details, TBA

"UNBEATABLE"
Stages Repertory Theatre
Coming September, 2008
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. http://www.unbeatablemusical.com/ / / Details TBA
To make a donation, contact Emma Jacobs at emma@jacobswoerner.com

SUSAN G. KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE
Houston, Saturday October 4th, 2008
Save the Date! Details TBA

SUSAN'S RALLY in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
The Susan Roberson Wade Memorial Car Rally
Golf Tournament - October 27, 2008
For more information: http://www.susansrally.org/ /

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
2nd annual Pink Pairs luncheon
This year the pairs being honored will be Girlfriends - the survivor and her best supporting friend.
October 29th
River Oaks Country Club.
Details TBA

CURE MAGAZINE
Coming later this fall, the 5th Annual CURE Patient & Survivor Forum will take place November 1 & 2 in Dallas. CURE is proud to offer a Young Adult Track at this meeting in addition to CNE credit for nurses. For More information visit:
http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html
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"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

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“The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost

Until we meet again...stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing no matter how many interruptions!
Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com
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Pink Crusader Interrupted - Week #5

2008-04-06T10:02:00.022-05:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,

The Pink Crusader is performing double duty from far away places, but continues to send big hugs, warm greetings, and best regards...along with all the latest updates. We will temporarily be off schedule during upcoming weeks and will return to our post ASAP! Until then, have a most excellent life, check back often and please read on...

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."
-Robert Louis Stevenson

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SURVIVOR UPDATE

Angie Elliott (per Colin Elliott)
March 31, 2008

All,

I wanted to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers for our friend Cathy. Unfortunately, we found out yesterday that Cathy had lost her three year battle on Saturday around 6:45pm with her husband Dan at her side.

Angie is having quite a hard time with Cathy's passing, as they seemed to compliment each other so well. She will certainly be missed. Our prayers go out to her and her family and friends.

On our front, Angie was able to drive on Saturday to an acupuncture appointment. The medicines are still causing her to make some adjustments, but she does seem to be causing less problems than before. We see the doctor on Wednesday, so hopefully we'll have enough information to make a post later this week.

Our love,
Colin

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Molly Bobrow

Get-well wishes to Molly following recent foot surgery to remove a small melanoma. Hope Molly is "back on her feet" and singing up a storm in no time!

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FYI

From Rosemary Barr:

Item #1
Got this from ACS and thought some of you might be interested and fit the criteria. If any of you, do it be sure to let us know so that we will get the magazine when it comes out. It might be for the October issue!

A writer from Ladies' Home Journal is seeking survivors and their closestfriends, and second, she is asking that these people not have appeared in other national media previously. The request is below:

I'm looking for cancer survivors and their best friends who provided extraordinary support throughout their diagnosis and treatment. We'll be featuring pairs of women, so each survivor would need to identify one friend (ideally not a relative) who helped her.

I'll be working on this throughout the next week and would need to set up 15-minute pre-interviews with them. They cannot have been previously featured in other national media outlets, namely magazines or TV. A range of ages, ethnicity, etc is welcome.

Please send me any leads you might have as well as their contact information. Also, I am going to be out of the office on Monday, so if you send any names before Tuesday, please send it to jennifer.walker@cancer.org .

Thanks so much for your help We really appreciate it.
Melinda Henderson
Communications Manager
American Cancer Society
High Plains Division, Gulf Coast Region
6301 Richmond Avenue, Houston, Texas 77057
Office) 713.706.5675
Cell) 832.434.7997

Item #2
THE TRUTH ABOUT CANCER PREMIERES ON PBS APRIL 16, 2008

Emmy Award-Winning Filmmaker Linda Garmon Takes on the Question "How Far Have We Come in the War on Cancer?" News Journalist and Cancer Survivor Linda Ellerbee
Hosts Post-Broadcast Panel Discussion

What is the truth about cancer? Is it the same deadly killer it was 30 years ago - or are we making progress? Find out through the poignant stories of patients battling the disease. Written, produced, and directed by award-winning filmmaker Linda Garmon, The Truth About Cancer premieres nationally on PBS Wednesday, April 16, at 9:00pm ET (check local listings). Comprised of a 90-minute documentary followed by a 30-minute panel discussion, the two-hour broadcast event takes a deep look inside the cancer field gauging how far we have come in this decades-old war and asking, "Why does anyone still die of cancer?"

Part science, part personal catharsis, part character-driven storytelling, The Truth About Cancer is narrated by Garmon, who tells the moving story of her husband's battle with cancer. Over the course of the film, Garmon returns to the same Boston-area hospitals at which her husband was treated, and exposes startling truths about survival rates of metastisized cancers, and the limited success of drugs and clinical trials. Interwoven throughout are the stories of three additional cancer patients, and their families and doctors, as they navigate the deeply personal decisions surrounding the disease. The documentary also follows several medical professionals working to promote screening, research the latest developments in cancer treatment, and help patients and their families live with a cancer diagnosis.

"This film makes it clear that it's very much a part of American culture to believe that if you fight hard enough, you can beat cancer. But when it comes to having metastatic cancer, your survival depends on the biology of your cancer cells, and whether they are susceptible to state-of-the-art treatment," says Garmon. "In sharing my husband's story and the stories of other patients, I hope to shed light on this important truth."

The Truth About Cancer is the third installment of PBS's Take One Step—a campaign offering primetime programming and outreach tools to help people take the first step towards better health. Following the 90-minute documentary is a 30-minute panel discussion entitled Take One Step: A Conversation About Cancer with Linda Ellerbee. News journalist and breast cancer survivor Linda Ellerbee moderates the dialogue featuring a panel of doctors, all of whom are cancer survivors themselves. Having sat on both sides of a cancer diagnosis, the panel shares their unique perspectives, offering both personal and professional observations on how to handle a cancer diagnosis, what to say to loved ones, how to advocate for yourself, and how to best live your life, with cancer. Panelists include U.S. News and World Report health editor Dr. Bernadine Healy; breast cancer surgeon and Breast Cancer Research stamp mastermind Dr. Ernie Bodai; neurologist and leading palliative care expert Dr. Richard Payne; and counseling psychologist Dr. Paul Brenner.

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From Rosemary Herron:

This is just a friendly reminder of our April 8th SOS Gail Larson Event. If any of our SOS sisters can help provide bottled water, can beverages and/or cookies please let me know. I also need help with set-up since our dear Marsha is still recovering from knee surgery . Please feel free to invite any other cancer survivors you think would enjoy our speaker. It has been some time since we have had a speaker, so am hoping for a good turnout.

Gail will have some complimentary copies of one of her books to give away and there will be DOOR PRIZES! It should be a very enjoyable and worthwhile evening. I look forward to seeing you!

Blessings, Rosemary
281-242-0351

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From Denise Hazen:

Hi Girls!

As some of you know, I have written a book called The Girlfriends' Guide to Breast Cancer. It is a short book written for friends who have a girlfriend with breast cancer. In the book I include suggestions for helping the girlfriend as she travels this journey.

If you have any ideas that you think would be helpful to include in the book, please let me know. I am meeting with a publisher and am hoping to have this in print soon!

Some ideas are:
1. ways your girlfriends supported you
2. gifts that were thoughtful
3. helpful hints for patients (was there a favorite lotion that helped with chapped skin, how did you handle the mouth sores etc.)
.....anything that made your journey more tolerable!

Thanks for your help! God bless! Stay strong and healthy!
xoxo - denise hazendenise@yahoo.com

PS feel free to forward to anyone else!

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From Cheryl Donlin:

Fewer Breast Patients May Need Chemo
Many Breast Cancer Patients Can Skip Chemo or Take Gentler Versions, Studies Suggest
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE AP Medical Writer
SAN ANTONIO Dec 14, 2007 (AP)
The Associated Press

Thousands of breast cancer patients each year could be spared chemotherapy or get gentler versions of it without harming their odds of beating the disease, new research suggests.
One study found that certain women did better were less likely to die or have a relapse if given a less harsh drug than Adriamycin, a mainstay of treatment for decades.

Another study found that a gene test can help predict whether some women need chemo at all even among those whose cancer has spread to their lymph nodes, which typically brings full treatment now.

The findings are sure to speed the growing trend away from chemo for many breast cancer patients and targeting it to a smaller group of women who truly need it, doctors said Thursday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, where the studies were reported.

"We are backing off on chemotherapy and using chemotherapy more selectively" in certain women, said Dr. Eric Winer of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

The gene test in particular "will start changing practice nearly immediately," said Dr. Peter Ravdin of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "The results are compelling that this test ... helps select patients who will most benefit from chemotherapy."
Breast cancer is the most common major cancer in American women. More than 178,000 new cases are expected this year. Most are helped to grow by estrogen, and hormone-blocking medicines like tamoxifen are used to treat those.

Chemo usually is added if the disease has spread to lymph nodes a situation faced by about 45,000 U.S. women each year. Doctors know that chemo won't help most of these women, but they have had no good way to tell who can safely skip its cost and misery.

Here's where Oncotype DX, a test that measures the activity of 21 genes and gives a score to predict a woman's risk of recurrence, comes in. Doctors have used it for several years to guide treatment for certain women with early breast cancers, especially those that not spread.

The new study, led by Dr. Kathy Albain of Loyola University in Chicago, looked at whether it accurately predicted chemo's benefit in 367 women whose hormone-driven cancer had spread to lymph nodes.

A decade after these women were treated, those who had low scores on the gene test were found to have had no benefit from chemo. Conversely, chemo did a lot of good for those with high scores.

Because 40 percent of the women scored low, it means that as many as 18,000 women each year might safely skip chemo.

The National Cancer Institute and the test's maker, Genomic Health of Redwood City, Calif., sponsored the study. Albain, Winer and Ravdin have consulted or been paid speakers for the company in the past.

Dr. Kelly Marcom, a Duke University cancer expert with no ties to the company, said the test would give valuable information to guide treatment for more patients in the future. He has used it on about 50 women in the last year.

"I've had it cut both ways" ruling chemo in and out, Marcom said.
The test is expensive $3,400 though many insurers are paying for it because it can avoid even more costly chemo.

Albain plans to discuss using it with Andrea DeRosier, a 49-year-old health care administrator from suburban Chicago whose cancer has spread to a single lymph node.

When a surgeon said she likely would need chemo, "I remember thinking, 'Oh, that's terrible,'" DeRosier said. "I want whatever protocol is going to keep me alive," but not futile treatment, she said.

Chemo's side effects are getting greater attention. One drug commonly used for early breast cancer doxorubicin, sold as Adriamycin and generic brands is known to cut the risk of having a recurrence or dying, but raises the risk of heart problems and even leukemia.

Dr. Stephen Jones of Baylor-Sammons Cancer Center tested using Taxotere, a drug not linked to heart problems, in its place in more than 1,000 women with early breast cancer. After seven years, 87 percent of those given Taxotere survived, compared with 82 percent of those given Adriamycin. In addition, those given Taxotere were less likely to have had a recurrence.

The study was sponsored by Taxotere's maker, Sanofi-Aventis SA, a French company with U.S. offices in Bridgewater, N.J. Jones consults for the company.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine in October showed that another drug, Taxol, does not work for the most common form of breast cancer.

These new studies should lead to less use of chemo, but there has been "intense" pushback from doctors, who fear giving up on a treatment that might help some patients, said Barbara Brenner, head of the advocacy group Breast Cancer Action.
"It's very hard to turn a ship like this," she said. "Adding things never takes much, but removing things takes a mountain of data from the medical community."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3997482
http://www.abcnews.com/
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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From Victoria Silva:
Feminine Living

OUR NEXT MEDITATION IS APRIL 19TH AT 7:00

RSVP at http://www.feminineliving.com/ / or 713.849.3535

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From Jane Weiner
Hope Stone, Inc.

For Adults
Come, dance, point your toes, roll on the floor (or a ball) or get those abs in order! All adult classes are still going on. Please check out the website for continuing classes and our new updated summer schedule. http://www.hopestoneinc.org/ .

For Children
Summer classes are going to happen. There will be a 6 week session starting June 2nd. Cost is $110.00 for all 6 weeks or $18.00 for a drop in session.

Monday: 1:30 - 2:30pm Modern Dance (7-12 yrs)

Tuesday: 11:15 - 12:00noon Creative Movement I (2-3 yrs)
12:15 - 1:00pm Creative Movement II (3-5 yrs)
1:15 - 2:00pm Creative Movement III (6-7yrs)
3:30 - 4:25 Yoga (6 - 8 yrs)

Wed: 3:30 - 4:25 Yoga (7 - 12 yrs)
4:30 - 5:30pm Yoga (Teens)

Thurs: 11:30 - 12:30pm Capoeira (6 - 8 yrs)
12:30 - 1:30 Capoeira ( 8 - 13 yrs)

Keep checking the website as other classes might be added. www.hopestoneinc.org
Hope Center will actually be closing! But only for one weekend! We will close on Thursday April 24th from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm to get some stuff moved! Then...We will close the doors all day Saturday and Sunday, the 26th & 27th to do some much needed upgrading and remodeling!

Sincerely, Jane Weiner

http://www.hopestoneinc.org/ /

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From Donna Fong:

Taken from M. D. Anderson CancerWise Newsletter, April 2008
Guidelines Created to Help Prevent Cancer
http://www.cancerwise.org/April_2008 /

By Dawn Dorsey

Health experts are recommending new ways to help prevent cancer based on scientific evidence that choices about diet, physical activity and weight play a major part in a person's chances of developing the disease.

The report contains new health guidelines based on the analysis of more than 7,000 scientific studies by 21 international experts over more than five years. The document was released by the American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR) at its annual meeting in November and has been used since then as a guide in M. D. Anderson's Cancer Prevention Center.

“This is the most comprehensive research to date about cancer prevention and nutrition,” says registered dietitian Sally Scroggs, manager of health education in the Cancer Prevention Center.

The recommendations focus on three main guidelines:
Choose healthy foods:
Eat mostly plant foods
Limit red meat and avoid processed meats
Be physically active every day for at least 30 minutes
Maintain a healthy weight throughout life
Re-examine your plate

A way to translate the dietary recommendations to daily life is to make sure at least two-thirds of your plate consists of plant foods, Scroggs says.

Plant foods include:
Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables
Legumes (beans)
Whole grains
Fruits and non-starchy vegetables (carrots, broccoli) help protect against cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, liver, pancreas, ovary, endometrium and lung.

Red meat should be treated like more of a small side dish, Scroggs says. According to the AICR report, people should closely limit red meat (beef, pork and lamb) to 18 ounces or less each week. Alternatives include fish and poultry.

“We talk to our patients about their red meat consumption,” Scroggs says. “And we tell them there is new, more-substantiated evidence that limiting red meat helps prevent several types of cancer, especially colorectal cancer.”

Scroggs is quick to point out to patients, however, that the guidelines do not prohibit meat. Meat can be a valuable source of essential nutrients such as protein, iron, zinc and vitamin B12.

“It all boils down to portion size, which is something Americans need to be more conscious of in their diets,” Scroggs says. “A piece of meat, say 3 ounces or so (the size of a deck of cards), is OK several times a week.”

However, the report cautions people to avoid all processed meats, including hot dogs, lunch meats and ham.

What’s so bad about meat?
Scroggs says researchers used to think the saturated fat in meat increased the chance of cancer, but current research points to a number of other reasons. Studies have shown, for instance, that red meat consumption increases the production of carcinogens in the colon. Cooking at high temperatures also produces additional carcinogens.

Processed meats, which are preserved by salting, smoking, curing or treating with chemicals, have been found to increase cancer risk. Researchers are studying exactly what causes this to happen.

The same cancer-causing factors in red meat may be responsible, or it may have to do with the chemicals that are used for processing. Researchers do know that carcinogens, specifically N-nitroso compounds, are produced when meat is processed.

Be active daily
Physical activity is particularly valuable in preventing breast, endometrial and colorectal cancers.

The researchers recommend people try activities they enjoy.

They also suggest:
Exercising moderately every day for 30 minutes
Limiting sedentary activities (watching television)
As fitness improves, aim for at least 60 minutes of moderate activity or 30 minutes of vigorous activity every day.

Watch your weight
The single most important way to avoid cancer is to maintain a healthy weight throughout life.

The most common method of measuring body fat is calculating your body mass index. (BMI can be calculated through the National Institutes of Health Web site.)

The report also looks at body fat distribution (measured by waist circumference and waist to hip ratio) and patterns of weight gain. There is evidence that abdominal fat, in particular, is linked to colorectal, pancreatic, postmenopausal breast and endometrial cancers.

“Of course, these components all work together,” Scroggs says. “Eating a healthy diet and getting the recommended amount of physical activity will help you maintain a good weight. Also, following this regimen will help fight against other chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.”

M. D. Anderson resources: Cancer Prevention Center
Other resources: American Institute of Cancer Research

The material and content contained in CancerWise is for general health information only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Users of CancerWise should not rely exclusively on information provided in CancerWise for their own health needs. All specific medical questions should be presented to your own health care provider.

©2008 The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

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From the American Cancer Society:

The American Cancer Society has launched a new Web community to help
connect cancer survivors, their friends and family members.
www.SharingHope.tv , which allows users to upload video, audio, photos and
artwork to tell their stories of cancer, is innovative for a non-profit
organization: it relies almost completely on people outside of the
organization to create its content. Built on the Ruby on Rails framework,
it enables OpenID technology.

The American Cancer Society has launched a new Web community to help
connect cancer survivors, their friends and family members. SharingHope.tv
allows users to upload video, audio, photos and artwork to tell their
stories of cancer. Innovative for a non-profit organization, the new site
relies almost completely on people outside of the organization to create
its content and it enables OpenID technology. SharingHope.tv is built on
the Ruby on Rails web application framework.

AT A GLANCE
SharingHope.tv allows users to
* upload videos, photos, music or artwork
* add free background music from independent artists
* view content, make comments, and share it with others
* embed videos on their own blogs or MySpace and Facebook pages
* store twice as much video content as YouTube
* log in with an existing OpenID
* create an OpenID using ACS Passport

Click on the link below to watch Sharinghope.tv - Who we are:
http://www.sharinghope.tv/video/1684623

Jennifer S. Walker
Regional Director of Communications
American Cancer Society
High Plains Division, Gulf Coast Region
6301 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77057
(713) 706-5692 - office
(281) 782-4646 - cell
www.cancer.org

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From National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC)
Call to Action Newsletter, April 2008

http://www.breastcancercaucus.org/ is YOUR Resource in this Election Year
While the Republican nominee for President is settled, the Democratic competition is not. The remaining primary contests are crucial and the general election is fast approaching. This gives breast cancer advocates the opportunity to continue pressing candidates on the issues of importance to our mission, like access to quality health care for all, federal funding for breast cancer research, and what each candidate would do as president to eradicate breast cancer once and for all.

This year alone more than 250,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and nearly 40,000 women will die from this disease. Women have a one in eight lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer. We still do not know what causes breast cancer, how to prevent it, or how to treat it effectively. Let the candidates know we need to change this – and they need to help.

To learn where the candidates stand, visit www.BreastCancerCaucus.org – and take the pledge to vote to eradicate breast cancer.

© 2007 National Breast Cancer Coalition
http://www.stopbreastcancer.org/

NBCC neither sponsors nor endorses any candidate or his or her positions.
National Breast Cancer Coalition/Fund
1101 17th Street, NW, Suite 1300
Washington, DC 20036
USA

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From Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization:

Y-Me Peer-to-Peer Newsletter, April 2008

Free information: Y-ME tear-off pads
Looking for a way to tell others about the support offered by the Y-ME Hotline? Tear-off pads provide the chance to pass out the toll-free number to anyone who may need it. Available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Visit http://main.y-me.org/site/PageServer?pagename=OrderYMEPublications to complete the order form.

Y-ME Peer to Peer is a monthly e-mail newsletter from Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization where, in order to ensure no one faces breast cancer alone, we emphasize information, empowerment and peer-to-peer support.

© 2008 Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization. All rights reserved.
http://www.y-me.org/publications/generalpubs.php

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From Cure Today, online:
Spring, 2008

Rising number of staph infections leads hospitals and patients to put their guard up.
By Katy Human

Constance Roche lay in a double room after her mastectomy, a drain in her left breast to clear fluid buildup. Diagnosed with breast cancer, Roche went through surgery in December 2006 and expected to begin chemotherapy as soon as she healed. Nurses offered her a private room, but Roche didn’t think she needed it. It was just one night, after all.

That evening, they wheeled another woman into the room—a patient who was fighting a serious infection following breast reconstruction surgery. Roche, herself a nurse, says she was well aware of the risk of infection.

“I tried to be extremely careful, but I was still groggy from the anesthetic,” she says. Two weeks later, Roche, now 59, was in isolation at the hospital for five days, fighting the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that invaded her surgical site. Genetic testing linked the infection to her roommate.

MRSA (“mersa”) refers to a type of staph bacteria that has grown resistant to several first-line antibiotics—methicillin, oxacillin, penicillin, and amoxicillin.
Cancer patients have a higher-than-average risk of MRSA infection for several reasons. The invasive catheters and other devices used to deliver drugs or drain surgical sites offer a point of entry for bacteria. Hospitals and other health care settings foster drug-resistant strains of staph, and cancer treatment—or the cancer itself—often leaves patients with weak immune systems that can’t mount strong defenses.

“We’re all seeing this in our cancer patients, and we all have started treating it pretty aggressively,” says Roy Chemaly, MD, director of infection control at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. “We see it especially in our patients with no immune systems. They get pneumonia, bacteremia (bloodstream infections). They’re just very vulnerable.”

Growing Concern
Usually, MRSA infections are fairly minor skin infections that do not require antibiotic treatment. A skin MRSA infection may look like a pimple or boil; it can be red, swollen, and painful, and may drain or seep fluid. “Invasive” MRSA occurs when drug-resistant staph bacteria find a point of entry into the body and infect the lungs, heart, or bloodstream. Some of these infections are deadly.

MRSA is probably spread most often by skin contact—from the hands of a health care worker, for example. But it can also be picked up from shared items, such as a razor, or from contaminated surfaces and medical devices.

The proportion of staph infections that are resistant to methicillin and other antibiotics has been rising steadily in health care settings for several decades. Researchers estimate about 10 percent of staph bacteria in hospitals were methicillin-resistant in the 1980s. By the 1990s, resistant strains accounted for up to 40 percent of infections, and by 2003, 64 percent of staph infections in intensive care units were resistant to methicillin.

“These days, more people in hospitals are very sick, and because of all the antibiotics used, there is intense selective pressure, which is the perfect breeding ground for resistant strains of bacteria,” says Ken Gershman, MD, an epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The medical and public health world particularly began to take note when MRSA infections began popping up more often in the general community. “There appears to be more MRSA everywhere,” Dr. Gershman says.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started to track MRSA more carefully, and worked with a group of state health departments and academic physicians involved in the Active Bacterial Core Surveillance (ABCs) network to identify all diagnosed cases of invasive disease in a sample population. The ABC network encompasses 10 sites around the country (nine were involved in the MRSA work), and is part of the CDC’s Emerging Infections Program. Dr. Gershman is responsible for the network’s work in the Denver area.

In October 2007, the researchers published stunning figures in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Extrapolating their findings from nine regions, the authors estimated MRSA causes more than 94,000 life-threatening infections every year, and nearly 19,000 deaths in the United States. For the first time, researchers had an actual number of how many people in the United States were getting MRSA. The rate of infection found was 31.8 instances per 100,000 people.

“If their projection is accurate, these deaths would exceed the total number of deaths attributable to human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS in the United States in 2005,” wrote Elizabeth Bancroft, with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, in an accompanying editorial.

A flurry of news articles ensued, with many calling for a national MRSA surveillance system. Advocates urged patients and families to put pressure on health care providers to wash hands and wear gloves appropriately, and to go public with cases that might have been acquired because of lack of good
hygiene.

In January, MRSA was still the second top word search on the CDC website when the Archives of Surgery reported more infection news, this time about the risk of surgical site infection following mastectomy. The researchers found that despite the use of preventive antibiotics before surgery, breast cancer patients receiving reconstruction with implants were twice as likely to get an infection as patients whose reconstruction used their own abdominal tissue (12.4 percent compared with 6.2 percent, respectively). The additional hospital costs per patient totaled a minimum $4,091.

While factors such as introducing a foreign object into the body likely contribute to the increased risk, authors of the study say the next task is to determine other causes and how to prevent them.

New Drugs, New Policies
Roche, who is also a public health nurse with the Winona County Health Department in Minnesota, was aware of MRSA’s rise in hospital and community settings. She had public health colleagues who dealt with MRSA patients. “I knew how serious MRSA could be,” Roche says.

The pain from Roche’s infection lasted about two days—a vancomycin drip started clearing the infection quickly, which isn’t always the case, says Dr. Chemaly. Some MRSA infections, he says, are no longer responding to vancomycin, the preferred drug for methicillin-resistant staph.

“Fortunately, we do have some other choices,” Dr. Chemaly says. M.D. Anderson and other hospitals are using the synthetic antibiotic Zyvox (linezolid) for MRSA pneumonia in cancer patients, and Cubicin (daptomycin) for blood infections, he says. For persistent deep tissue infections that don’t respond to vancomycin, Tygacil (tigecycline) is very effective, Dr. Chemaly says.

Many patients find MRSA infections terribly stressful, not only because of the risk of death, but also because infection treatment may delay planned treatment for cancer. “The main thing is to get rid of the infection as soon as possible,” Dr. Chemaly says. “An infection can kill a patient faster than most cancers.”

In January, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first rapid blood test, called the BD GeneOhm StaphSR Assay, to identify blood-borne MRSA infections—the test delivers results in two hours instead of two days—critical for quick treatment decisions. The FDA approved another test last April called Xpert MRSA, a molecular test that uses polymerase chain reaction technology to generate results from a swab in a little over an hour.

Even before the JAMA study came out last year, Dr. Gershman says epidemiologists and infection control practitioners knew MRSA had become an increasing problem in health care settings and more attention was needed for infection control.

At the end of 2006, for example, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement launched its two-year 5 Million Lives Campaign to prevent five million cases of medical harm in U.S. hospitals. The campaign puts a major emphasis on preventing MRSA with basic infection control practices. At the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Pittsburgh, a MRSA prevention program was so successful that the VA expanded it in 2007 to all VA medical centers.

“In the past year or two, there’s been a lot of emphasis at the national level,” Dr. Gershman says. “If hospitals implement effectively some of these measures, it should be evident fairly soon in lower numbers [of MRSA].”

In February, California’s Department of Public Health announced mandatory reporting of MRSA by health care providers to identify high-risk groups and develop prevention programs. At M.D. Anderson in Texas, Dr. Chemaly says, meticulous surveillance has highlighted high-risk areas and patients, and infection specialists are responding with new policies and procedures. “Surgical services [at M.D. Anderson] was seeing higher rates than other areas, so now they’re taking a nose swipe before surgery,” Dr. Chemaly says. If a patient is colonized with MRSA bacteria, he says, they’re treated before surgery with an appropriate antibiotic.

For both inpatient and outpatient services, patients who are known to be colonized or infected with MRSA are isolated, he says, treated by providers wearing gloves and masks, and placed in rooms that are cleaned carefully before another patient enters. In intensive care, antimicrobial tubing has also helped cut down infection rates in patients who require invasive devices. “We are seeing lower rates now than the CDC reports as an average,” Dr. Chemaly says.

Hospitals in England banned long sleeves, ties, and jewelry for doctors last fall, concerned about the rise in hospital-borne infections. Dr. Chemaly says that’s not yet on the table at M.D. Anderson, and the British medical journal Lancet criticized the new policies there, saying they were not based on solid science. Hospitals would do better to practice the basics, such as disinfecting often-used surfaces, Lancet’s editors argued.

As for Roche, she’s doing very well now. Her surgery and subsequent battle with MRSA ended in December 2006, she tolerated several months of chemotherapy well, and has thrived with the support of friends and family. She does wash her hands a little more aggressively now, she admits. “I thought I was pretty conscientious about washing my hands before,” Roche says. “Now, I scrub them even longer.”

http://www.curetoday.com/currentissue/departments/findinghope/index.html
Just launched! You can still find us online at http://www.curetoday.com/ , but take a look at all we have to offer at http://www.curemediagroup.com/

Disclaimer:
Information presented on the CURE website is not intended as a substitute for the personalized advice given by your health care provider. The information is provided solely as a resource for you to become an informed participant in understanding treatment options for management of cancer and blood disorders. Although CURE strives to present only current and accurate information on the website‚ you should not consider it as professional advice‚ which can only be given to you by your health care provider. The views expressed and opinions expressed on the pages of the CURE website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor or publisher. Although great care has been taken in compiling and checking the information given in this publication to ensure accuracy‚ the authors‚ CURE Media Group‚ LP, and its servants or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for the continued currency of the information or for any errors‚ omissions or inaccuracies on this site‚ whether arising from negligence or otherwise howsoever or for any consequences arising therefrom.

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From Emma Jacobs:
Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation

The Unbeatable movement has begun! Next Fall, Unbeatable – A New Musical, which chronicles one woman’s struggle with breast cancer, will have its world premiere production at Houston’s acclaimed Stages Repertory Theatre and the anticipation is remarkable. More importantly, the comprehensive network of support that this new musical has already generated is awe-inspiring: M.D Anderson, The Pink Ribbons Project and The Susan G. Komen Foundation have joined dozens of individual donors to pledge significant support to develop this amazing project. Now is your moment to join our Unbeatable movement and bring this inspirational musical to Houston.

In a time when there are so many worthy causes drawing our attention, I encourage you to consider Unbeatable as a unique way to support the arts and provide a message of great hope to those taken ill with an insidious cancer. Thanks to your support we are well on our way to our goal of bringing Unbeatable to Houston!

Sincerely,

Emma Jacobs
Fundraising chair, Unbeatable
Stages Repertory Theatre
Checks made payable to the Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation, 206 Terrace Drive, Houston, Texas 77007.

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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!

RELAY FOR LIFE - FORT BEND COUNTY
April 4 & 5th at George Park in Richmond
For additional info contact Sharon Jamison, RN
M. D. Anderson Radiation Oncology
1603 Main Street
Richmond, TX
713-563-9103

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Fatigue Awareness Week - April 7 -10, 2008
Monday April 7th, 10am - 1pm - Clinic Open House
Mays Clinic, Sixth Floor
Tuesday, April 8th, - Cancer-related Fatigue Video Viewing
6:30 - 7:30pm
Cancer Prevention Building, Eight Floor, Rooms 1 & 2
RSVP: 713-792-2808 or e-mail bsmp@mdanderson.org
For more information, call the Patient Education Office at 713-794-5379
or e-mail www.mdanderson.org/departments/patedu

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County. Survivors Offering Support (SOS), a peer Breast Cancer support group will meet on Tuesday, April 8, from 7-9p at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in New Territory. Guest speaker is Gail Larson, 7yr. BRCA survivor, RN, and author. Gail's soon to be released book ,"Finding God in Your Story", is her 7th book on surviving cancer. You can visit her website http://www.gaillarson.com/ / / to learn more about her. Invitation is open to all cancer survivors. Call 281-242-0351 for more info. Directions: http://sosporchlight.blogspot.com/ / /

ROSEBUDS II SUPPORT GROUP
April 10, 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. Future Meetings: April 24

RELAY FOR LIFE of SUGAR LAND
April 11-12th at Oyster Creek Park.
Call 713 706 5644 for further information.

HOPE STONE
Teen Yoga Classes
Saturdays 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.
Hope Center
1210 west clay #26
April 12, 19, 26, May 3
713.526.1907

AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER
Houston - April 12 - 13, 2008
Congratulations on deciding to register for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer! By registering online now, you will have immediate access to all of the tools of your 'My Avon Walk Center' and can begin fundraising towards your goal today. https://secure2.convio.net/avon/site/TRR/Walk2008/Houston/1021196898? pg=ptype&fr_id=1420&JServSessionIdr004=x9jrwe2701.app26b or For more information, please call us at (713) 968-9250. Email: volunteer.houston@avonwalk.org

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

ROSEBUDS SUPPORT MEETING
April 15, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet Future Meetings: May 6 & 20

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
April 18, 2008 6:00 PM - April 19, 2008 6:00 AM
Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
The Anderson Network and Place...of wellness invite adult patients, caregivers and survivors to take a day trip to the Downtown Aquarium.
Saturday, April 19, 2008, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m. - Bus departs from Rotary House
3:30 p.m. - Bus departs from Downtown Aquarium
4:00 p.m. - Bus arrives at Rotary House
Space is limited to 30 participants.
Please call 800-345-6324
or 713-745-9204 to
make a reservation.

-Wristband will be provided so that you may enjoy the aquarium property and exhibits.
- Food and drinks will not be provided. Please bring money for any items you wish to purchase.
- The trip is open to any M. D. Anderson patient, caregiver or survivor age 18 or older.
- Wheelchair accessible.
- If you are unable to attend after a reservation has been made, please contact Anderson Network office as soon as possible.
- Parking at M. D. Anderson is available in Garage 10 for $10 or the Sourth Extension (Brown) Lot for $6.
For more info, please click on the following link:
http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/andersonnet/display.cfm?id=3a4268cb-eb1e-4f99-bd1d681196222ef2&method=displayfull&pn=b0238868-2a67-438d-bfdb1349b8957cab

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
April 18, 2008 6:00 PM - April 19, 2008 6:00 AM
Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

VICTORIA'S PLACE
Our next meditation is April 19th at 7:00 pm.
For information visit: http://www.feminineliving.com/
Or call 713.849.3535 to register.

NATIONAL BREAST CANCER COALITION (NBCC):
2008 Annual Advocacy Training Conference
Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
April 26th - 29th 2008

Register now to attend NBCCF's 16th Annual Advocacy Training Conference. Join hundreds of national and international breast cancer activists in our fight to eradicate breast cancer.

NBCCF's yearly gathering helps participants hone their advocacy skills and learn about the latest in breast cancer science, research and policy. Hear directly about the controversies and issues from important leaders, scientists, and advocates. To learn more about this event and registration, visit: http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=1

SUSAN'S RALLY in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
The Susan Roberson Wade Memorial Car Rally
Save the Dates: Rally - April 27, 2008
Golf Tournament - October 27, 2008
For more information: http://www.susansrally.org/ / /

HOPE STONE, INC.
Save The Date for our Premiere Piece
PEACE PIECE ...May 1st, 2008
a dance, theater and music performed by
the Kid's Play Ensemble and YouthSound
7:00 pm
Kaplan Theater, JCC
tickets on sale now
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/ / /
713.526.1907 ext. 3

CURE MAGAZINE
Registration is open for the 2008 CURE Day of Caring Breast Cancer Forum on May 3 & 4in Denver. The Day of Caring weekend features breast cancer experts from around the country, as well as educational exhibits, and a Survivor’s Fashion Show.
Full agendas, hotel accommodations, and online registration are available now! We look forward to seeing you there! http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer? pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

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). Please join us on May 20, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

M.D. ANDERSON NETWORK 20th ANNUAL
LIVING FULLY WITH and BEYOND CANCER CONFERENCE
Save the Date!!!!!
This annual event for patients/survivors and caregivers celebrates its 20th anniversary with the theme, “Live, Reach, Celebrate,”
Keynote Speaker, Actor Gerald McRaney
September 4 - 6, 2008
Houston Marriott Westchase
2900 Briarpark Drive
Houston, Texas
Online Registration starts Monday, June 16, 2008
Details TBA or visit www.mdanderson.org/ andersonnetwork

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
Tour de Pink 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tour de Pink is the annual fundraising bike ride sponsored by Pink Ribbons Project to raise funds for breast cancer education and awareness.
Details, TBA

"UNBEATABLE"
Stages Repertory Theatre
Coming September, 2008
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. http://www.unbeatablemusical.com/ / Details TBA
To make a donation, contact Emma Jacobs at emma@jacobswoerner.com

SUSAN G. KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE
Houston, Saturday October 4th, 2008
Save the Date! Details TBA

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
2nd annual Pink Pairs luncheon
This year the pairs being honored will be Girlfriends - the survivor and her best supporting friend.
October 29th
River Oaks Country Club.
Details TBA

CURE MAGAZINE
Coming later this fall, the 5th Annual CURE Patient & Survivor Forum will take place November 1 & 2 in Dallas. CURE is proud to offer a Young Adult Track at this meeting in addition to CNE credit for nurses. For More information visit:
http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

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"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

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“It is not down in any map; true places never are."
-Herman Melville

Until we meet again...stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing no matter how many interruptions!

Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

Pink Crusader Interrupted - Week #4

2008-03-30T22:57:00.002-05:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,

The Pink Crusader continues to fly under the radar, but sends big hugs and warm regards, along with all the latest updates. Have a pleasant week and watch out for those April Fool's pranksters! Please read on...

“I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it." -Jack Handey
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SURVIVOR UPDATE
Angie Elliott (per Colin Elliott)

March 25, 2008 - Part I

Hey everybody. I'm sitting here in the ER with Angie sleeping next to me and thought I'd pass along an update.

First, I wanted to ask you to all send thoughts and/or prayers to our friend Cathy O'Brian (and her husband Dan, 4yr old son Danny and the rest of their collective families and friends). She's a friend of Angie's who was recently moved to hospice care due to complications with her cancer. We're asking for miracles in whatever form they want to come in...

Having been at the hospital so much recently, is it bad when you get to know the ER nurses to the point where you have favorites and even ask to be placed with them when you arrive?

Well, this tonight happens to be our third time here in the past couple weeks. After the trip across the street via ambulance that Angie talked about in the past post, we've had the opportunity to come back to this wonderful institution to visit. Too bad it's because strange things keep happening.

The first trip was officially for a "cough". At least, that's what they wrote on the discharge papers. Weird fiasco during that visit as they technically admitted her, but when they sent her to a room, they realized that the necessary equipment to monitor her heart wasn't on that floor. So, the sent her back to the ER. I wonder how they'll bill that one? That night I went home at 4am for a couple hours of rest before I picked her up.

Last week it was a bit more substantial (not that I can recall at this point what the discharge note was - heart troubles of some sort), but they decided to keep her overnight in the ER. I went home around 2am that night, which is much better than trying to cuddle up with someone who is having breathing troubles or trying to sleep on the uncomfortable chairs in the ER. They did a CT with contrast that night to make sure there weren't any blood clots in her lungs. Nope. Just a bit of fluid in her lungs and some scar tissue from the radiation. Maybe something else, but the other tests don't show anything. Remember to look at the big picture.

We did get some good news recently when Angie called up the doc to give him a piece of her mind about what was showing up on her schedule. She called to find out why he had changed her chemotherapy, but when they talked, he said we would still be doing Abraxane. And by the way, her CTC count was 0 as in ZERO. No circulating tumor cells were found in the last test. That's a pretty big deal.

So, with that news, we did joyous flips. It's a decent indicator that things are under control or at least that the chemotherapy and her immune system are killing any cancer tumor cells floating around in her blood stream. It's hard to spread when the exits are being watched...

Now Dr. C failed to remember that he did add something new to the mix, a bone strengthener called Zolmeda (I think). It's got some interesting side effects (flu-like symptoms, fever up to 101.5, interactions with heart drugs, confusion, etc.) They say they should only last for a couple days, but here we are 5 days later and they're still happening. And that's why we've graced the ER with our presence once again. Things got moving very quickly when we got here with the portable x-ray, EKG/ECG technician, and the nurse all showing up within the first five minutes after the ER attending left the room. Apparently he recognized Angie's name from the ICU back in December.

So, it's now midnight and I'm up waiting for results. Angie's fighting harder than she should be to breathe while resting. It's been an ongoing problem for the past few days, and the addition of confusion and some delusional behavior brought us here.

Not sure what's causing all the problem, but you can take your pick between congenital heart failure, Zolmeda, chemotherapy, some fluid in and around the lungs, chest pain, fatigue and what ever else seems to be added to the particular day's list.

Feel free to give us a ring whenever.
Colin

March 27, 2008 - Part II

Since I left you hanging on Monday night, I wanted to pass along the news that Angie wasn't admitted to the hospital. We were sent home from the ER at about 2:30 or 3:00am Tuesday morning (with a diagnosis of it being a panic attack). The attending physician said that he had tried really hard to find a reason to keep us, but there wasn't enough evidence to justify it. No problem with that reasoning here. If you're not sick, you don't need to be in the hospital.

Her hemoglobin counts were a bit low, but that's normal with chemotherapy. What is interesting is that the low count kept us at the hospital today for a couple extra hours while they rechecked the levels to make sure they had gone up. If they hadn't, then a blood transfusion was going to be in her future. Thank goodness that didn't happen!

She's been very fatigued and was in the wheelchair today. Mentally it's been really hard for both of us since she's lost quite a bit of her independence. With the drug side effects causing fatigue and some confusion, driving is out the window for the time being. Let me know if you think you might be able to help out.

I'm going to touch base with a home health outfit here to find out about people to drive her to appointments, go grocery shopping for or with her, and the like. If you have any suggestions or info on local groups to check and/or avoid drop me an email.

Colin

*************************************

Argelia Lopez

Please keep Argelia in your thoughts and prayers as she continues her chemotherapy treatments. Well-wishes may be sent to argelial@yahoo.com

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FYI

From Rosemary Herron:

Hi All,

This is just a friendly reminder of our April 8th SOS Gail Larson Event. If any of our SOS sisters can help provide bottled water, can beverages and/or cookies please let me know. I also need help with set-up since our dear Marsha is still recovering from knee surgery . Please feel free to invite any other cancer survivors you think would enjoy our speaker. It has been some time since we have had a speaker, so am hoping for a good turnout.

Gail will have some complimentary copies of one of her books to give away and there will be DOOR PRIZES! It should be a very enjoyable and worthwhile evening. I look forward to seeing you!

Blessings, Rosemary
281-242-0351

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From Rosemary Barr:

I believe this will be well worth watching!

Rosemary

THE TRUTH ABOUT CANCER PREMIERES ON PBS APRIL 16, 2008

Emmy Award-Winning Filmmaker Linda Garmon Takes on the Question "How Far Have We Come in the War on Cancer?"

News Journalist and Cancer Survivor Linda Ellerbee
Hosts Post-Broadcast Panel Discussion

What is the truth about cancer? Is it the same deadly killer it was 30 years ago - or are we making progress? Find out through the poignant stories of patients battling the disease. Written, produced, and directed by award-winning filmmaker Linda Garmon, The Truth About Cancer premieres nationally on PBS Wednesday, April 16, at 9:00pm ET (check local listings). Comprised of a 90-minute documentary followed by a 30-minute panel discussion, the two-hour broadcast event takes a deep look inside the cancer field gauging how far we have come in this decades-old war and asking, "Why does anyone still die of cancer?"

Part science, part personal catharsis, part character-driven storytelling, The Truth About Cancer is narrated by Garmon, who tells the moving story of her husband's battle with cancer. Over the course of the film, Garmon returns to the same Boston-area hospitals at which her husband was treated, and exposes startling truths about survival rates of metastisized cancers, and the limited success of drugs and clinical trials. Interwoven throughout are the stories of three additional cancer patients, and their families and doctors, as they navigate the deeply personal decisions surrounding the disease. The documentary also follows several medical professionals working to promote screening, research the latest developments in cancer treatment, and help patients and their families live with a cancer diagnosis.

"This film makes it clear that it's very much a part of American culture to believe that if you fight hard enough, you can beat cancer. But when it comes to having metastatic cancer, your survival depends on the biology of your cancer cells, and whether they are susceptible to state-of-the-art treatment," says Garmon. "In sharing my husband's story and the stories of other patients, I hope to shed light on this important truth."

The Truth About Cancer is the third installment of PBS's Take One Step—a campaign offering primetime programming and outreach tools to help people take the first step towards better health. Following the 90-minute documentary is a 30-minute panel discussion entitled Take One Step: A Conversation About Cancer with Linda Ellerbee. News journalist and breast cancer survivor Linda Ellerbee moderates the dialogue featuring a panel of doctors, all of whom are cancer survivors themselves. Having sat on both sides of a cancer diagnosis, the panel shares their unique perspectives, offering both personal and professional observations on how to handle a cancer diagnosis, what to say to loved ones, how to advocate for yourself, and how to best live your life, with cancer. Panelists include U.S. News and World Report health editor Dr. Bernadine Healy; breast cancer surgeon and Breast Cancer Research stamp mastermind Dr. Ernie Bodai; neurologist and leading palliative care expert Dr. Richard Payne; and counseling psychologist Dr. Paul Brenner.

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From Cheryl Donlin:

Josie,
Thought this might be helpful for some of your readers. We've all been there.
Cheryl

Talking Points: Making the Most Of Doctor Visits
October 31, 2007

When her sister Kelly Rooney was battling breast cancer, Erin Dugery went along to doctors' appointments to help make sense of the treatment options. But the medical jargon was often hard to understand, and she often felt she had forgotten important questions her sister needed answered. "On the drive to the appointment, you think of a million things you want to ask, but when you finally have the attention of the doctor it's almost like getting stage fright," says the Philadelphia mother of four.

Ms. Rooney died 15 months ago at age 43, but Ms. Dugery says she learned valuable lessons during her sister's illness -- such as writing down important questions beforehand and not being afraid to ask the doctor to explain things. Much of this advice came from an unusual source: "Doctor, Doctor, Lend Me Your Ear," a one-woman skit the sisters saw performed in Florida by Ms. Rooney's radiation oncologist, Marisa Weiss. Dr. Weiss, who strips off her white coat and clothes on stage to reveal a hospital gown, uses humorous examples from her own experience to convey lessons on how to talk to -- and listen to -- your doctor.

Dr. Weiss, who has turned the lessons from the skit into a new book, is one of a growing number of medical professionals and health-care groups offering advice through books, Web sites, DVDs and even personal consultations to help patients navigate the modern doctor's appointment.

Though medical information has never been more accessible to consumers, many patients still don't have the skills to talk to their doctors and cram all the questions they have about their health into a brief visit. They often ignore what they don't understand, or leave delicate but important issues to the end and then run out of time. So to help patients get answers, health-care officials are offering new discussion aids, providing sample questions patients can ask, and offering advice ranging from making a list of your drugs, to starting with the biggest questions first, to checking that a doctor has your lab results before going to an appointment.

Given the growing concern about patient safety and malpractice liability, doctors, too, are under pressure to help patients ask the right questions in the limited time they have. The Joint Commission, a nonprofit group that accredits health-care organizations, recently began requiring hospitals to show that they are encouraging patients to participate in care. For example, health-care providers should be encouraging patients to ask questions, and using educational materials to help them make decisions. A growing number of health-literacy programs urge physicians to speak more slowly, use plain language, and, when possible, show models or actual devices or even draw pictures.

A survey by the Boston-based nonprofit Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making found that the majority of adults have big concerns about doctors not spending enough time to explain all treatment options. The foundation, whose work stems from research originally conducted at Dartmouth Medical School about unwarranted variations in health-care practice, is working with physician-practice groups around the country to test videos, books and pamphlets called Shared Decision-Making programs. Used at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., and provided through health plans with about 20 million members, the aim is to see how they work when provided directly to patients by primary-care offices.

"The doctors don't have time to explain everything you ought to know, and they may not even be the best people to provide basic information and frame it for the patients," says Floyd J. Fowler Jr., the foundation's president.

The Shared Decision-Making materials, which are organized by illness, procedure and condition, present background information to help patients make medical decisions, including pros and cons of various treatment options, risks and long-term survival statistics. Patients can review the information in the doctor's office before an appointment and take materials home to review with family members. Unlike a broad Internet search, Dr. Fowler notes, the decision aids synthesize the most important information for the specific decision a patient has to make, such as whether to get a colorectal cancer screening or go forward with back surgery, and how different treatment choices might affect their lifestyle or personal preferences.

Yvonne West, a 41-year-old nurse and mother of two teenage girls who was diagnosed with breast cancer, learned of the Shared Decision-Making aids because Pittsfield, Mass.-based Berkshire Health Systems, the hospital where she worked, is participating in a test of the programs. Shortly before her own diagnosis, her husband died of cancer after being treated with radiation, and she was concerned about undergoing such treatment herself. Using the decision aids, she reviewed the evidence for different options and the risks of recurrence before consulting with her doctor, ultimately choosing a unilateral mastectomy and reconstruction. The videos include real patients talking about their choices and why they made them.

"The videos got me thinking about the different options, and really helped me with the decision process," says Ms. West.

Consumers without access to such decision aids can still find help in preparing for doctor visits on Web sites sponsored by disease advocacy groups, hospitals and the federal government. The American Heart Association (americanheart.org), for example, offers a list of questions that patients with high blood pressure and high cholesterol should ask, while the Boston-based Joslin Diabetes Center Web site (http://www.joslin.org/) offers a list of questions that diabetics should ask doctors who are managing their disease, and explanations of why each question is important.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, say that as many as 40% of patients bring more than one concern to a doctor's visit -- and possibly as many as three or more. In a study published this month in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, they suggest that a slight change in bedside manner can make a difference in whether all of these issues get addressed: Patients who were asked at the end of a doctor's visit whether there was "something else" that needed attention were much less likely to leave with unmet concerns than those who were asked whether there was "anything else" that needed attention.

According to the study, "any" tends to be used in a negative context, predisposing patients to respond negatively. With many doctor visits averaging 11 minutes, doctors clearly have to make every question count, lead study author John Heritage notes.

Delia Chiaramonte, a Baltimore-area physician, started a business called Insight Medical Consultants that helps patients find medical experts, make treatment decisions and communicate effectively with doctors. She notes that patients often save their most important or embarrassing question for last, then find the appointment is over with no time to address their most important concern. "There is often a tremendous miscommunication between doctors and patients on what the visit is really about," says Dr. Chiaramonte. "If your No. 1 priority is talking about your erectile dysfunction, it's best to start with that."

It's also critical when making doctor's appointments to be clear on whether it is simply a check-up or you have a specific urgent complaint or problems with a chronic health issue. Doctors schedule their time differently for all three and should be prepared ahead of time. Dr. Chiaramonte suggests asking office staff what the best time is to schedule an appointment if you need more time to talk, such as whether later in the day or the first appointment is best.

Dr. Weiss -- whose book is titled "Seven Minutes: How to Get the Most from Your Doctor Visit," available for $10 through her nonprofit Web site, http://www.breastcancer.org/ -- advises that patients prepare a full report of any symptoms or concerns prior to the doctor's visit, as well as a complete list of current medications. If you are awaiting interpretation of test results from a lab, make sure before you arrive that the results have been sent and that the office staff have given them to the doctor.

She also advises bringing family members or a trusted friend, not only for moral support, but to act as another set of eyes and ears to listen to what the doctor is saying and to help organize questions. Since grasping the doctor's words can be the hardest part of the visit, she also advises using a tape recorder, but first asking the doctor's permission to do so.

Ms. Dugery, who started a Web site, Save2ndbase.com, to help raise money for a foundation in her sister's name, says she now uses Dr. Weiss's advice to advocate for herself and others in her extended family. "Even though your doctor may be the captain of the ship, you are the first mate," says Ms. Dugery. "It's really empowering to be able to find your own voice in your own care and in the care of your loved ones."

Email informedpatient@wsj.com .
Source: Wall Street Journal online http://www.wsj.com/ http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB119378733197676876-lMyQjAxMDE4OTIzODcyODg3Wj.html

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From Victoria Silva:
Feminine Living

This month we are focusing on the seed quality COMPASSION. Compassion
for self first and then with this awareness, true compassion for others.
Compassion is understanding human behavior, and its ups and downs, mistakes and wrong doing without judgement and without guilt.

Life has its challenges and as a human being we often do not know what to do or what is the right or wrong way to do something or in fact do life! When you open your heart...And see yourself as a woman learning how to live life, and the many curves and turns that means... you can learn to nurture yourself with kindness and deep compassion,and stay aware in each moment that you are only human... mistakes and negative qualities are part of who we are.

Compassion is about you relating with kindness and understanding your faults, mistakes and sorrows... from your space of caring and unconditional love. No matter where you are at on your path of life... be kind and compassionate with all you do. You are worth it.

One of the biggest mistakes women make is not honoring how they "feel". Have you ever NOT wanted to do something, but did it anyway just so you didn't hurt another or felt you had to? We have all done this... but if we are truly to be powerful women we need to honor how we feel in each moment... and feel compassion for our feelings, and take care of ourselves and nurture
our feelings. It means honoring where you are at in your life and listening and acknowledging your own feelings,regardless of what others think or feel... with a tolerent and kind attitude....not judgement or being critical or guilt laden.

Compassion means if you are feeling sad or angry, own those feelings and process what issues or situations have made you feel this way. Feel those emotions until you feel complete... and then let them go. You have to feel your feelings in order to heal, not stuff them. When you show
yourself compassion, you can let go of all things that you are not happy about, and see truly that at that moment in time you did the best you could... and now you can with awareness correct whatever you desire to change and move ahead in your life.

Giving compassion to others means you extend understanding of ther problems or issues... without judging ot giving advice... and NOT try to fix them, rescue them or drain your own energy listening to their endless dramas. Compassion to others means listening with an open mind and heart... but this doesn't mean you have to agree with them. Compassion means also at times... you must walk away from people who are not in your best interests. Just
because you care or love someone... does not mean that your relationship
with them is good or healthy. You can feel compasion for others... without
accepting their behavior in your life. Offering help and compassion is a
good thing... but not when it becomes a pattern to rescue or you spend all
your time involving yourself in other people's dramas and problems. This is
not compassion... it is co-dependency.

Compassion Seed:
Gently close your eyes and begin to breathe deeply from your belly area.Just
spend a few minutes breathing and allowing your breath to relax your body,
mind and spirit.

Now begin to focus your attention in your heart area and continue your deep
breathing. Silently begin to chant the word COMPASSION over and over
again... much like a mantra. Allow the feeling of COMPASSION to fill up your whole being. Allow any images, words or feelings to come up for you. Maybe you will recall a mistake you have made... and can now heal this event with compassion. Just continue your meditation until you feel complete and then gently open your eyes. Do this meditation each day.... And feel COMPASSION being developed within you.

Love, Victoria
OUR NEXT MEDITATION IS APRIL 19TH AT 7:00
Celebrate your life with the grace and beauty of timeless tradition!
http://www.feminineliving.com/
713.849.3535

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From Jane Weiner
Hope Stone, Inc.

Please join our master teacher Katy Collins for a 6-week yoga class designed especially for teens. Using the poses from yoga, with a strong emphasis on breath, concentration and relaxation, Katy brings the elements of yoga to teens to help them with strength, flexibility and stress reduction. Her 1 and 15 minute class is created just for today's teens (ages 12-18 years). We think it will be a gift for the young person in your life. NEEDS: one cool teen, one towel, one bottle of water, a little bit of "ommmm!"

Our Price: $110 for 6 weeks
Vitals: Saturdays 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.
Hope Center
1210 west clay #26
April 5, 12, 19, 26, May 3
join us!!!!!
Sincerely, Jane Weiner

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From Beverly Slaughter:

Hello everyone!

I walk to thank you all for your support during my training for the Avon Walk! I did reach my goal!

I also received an exciting call yesterday from Avon, I am going to be participating in the opening and closing ceremonies with 3 other survivors. I am very honored!

Next...attached is the walker buddy newsletter I receive. They are still in need of some volunteers/crew in certain areas...please read and if you or anyone you know might be interested please pass it on. This is a very rewarding event and will be lots of fun!

Thanks! - Beverly
3/12/2008
Note from the Houston Avon Walk Office: As a registered walker, you’ll receive this email from your Walker Buddy to keep you well informed of upcoming events, updates on the Walk, donation details and much, much more!

Hi Beverly!

In this issue:

On-Event Volunteers Needed
Specialty Crew
Medical Form Update
Cheering Stations
Fundraising Rewards!
Fundraising Tip
Donations
Training Walks
Avon Walk Bonus Card

WE STILL NEED ON-EVENT VOLUNTEERS!
We are still in need of volunteers for the Friday, April 11th! If you have friends or family that would like to participate in Event Eve we would love to have them join the cause. Assignments range from welcome team to checking the walkers in. Those interested in volunteering should click here to access our printable volunteer form online. For more information, email our Volunteer Coordinator, Melissa McGreevy, at melissa.houston@avonwalk.org . Every Volunteer also gets a FREE blue t-shirt and dinner on Friday! Tell anyone interested in the walk that volunteers are a vital part of this wonderful event!

We are Looking for Specialty Crew!
Crew is officially closed for this year’s walk, but we are still looking for specialty crew members. If you have family, friends, or colleagues who are MDs, RNs, LPs, EMTs, Chiropractors, Podiatrists, Massage Therapists, Athletic Trainers, or Physical Therapists we really need their help! We are also looking Motorcycle Safety Crew too. Contact Amanda Kozicki here or at 704-377-3144 ext 15 or 713-968-9250 ext 5 for more information.

MEDICAL FORM UPDATE
Thank you to all of you who have already filled out your Medical Form Online, so far we have received 58% of participants forms, Woo Hoo!! If you have not done so already, please make sure to fill out your medical forms online!!! It is important to keep the check in process quick on Event Eve to have your medical form filled out as soon as possible. Click Here if you need help finding your form online. You will need your username and password, if you do not know your username and password click here. DEADLINE FOR MEDICAL FORMS (online or paper forms) IS MARCH 30TH, any forms filled out after March 30th will need to stop by the Medical Table before checking in at Event Eve.

Cheering Stations
PRINT OUT a list of the best locations for your friends and family to safely cheer you on along the route!

FUNDRAISING REWARDS
If you haven’t yet checked out our great rewards for being a fearless fundraiser, now’s the perfect time. If you’re already aiming high and are closing in on $2200 or $3600 (or have already reached those goals!), here’s how it works:

For those who have reached Fundraising Reward levels prior to the event, we’ll ship out your rewards in plenty of time to have them before the Houston Walk. If you reached a fundraising reward level prior the Houston Walk, but haven’t received your reward in the mail by Event Eve (the day before the Walk), you can pick your reward up there with either your Event Eve Passport showing that you’ve met the goal (these are sent one-week prior to Event Eve) or a receipt showing that your fundraising total meets the reward level (you’ll get this once you check in at Event Eve). If you continue fundraising after the event and then reach a reward level, we’ll do a final shipment six weeks after the Walk. Remember – if you reach $2200, you’ll receive the “Strength” cap, but we certainly encourage you to keep going to $3600 and earn the “Believe” wicking shirt, too!

FUNDRAISING TIP
In order to get those last minute donations, be sure to resend your donation email! Following up with people is the most crucial way to get donations. Update you email with your current fundraising status, training progress, and time line. Most people who have yet to donate will take this as their cue to get to your webpage soon!

DONATIONS
From here on out any donations that you receive, please make sure to hold onto and bring with you to Event Eve on April 11th.

TRAINING WALKS
Join a Training Walk! Not only is it a great way to meet other walkers but you will also get a punch in your bonus card AND exercise! Be sure to click HERE to find one in your area! Or feel free to start one!

AVON WALK BONUS CARD
Do you really want to be involved in the Avon Walk? Then become a proud, card-carrying member of the Avon Walk Bonus Card. Each time you attend an Avon Walk event you can collect marks that allow you to become a Bonus Card Superstar!! It is easy; all you have to do is attend SIX different Avon Walk activities and ‘voila!’ you have completed your card. These activities can be: Introduction Meetings, Training Walks (every training walk can count as one mark), and volunteering. If you would like a fabulous pink Avon Walk Bonus Card mailed to you, please request one by clicking HERE and including your name and mailing address.

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From Donna Fong:

I saw this story on Yahoo! Food and thought that you might be interested.
-Donna

18 Foods That Make Your Skin Glow - Beauty Eats on Yahoo! Food
http://food.yahoo.com/blog/beautyeats/29703/18-foods-that-make-your-skin-glow

Top skin creams average about $400 an ounce (and you thought gas was expensive!), yet most offer little proof that they do half of what they promise. Want to save a bundle and improve your skin? Load your shopping cart with nutrients that research has shown to have skin-hydrating, sun-protecting, and even wrinkle-preventing powers, says Manhattan dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD. Here’s her grocery list of best foods for your skin.

Firm and Bright
You’re probably up to your eyebrows (Botoxed or not) with hearing “eat more fruits and vegetables.” But if you have yet to take that advice to heart, maybe knowing that they prevent wrinkles will do the trick. The colorful pigments that produce bright orange and red also refill antioxidant levels in your skin.

The skin doc’s 3 top picks: SWEET POTATOES, TOMATOES, CANTALOUPE

What they do: Replenish your skin’s supply of antioxidants, so they're ready to scarf up free radicals whenever they make an appearance. Free rads are highly reactive oxygen molecules that damage cells and contribute to just about everything that can go wrong with skin, from dryness to crinkles.

Fresh and Juicy
Your body can’t store much wrinkle-fighting vitamin C, so you need to keep your supplies stocked. The easiest, simplest way: Have some citrus every day.

The skin doc’s 4 top picks: ORANGES, LEMONS, LIMES, GRAPEFRUIT

Actually, ounce for ounce, oranges are the top citrus C source but you can only eat so many, right? For variety, make lemonade, squeeze limes on melon, add grapefruit to salad, and instead of drinking soda, fizz up OJ with sparkling water. It all adds up.

What they do: Keep skin’s vitamin C levels high. While C’s a nifty antioxidant, that’s not the key reason it’s here. It helps keeps collagen -- the supportive protein fibers that stop skin from sagging -- strong and resilient. (Flimsy collagen means lines and wrinkles.) Since collagen breakdown really picks up in your mid-30s, eat citrus early and often to head off aging.

Smoothing and Soothing
There’s a particularly potent antioxidant known as EGCG that does all kinds of good things for skin. The best place to find it? True teas: black, green, or white (not herbal). Brew a teapot full every morning, so that sipping four to six cups throughout the day is a no-brainer.

The skin doc’s #1 pick: GREEN TEA

While all true teas contain EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate), the various types of green tea have the most. Wechsler’s personal favorite is hojicha green tea (available at http://www.adagio.com/ /). “The roasting process that turns this green tea a brownish color also lowers its caffeine content,” she says -- handy if you’re caffeine sensitive or it’s one of those days when you do not need another stimulant.

What it does: Gives your skin a healthy dose of EGCG, which is a great multi-tasker. EGCG puts a damper on inflammatory chemicals involved in acne and sun-related skin aging; it also helps prevent skin cancer; and it has a lion-tamer effect on tumor cells. What’s more, green tea contains L-theanine, a de-tensing amino acid -- and anything you can do to staunch the flow of the stress hormone cortisol helps keep collagen fibers intact.

Green and Leafy
Certain dark leafy greens, whether they’re fresh, frozen, raw, or steamed, really deliver on vitamin A, one of the most skin-essential vitamins going.

The skin doc’s 3 top picks: SPINACH, TURNIP GREENS, BROCCOLI

What they do: Deliver a hefty supply of vitamin A, which supports skin cell turnover, the process that keeps cell growth and development humming along flawlessly. Without enough A, skin becomes dry, tough, and scaly.

Fisherman’s Faves
Several cold-water catches give your skin a double benefit: age-fighting omega-3 fatty acids plus the restorative powers of protein.

The skin doc’s 7 top picks: SALMON, TROUT, TUNA, ATLANTIC MACKEREL, SARDINES, PACIFIC HERRING, MOST SHELLFISH

Just don’t, uh, go overboard. As good as omega-3s are for skin (and the rest of you, too), worries about the amount of mercury in many fish mean it’s smart to limit seafood to two meals a week. That’s a must for women who are or might become pregnant or are nursing, and for young children, too. (Go here for the government’s fish guidelines.)

What they do: Omega-3s fight inflammation, now considered one of the top skin-agers, and they also help protect against sunburn, enhancing the effects of your SPF sunscreen. Protein is required to build and repair skin cells and to make enzymes and hormones that help keep it glowing.

Fill your weekly grocery cart with all of the above foods and you won’t just look younger, you’ll be younger. Eating at least 1 serving of fish a week and getting the right amount of antioxidants through diet or supplements lower your biological age. In fact, the antioxidants alone can make your RealAge up to 6 years younger.

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From Emma Jacobs:
Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation

The Unbeatable movement has begun! Next Fall, Unbeatable – A New Musical, which chronicles one woman’s struggle with breast cancer, will have its world premiere production at Houston’s acclaimed Stages Repertory Theatre and the anticipation is remarkable. More importantly, the comprehensive network of support that this new musical has already generated is awe-inspiring: M.D Anderson, The Pink Ribbons Project and The Susan G. Komen Foundation have joined dozens of individual donors to pledge significant support to develop this amazing project. Now is your moment to join our Unbeatable movement and bring this inspirational musical to Houston.

In a time when there are so many worthy causes drawing our attention, I encourage you to consider Unbeatable as a unique way to support the arts and provide a message of great hope to those taken ill with an insidious cancer. Thanks to your support we are well on our way to our goal of bringing Unbeatable to Houston!

Sincerely,

Emma Jacobs
Fundraising chair, Unbeatable
Stages Repertory Theatre
Checks made payable to the Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation, 206 Terrace Drive, Houston, Texas 77007.

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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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!

ROSEBUDS SUPPORT MEETING
April 1, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet Future Meetings: April 15, May 6 & 20

THE FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Appearances Breast Care Boutique
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Mays Clinic, Floor #2
Houston, TX
Wednesday, April 2nd
11:00am - 4:00pm
Meet the author and participants from the book!
http://www.pinkcrusader.org/ /

HOPE STONE
Teen Yoga Classes
Saturdays 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.
Hope Center
1210 west clay #26
April 5, 12, 19, 26, May 3
713.526.1907

RELAY FOR LIFE - FORT BEND COUNTY
April 4 & 5th at George Park in Richmond
For additional info contact Sharon Jamison, RN
M. D. Anderson Radiation Oncology
1603 Main Street
Richmond, TX
713-563-9103

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Fatigue Awareness Week - April 7 -10, 2008
Monday April 7th, 10am - 1pm - Clinic Open House
Mays Clinic, Sixth Floor
Tuesday, April 8th, - Cancer-related Fatigue Video Viewing
6:30 - 7:30pm
Cancer Prevention Building, Eight Floor, Rooms 1 & 2
RSVP: 713-792-2808 or e-mail bsmp@mdanderson.org
For more information, call the Patient Education Office at 713-794-5379
or e-mail www.mdanderson.org/departments/patedu

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County. Survivors Offering Support (SOS), a peer Breast Cancer support group will meet on Tuesday, April 8, from 7-9p at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in New Territory. Guest speaker is Gail Larson, 7yr. BRCA survivor, RN, and author. Gail's soon to be released book ,"Finding God in Your Story", is her 7th book on surviving cancer. You can visit her website http://www.gaillarson.com/ / to learn more about her. Invitation is open to all cancer survivors. Call 281-242-0351 for more info. Directions: http://sosporchlight.blogspot.com/ /

ROSEBUDS II SUPPORT GROUP
April 10, 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. Future Meetings: April 24

RELAY FOR LIFE of SUGAR LAND
April 11-12th at Oyster Creek Park.
Call 713 706 5644 for further information.

AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER
Houston - April 12 - 13, 2008
Congratulations on deciding to register for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer! By registering online now, you will have immediate access to all of the tools of your 'My Avon Walk Center' and can begin fundraising towards your goal today. https://secure2.convio.net/avon/site/TRR/Walk2008/Houston/1021196898? pg=ptype&fr_id=1420&JServSessionIdr004=x9jrwe2701.app26b or For more information, please call us at (713) 968-9250. Email: volunteer.houston@avonwalk.org

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

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
April 18, 2008 6:00 PM - April 19, 2008 6:00 AM
Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
The Anderson Network and Place...of wellness invite adult patients, caregivers and survivors to take a day trip to the Downtown Aquarium.
Saturday, April 19, 2008, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. - Bus departs from Rotary House
3:30 p.m. - Bus departs from Downtown Aquarium
4:00 p.m. - Bus arrives at Rotary House
Space is limited to 30 participants.
Please call 800-345-6324
or 713-745-9204 to
make a reservation.

-Wristband will be provided so that you may enjoy the aquarium property and exhibits.
- Food and drinks will not be provided. Please bring money for any items you wish to purchase.
- The trip is open to any M. D. Anderson patient, caregiver or survivor age 18 or older.
- Wheelchair accessible.
- If you are unable to attend after a reservation has been made, please contact Anderson Network office as soon as possible.
- Parking at M. D. Anderson is available in Garage 10 for $10 or the Sourth Extension (Brown) Lot for $6.
For more info, please click on the following link:
http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/andersonnet/display.cfm?id=3a4268cb-eb1e-4f99-bd1d681196222ef2&method=displayfull&pn=b0238868-2a67-438d-bfdb1349b8957cab

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
April 18, 2008 6:00 PM - April 19, 2008 6:00 AM
Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

VICTORIA'S PLACE
Our next meditation is April 19th at 7:00 pm.
For information visit: http://www.feminineliving.com/
Or call 713.849.3535 to register.

NATIONAL BREAST CANCER COALITION (NBCC):
2008 Annual Advocacy Training Conference
Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
April 26th - 29th 2008

Register now to attend NBCCF's 16th Annual Advocacy Training Conference. Join hundreds of national and international breast cancer activists in our fight to eradicate breast cancer.

NBCCF's yearly gathering helps participants hone their advocacy skills and learn about the latest in breast cancer science, research and policy. Hear directly about the controversies and issues from important leaders, scientists, and advocates. To learn more about this event and registration, visit: http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=1

SUSAN'S RALLY in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
The Susan Roberson Wade Memorial Car Rally
Save the Dates: Rally - April 27, 2008
Golf Tournament - October 27, 2008
For more information: http://www.susansrally.org/ /

HOPE STONE, INC.
Save The Date for our Premiere Piece
PEACE PIECE ...May 1st, 2008
a dance, theater and music performed by
the Kid's Play Ensemble and YouthSound
7:00 pm
Kaplan Theater, JCC
tickets on sale now
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/ /
713.526.1907 ext. 3

CURE MAGAZINE
Registration is open for the 2008 CURE Day of Caring Breast Cancer Forum on May 3 & 4in Denver. The Day of Caring weekend features breast cancer experts from around the country, as well as educational exhibits, and a Survivor’s Fashion Show.
Full agendas, hotel accommodations, and online registration are available now! We look forward to seeing you there! http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer? pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

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). Please join us on May 20, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

M.D. ANDERSON NETWORK 20th ANNUAL
LIVING FULLY WITH and BEYOND CANCER CONFERENCE
This annual event for patients/survivors and caregivers celebrates its 20th anniversary with the theme, “Live, Reach, Celebrate,”
Keynote Speaker, Actor Gerald McRaney
September 4 - 6, 2008
Houston Marriott Westchase
Online Registration starts Monday, June 16, 2008
Details TBA or visit www.mdanderson.org/andersonnetwork

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
Tour de Pink 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tour de Pink is the annual fundraising bike ride sponsored by Pink Ribbons Project to raise funds for breast cancer education and awareness.
Details, TBA

"UNBEATABLE"
Stages Repertory Theatre
Coming September, 2008
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. http://www.unbeatablemusical.com/ / Details TBA
To make a donation, contact Emma Jacobs at emma@jacobswoerner.com

SUSAN G. KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE
Houston, Saturday October 4th, 2008
Save the Date! Details TBA

CURE MAGAZINE
Coming later this fall, the 5th Annual CURE Patient & Survivor Forum will take place November 1 & 2 in Dallas. CURE is proud to offer a Young Adult Track at this meeting in addition to CNE credit for nurses. For More information visit:
http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

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"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

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“We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well
dance." -Japanese Proverb
Until we meet again...stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing no matter how many interruptions!
Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

Pink Crusader Interrupted - Week #3

2008-03-23T09:20:00.008-05:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,

The Pink Crusader remains under wraps, but sends warm bunny hugs and best wishes for a blessed and happy Easter. Please read on for the latest updates...and have a pleasant week.
“The great Easter truth is not that we are to live newly after death - that is not the great thing - but that...we are to, and may, live nobly now because we are to live forever." - Phillips Brooks

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SURVIVOR UPDATE

Faye Sallee (per Jeannie Frazier)

Dear Friends,

Faye was admitted into the hospital last week because her pain was causing so much nausea that she could not keep the pain meds down. She is now on IV pain medication. They did a back MRI yesterday which showed her T3 is fractured and collapsed and pushing on her spinal cord. This is the cause of her intense pain. She will be in a wheelchair and they are planning to do radiation for 15 days to shrink the tumor that caused the T3 to fracture. She will be in the hospital until Wed. or until they get her pain stabilized. She is in Room P915.

Faye really appreciates our support ! She called last night to give me this update so I could keep you all informed. She wants you to know how much she treasures our prayers. The biggest immediate prayer is that the medication and radiation will help to control her pain. The chemo(Navalbene) is not causing any problems but she couldn't get it this week because her counts were too low. So pray her counts will go up so she can continue on her chemo schedule.

Love, Jeannie

Please continue to pray:

__That God will work through the hands, hearts and minds of the medical team.

__That Faye will not wrestle with God but continue to seek the Lord despite her difficult circumstances.

__That the Holy Spirit will fill her with strength, comfort and peace.

__That she and her family will see Jesus in the faces of those who minister to them and that they will feel His loving arms around them all.

Her situation is extremely serious and she needs all the prayers and encouragement we can send her!!!

faye.sallee@sbcglobal.net
281-496-9166 home
713-498-2814 cell
14830 Sagamore Hills
Houston, Texas 77082

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Jan Dravecky (per Jeannie Frazier)

Thanks to all of you for praying. I found out yesterday that Jan's report came back great! It was just what the doctor had expected, "in situ" meaning contained. They may to a topical chemo for prevention, but other than that everything is wonderful!! - Jeannie

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Josephine Muhlherr

Please keep "Cousin Josie" ( pages 82 - 83 in The Faces behind Breast Cancer) in your prayers following this week's surgery for recurrence. At the moment she is home resting comfortably, and thanks everyone for their concern. Radiation treatments will start next week and we wish her a full and speedy recovery.

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FYI

From Rosemary Barr:

Some of you may be interested in watching this! - Rosemary

THE TRUTH ABOUT CANCER
This program takes an intimate look at cancer diagnosis and treatment through personal stories of triumph and tragedy, including the producer’s personal experience with her husband.
Tune in to PBS, Channel 8
Wednesday, April 16 at 9 pm (with a 30-minute follow-up program)

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From Victoria Silva:
Feminine Living

Ladies, I am wishing you all, the best Spring cycle ever... and sending you
best wishes and an abundance of blessings! My intention with my practice
Feminine Living is to always bring quality and the finest classes and
services to each one of you... because I care about you as a woman and as a
human being.

This Spring cycle come join me and other like minded women... as we nurture
and care for ourselves at the following classes and services I offer with
Feminine Living: www.feminineliving.com/calendar.html . All of my classes
and services are fun...and affordable... and the self-care you will receive
worth a million!!

LAVENDER COOKING CLASS
My cooking classes are back!! If you cannot attend the Lavender Cooking class on the 29th of March... Get some of your girlfriends together or moms and daughters, and call me to set a date for a PRIVATE cooking class for all of you!!! Let's get COOKING together!! To register or for inquiries call Victoria at 713-849-3535.

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From Jane Weiner
Hope Stone, Inc.

It is officially spring, therefore time for my official spring poem---

spring has sprung
the grass has riz
wonder where the flowers is!?

...and with that we welcome spring...we welcome the start of our children's spring session on March 24th--and we encourage all of you lovely adults to get on over for some fun classes. Check out our website...and also be on the look-out for our summer children and adult schedule!
(713.526.1907...call for details or registration)

Please see below for the items Hope Center is offering.....

Yoga for teens. A 6-week series for teens ages 12-18 years. Taught by master teacher Katy Collins. She will guide your teen thru a series of poses that help with stress, relaxation, posture and strength. The benefits of yoga are amazing, and we so glad to offer it to our teens!
Dates: March 29-May 3
When: Saturdays 11:45-1 p.m.
Cost $110 (pay before March 26th--$100)

May 1st 7 p.m. at the J.C.C.'s Kaplan Theater marks the premiere of our Kid's Play Ensemble/YouthSound presentation of PEACE Piece. A piece about Peace for Peace and honoring Peace! Tickets for this amazing project are on sale now.
We need your support....the kids need your support...and we sure need some Peace!
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/
Simply go here and purchase your tickets or make a donation to our children's arts outreach project.

Buy Hope Stone in a book
The behind the scenes view of Hope Stone Dance's world premiere of SEE Me seen from the lens of photographer Simon Gentry's camera. An amazing book
that captures the beauty, humanness, and energy that was a HUGE part of the piece. 10% of the sales of the book go towards the children's scholarship fund.
www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/184495

We will be cancelling the following classes for the remainder of the spring session--
Monday 6 p.m. pilates
Wednesday 8:15 a.m. pilates
Friday 12 noon pilates.
summer schedule is coming soon! Stay tuned!!

Sincerely, Jane Weiner

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From Destini Shrout-Jordan djjordan3902@att.net :

Hey Guys, it is Relay time click on my link below and see my cute page and help in the fight against CANCER!!!

For state fundraising notices and the American Cancer Society's Privacy Policy, please paste this link into your browser: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/SU/su_0.asp

Click here to visit my personal page.
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RelayForLifeHighPlainsDivision?px=5437353&pg=personal&fr_id=5801&et=qRc9A1ORCN6Ur-ai0c37QA..&s_tafId=101307

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From Donna Fong:

A possibility it might work!! Never give up HOPE! - Donna
http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2008-rst/4708.html

Mayo Clinic Study Shows Parkinson's Disease Drug Might Work in Cancer Patients

Mouse study shows dopamine blocks tumor-feeding blood vessels
Thursday, March 13, 2008

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A study published in the March 13 online issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (http://www.jci.org/) shows that dopamine, a drug currently used to treat Parkinson's disease and other illnesses, also might work in cancer patients. The study, which was done in mouse and laboratory models, shows that dopamine could possibly prevent new blood vessels from growing and as a result, slow cancer progression.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates movement and affects behavior. In its synthetic form, dopamine is used to treat heart attack victims, Parkinson's disease and pituitary tumors. But it wasn't known until now that dopamine worked by blocking the growth of new blood vessels (a process called angiogenesis).

"Researchers now can test this concept in solid tumors where angiogenesis plays a critical role in the growth and progression of these cancers," says Sujit Basu, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic scientist who conducted this study with Partha Sarathi Dasgupta, Ph.D., a scientist with the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI) in Calcutta, India.; and, Debanjan Chakroborty, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in biochemistry at Mayo Clinic and CNCI.

"Sometimes new drugs may not be the answer. We looked instead at a novel use for an established product and have found very promising results," Dr. Basu says.

The study has not been replicated in humans, but the results are encouraging, he says.

Dr. Basu has been studying the role of dopamine in cancer for years, and was credited with the initial discovery that dopamine can block new blood vessel growth. His current study is based on mouse and laboratory models of sarcoma — a malignant tumor affecting soft tissues. The research is the first report that dopamine has a role in cancer's use of endothelial progenitor cells to provide a supply line of nourishing blood, Dr. Basu says. These cells, a form of stem cells, are released by bone marrow into the blood system in response to the vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), which is a protein that is secreted by oxygen-deprived cancer cells. The endothelial progenitor cells then help form new blood vessels to feed the cancer.

Researchers discovered that dopamine stops the transfer of endothelial progenitor cells from the bone marrow into the circulatory system by binding to a specific receptor on the surface of the progenitor cells. This binding suppresses the activity of matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9), an enzyme that enables these cells to move out of bone marrow.

In their experiments, they found that treatment with dopamine significantly decreased mobilation of the progenitor cells from the bone marrow, and it also decreased MMP-9 expression.

"This is the first time it has been shown that an important neurotransmitter like dopamine is regulating the mobilization of these progenitor cells from the bone marrow. This is very important and represents why these findings are so unique," Dr. Basu says.

Other authors include: Chandrani Sarkar, Ph.D., of both CNCI and Mayo Clinic; Uttio Roy Chowdhury, Ph.D., and Rathindranath Baral, Ph.D., both of CNCI.

This research was supported by grants from the Department of Biotechnology, the Government of India; the National Institutes of Health; and the U.S. Department of Defense.

###

To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com is available as a resource for your health stories.

Source: Abstract taken from the http://www.breastcancer.net/ website.

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From Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization
Peer to Peer - 11 Tips for Better Health

Small Improvements, Big Returns
Some tips for making small nutritional and fitness improvements that can yield big returns when it comes to your health:

For breast cancer risk reduction, do at least 45 minutes of moderate activity on five or more days a week.

Walk the dog a few more blocks, park the car farther from the mall entrance, take the stairs instead of the elevator—it all adds up.

Buy a pedometer to track your activity level, and aim for
10,000 steps a day.

Read food labels and avoid products with transfats and high-fructose corn syrup—this simple step will automatically eliminate a lot of unhealthy foods.

Include more “healthy fats” in your diet (avocados, olive oil, almonds and walnuts, nut butters) and avoid saturated fat (found in animal products, including dairy).

A single 12-oz. can of regular soda contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar! Substitute flavored seltzer water—you’ll still get the fizz, with zero sugar. If you’re tempted by certain unhealthy foods, don’t keep them in the house.

Plan a week’s worth of menus in advance and shop specifically for those meals.

Substitute whole wheat pasta for white.

Try a vegetarian meal once a week.

Use chicken or vegetable stock instead of oil for stir-frying.

To help you develop a healthy diet that meets your nutritional needs, seek advice from a registered dietician. Good cooking and healthy eating begin with learning about nutrition and how to prepare healthy recipes.

This article was first printed in the spring 2008 issue of Lifeline
http://www.y-me.org/publications/spring08_7.php

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From Emma Jacobs:
Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation

The Unbeatable movement has begun! Next Fall, Unbeatable – A New Musical, which chronicles one woman’s struggle with breast cancer, will have its world premiere production at Houston’s acclaimed Stages Repertory Theatre and the anticipation is remarkable. More importantly, the comprehensive network of support that this new musical has already generated is awe-inspiring: M.D Anderson, The Pink Ribbons Project and The Susan G. Komen Foundation have joined dozens of individual donors to pledge significant support to develop this amazing project. Now is your moment to join our Unbeatable movement and bring this inspirational musical to Houston.

In a time when there are so many worthy causes drawing our attention, I encourage you to consider Unbeatable as a unique way to support the arts and provide a message of great hope to those taken ill with an insidious cancer. Thanks to your support we are well on our way to our goal of bringing Unbeatable to Houston!

Sincerely,

Emma Jacobs
Fundraising chair, Unbeatable
Stages Repertory Theatre
Checks made payable to the Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation, 206 Terrace Drive, Houston, Texas 77007.

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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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!

ROSEBUDS II MEETING
March 27, 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. Future Meetings: April 11 & 25

VICTORIA'S PLACE FEMININE LIVING
Lavender Cooking Class March 29th
See the details at www.feminineliving.com/calender.html
and then call or email Victoria to register!!! 713.849.3535
http://www.feminineliving.com/

ROSEBUDS MEETING
April 1, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet Future Meetings: April 15, May 6 & 20

THE FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Appearances Breast Care Boutique
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Mays Clinic, Floor #2
Houston, TX
Wednesday, April 2nd
11:00am - 4:00pm
Meet the author and participants from the book!
http://www.pinkcrusader.org/

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Fatigue Awareness Week - April 7 -10, 2008
Monday April 7th, 10am - 1pm - Clinic Open House
Mays Clinic, Sixth Floor
Tuesday, April 8th, - Cancer-related Fatigue Video Viewing
6:30 - 7:30pm
Cancer Prevention Building, Eight Floor, Rooms 1 & 2
RSVP: 713-792-2808 or e-mail bsmp@mdanderson.org
For more information, call the Patient Education Office at 713-794-5379
or e-mail www.mdanderson.org/departments/patedu

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County.
Survivors Offering Support (SOS), a peer Breast Cancer support group will meet on Tuesday, April 8, from 7-9p at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in New Territory. Guest speaker is Gail Larson, 7yr. BRCA survivor, RN, and author. Gail's soon to be released book ,"Finding God in Your Story", is her 7th book on surviving cancer. You can visit her website http://www.gaillarson.com/ to learn more about her. Invitation is open to all cancer survivors. Call 281-242-0351 for more info. Directions: http://sosporchlight.blogspot.com/

AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER
Houston - April 12 - 13, 2008
Congratulations on deciding to register for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer! By registering online now, you will have immediate access to all of the tools of your 'My Avon Walk Center' and can begin fundraising towards your goal today. https://secure2.convio.net/avon/site/TRR/Walk2008/Houston/1021196898? pg=ptype&fr_id=1420&JServSessionIdr004=x9jrwe2701.app26b or For more information, please call us at (713) 968-9250. Email: volunteer.houston@avonwalk.org

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

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
The Anderson Network and Place...of wellness invite adult patients, caregivers and survivors to take a day trip to the Downtown Aquarium.
Saturday, April 19, 2008, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. - Bus departs from Rotary House
3:30 p.m. - Bus departs from Downtown Aquarium
4:00 p.m. - Bus arrives at Rotary House
Space is limited to 30 participants.
Please call 800-345-6324
or 713-745-9204 to
make a reservation.

-Wristband will be provided so that you may enjoy the aquarium property and exhibits.
- Food and drinks will not be provided. Please bring money for any items you wish to purchase.
- The trip is open to any M. D. Anderson patient, caregiver or survivor age 18 or older.
- Wheelchair accessible.
- If you are unable to attend after a reservation has been made, please contact Anderson Network office as soon as possible.
- Parking at M. D. Anderson is available in Garage 10 for $10 or the Sourth Extension (Brown) Lot for $6.
For more info, please click on the following link:
http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/andersonnet/display.cfm?id=3a4268cb-eb1e-4f99-bd1d681196222ef2&method=displayfull&pn=b0238868-2a67-438d-bfdb1349b8957cab

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
April 18, 2008 6:00 PM - April 19, 2008 6:00 AM
Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

NATIONAL BREAST CANCER COALITION (NBCC):
2008 Annual Advocacy Training Conference
Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
April 26th - 29th 2008

Register now to attend NBCCF's 16th Annual Advocacy Training Conference. Join hundreds of national and international breast cancer activists in our fight to eradicate breast cancer.

NBCCF's yearly gathering helps participants hone their advocacy skills and learn about the latest in breast cancer science, research and policy. Hear directly about the controversies and issues from important leaders, scientists, and advocates. To learn more about this event and registration, visit: http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=1

SUSAN'S RALLY in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
The Susan Roberson Wade Memorial Car Rally
Save the Dates: Rally - April 27, 2008
Golf Tournament - October 27, 2008
For more information: http://www.susansrally.org/

HOPE STONE, INC.
Save The Date for our Premiere Piece
PEACE PIECE ...May 1st, 2008
a dance, theater and music performed by
the Kid's Play Ensemble and YouthSound
7:00 pm
Kaplan Theater, JCC
tickets on sale now
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/
713.526.1907 ext. 3

CURE MAGAZINE
Registration is open for the 2008 CURE Day of Caring Breast Cancer Forum on May 3 & 4in Denver. The Day of Caring weekend features breast cancer experts from around the country, as well as educational exhibits, and a Survivor’s Fashion Show.
Full agendas, hotel accommodations, and online registration are available now! We look forward to seeing you there! http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer? pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

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). Please join us on May 20, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

M.D. ANDERSON NETWORK 20th ANNUAL
LIVING FULLY WITH and BEYOND CANCER CONFERENCE
This annual event for patients/survivors and caregivers celebrates its 20th anniversary with the theme, “Live, Reach, Celebrate,”
Keynote Speaker, Actor Gerald McRaney
September 4 - 6, 2008
Houston Marriott Westchase
Online Registration starts Monday, June 16, 2008
Details TBA or visit www.mdanderson.org/andersonnetwork

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
Tour de Pink 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tour de Pink is the annual fundraising bike ride sponsored by Pink Ribbons Project to raise funds for breast cancer education and awareness.
Details, TBA

"UNBEATABLE"
Stages Repertory Theatre
Coming September, 2008
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. http://www.unbeatablemusical.com/ Details TBA
To make a donation, contact Emma Jacobs at emma@jacobswoerner.com

SUSAN G. KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE
Houston, Saturday October 4th, 2008
Save the Date! Details TBA

CURE MAGAZINE
Coming later this fall, the 5th Annual CURE Patient & Survivor Forum will take place November 1 & 2 in Dallas. CURE is proud to offer a Young Adult Track at this meeting in addition to CNE credit for nurses. For More information visit:
http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

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"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to thepinkcrusader1@aol.com
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“Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first time or the last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory." - Betty Smith

Until we meet again...stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing no matter how many interruptions!
Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

Pink Crusader Interrupted - Week #2

2008-03-16T22:18:00.004-05:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,

Welcome to The Pink Crusader blog spot where you always have free access with a front row seat! The Pink Crusader remains out-of-pocket, but continues to send big hugs and warm wishes during the interim. Have a glorious week and please read on for the latest updates...

“It is easy to be pleasant when life flows by like a song, but the man worth while is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong. For the test of the heart is trouble, and it always comes with years, and the smile that is worth the praises of earth is the smile that shines through the tears.” - Irish Saying
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SURVIVOR UPDATE

Jan Dravecky (per Jeannie Frazier)
Dear Friends,

I would like to ask each of you to pray for Jan Dravecky, Dave Dravecky's wife as she undergoes surgery tomorrow morning at 10:00 am mountain time. She was diagnosed last Friday with melanoma when a mole on her back proved to be malignant. Many of you met Jan when she and Dave were in Houston a few weeks ago. She is truly a delight and has been such an inspiration to me over the last 9 years. They are very encouraged because the doctor feels this was caught early, yet we all know that nothing is for sure until the pathology comes back. Both Jan and Dave would covet your prayers!

Thanks!!! - Jeannie

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Angie Elliott - March 12th

Like Colin said, we’re both feeling the breeze a little more these days since we shaved our heads. Of course it’s been a few weeks and Colin’s hair has already grown back. He wants me to help him shave it again but I keep telling him it’s reeeeally not necessary. I’ve managed to hold on to a little bit of “peach fuzz” and a bit of my eyebrows and eyelashes = ) (knock on wood). You might remember I mentioned the possibility of losing my nails. Well, the toenails on my little Fred Flintstone feet are all but slivers now. However, aside from random dimpling, the fingernails are hanging in there.

I started driving again (woo hoo!) which gave me back some much needed independence. I’ve been able to run some errands and drive myself to Physical Therapy (PT). It has been going much better than I expected. In fact, I’m feeling a little stronger after each session.

We finally met with the ENT to discuss the issues with my voice, or rather, lack thereof. I didn’t really enjoy the examination. I’m still very emotional about the whole intubation thing and having things shoved down my throat. Because of my sensitivity we decided to do the recommended procedure under general anesthesia instead of in the ENT’s office. He basically wants to shove a needle down my throat in order to inject fluid into the non moving right vocal chord in hopes that the fluid will help move the chord back into place, and I’ll get my voice back. It most likely will not be the voice I had before but I’ll at least be able to start talking without so much strain. I mean, I don’t think I’m going to end up sounding like Kathleen Turner or anything, but I’ll be able to talk like a normal person.

The last couple weeks have been very exhausting for us both physically and emotionally. I’ve been at the hospital everyday for PT, doctor’s appointments, chemo or diagnostic procedures. I really despise “living at the hospital.” I had an MRI of my pelvis to check on the extent of the metastisis located there. And because my resting heart rate has been high, generally between 110 – 140+ beats per minute, the doctor scheduled a cardiac scan.

There was quite a bit of drama surrounding the cardiac scan last Monday. The techs performed the scan, but then wouldn’t let me leave the room. They said they had to double check something. Of course I asked what and legally they couldn’t tell me. They just said, make sure you talk to your doctor about the results of the test. Well, I ain’t no dummy! After the test I went immediately down to my doctor’s office and asked to speak with my nurse about the results. I could have waited until my appointment with the doctor on Wednesday, but I didn’t want to spend 2 days worrying.

Before I know it, the nurse comes out insisting I sit down immediately. She then proceeds to tell me that my injection fraction is 25, and I need to go to the Emergency Room right away. At the time I had no idea what she was talking about. I felt fine and didn’t understand the insistence of me being transported to the ER across the street by wheelchair. I felt totally fine. Then they decide to take my vitals, after which, they insisted that I be transported by ambulance. The ride was exactly 1 mile. I think the EMT’s were more freaked out than I was.

Apparently the normal ejection fraction is 55 to 75 percent. So you may be asking yourself, “What is ejection fraction?” ( I sure was! ) Basically the term has to do with the rate or fraction of how much blood is pumped out of your heart with each beat. So I was technically in cardiac failure because my heart was only pumping at 25%.

After a visit with the cardiologist in the ER they put me on some heart medicine, and I settled in for a 24 hour observation. They think the damage to my heart was caused by two drugs I was taking, Herceptin and Doxil. Usually the damage is reversible once you get off the medicine and on to some heart meds. Although it can take months to see improvement, it all depends on how my body reacts to the medicine. So that’s where we are with that situation. We meet with the cardiologist again in a week.

On Wednesday of last week we went in for a visit with the doctor. I was scheduled for my regular weekly chemo afterwards. I told Colin on the way to the hospital I was going to ask the doc for a break from chemo this week. After all the ER excitement Monday and Tuesday, I was exhausted. Now, I need to remember to be careful what I wish for... a break from chemo can come in many forms…

During the appointment, we found out the results of the pelvic MRI, and they’re not what we had hoped. The cancer in the heads of the femur (the ball and socket joint in your hips) had grown to the extent that there was concern that I was at risk for fracture. I started crying, then get almost immediately enraged and wanted to break something and then went back to crying again. I told the nurse practitioner that there weren’t enough hours of therapy for this kind of thing. She thought it was the best way anyone had described the fight.

Anyway, when the doctor came in, he showed us the actual imaging from the test, and Colin and I were a little more relieved. It didn’t look as bad as the nurse practitioner made it sound. Not that she was mistaken, but I am a visual person… story problems aren’t my strongest suit. It turns out that the recommended course of treatment for the bone metastasis is 2 weeks of once-a-day radiation. And guess what? No more chemo until that’s done. Next time I’ll be more specific about what I ask for when I need a break… Full remission would be good…

So, they were able to get me in the next day to see my radiation oncologist Dr. Bucholtz – another wonderful man – to discuss my treatment plan. I told him my concerns about leaving the liver unprotected for 2 weeks while we did the 10 radiation sessions. “Well, I have good news for you then”, he says. “ How about one?” I’m thinking “ONE” what? He then proceeds to tell me that studies have shown that the area where I need radiation has responded just as well to 1 treatment as 10. Of course the boost is a little stronger. I was relieved, overjoyed, ecstatic that I won’t need to come to the hospital everyday for the next 2 weeks. Woo hoo!

My next question was about how well it would work. He was so confident in its success that he said, “One time, that’s it, you can cross it off your list.” One less thing to worry about….fabulous! I was filled with renewed hope. After the week we’d had I really needed a silver lining to the dark cloud that seemed to be looming above us. Dr. B really gave me the VIP treatment. Before I left his office I had my simulation. That’s when they draw the lines on you of exactly where the radiation will be aimed and my appointment was scheduled for the next day.

Friday went like clockwork , and while it takes a bit of time, there weren’t any complications. He said there would be some tenderness in the bones and possibly some skin irritation, but so far, I’m only having some bone pain and some fatigue.

So, with that, I think it’s probably best to end this post. You can definitely say one thing about our journey… there’s never a dull moment. - Angie

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FYI

Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization
Telephone Conference - Wed., March 19 at 7pm Central time

Topic: "Breast Reconstruction Options"
Speaker: Aldona J. Spiegel, M.D.
The Center for Breast Restoration
The Methodist Hospital
Houston, Tex.

Dr. Spiegel will provide an overview in plain language of the trends in surgical breast cancer treatment. She will discuss the evolution of current breast cancer reconstruction techniques, specifically microsurgical perforator flaps (reconstruction using skin and fat tissue rather than muscle and performed under an operating microscope) and other autologous (from your own tissue) reconstruction options available today. Recent advances in providing innervation (nerve supply) in the flaps used in breast reconstruction will also be explained. Finally, Dr. Spiegel will address the benefits and risks of breast reconstruction options, with a focus on the need to tailor the procedure to particular needs of the patient.

Dial: 1-800-593-9038 Password: YME21340

If you have not registered, there's still time to do so!
To reserve your space call 1-800-221-2141 or visit http://main.y-me.org/site/Survey?SURVEY_ID=7141&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&autologin=true&AddInterest=1081&s_src=marSRemail .

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From Hope Stone Inc:
Hope Happenings at the Hope Center

We will be closed for the easter Holiday All Day Friday March 21-March 23. We re-open for classes (new Children's session starts as well!!!) Monday March 24th!

Yoga for teens. A 6-week series for teens ages 12-18 years. Taught by master teacher Katy Collins. She will guide your teen thru a series of poses that help with stress, relaxation, posture and strength. The benefits of yoga are amazing, and we so glad to offer it to our teens!
Dates: March 29-May 3
When: Saturdays 11:45-1 p.m.
Cost $110 (pay before March 26th--$100)

May 1st 7 p.m. at the J.C.C.'s Kaplan Theater marks the premiere of our Kid's Play Ensemble/YouthSound presentation of PEACE Piece. A piece about Peace for Peace and honoring Peace! Tickets for this amazing project are on sale now. We need your support....the kids need your support...and we sure need some Peace! http://www.hopestoneinc.org/ Simply go here and purchase your tickets or make a donation to our children's arts outreach project.

We will be cancelling the following classes for the remainder of the spring session--
Monday 6 p.m. pilates
Wednesday 8:15 a.m. pilates
Friday 12 noon pilates.
summer schedule is coming soon! Stay tuned!!

Need a great gift? Buy Hope Stone in a book!!! The behind the scenes view of Hope Stone Dance's world premiere of SEE Me seen from the lens of photographer Simon Gentry's camera. An amazing book that captures the beauty, humanness, and energy that was a HUGE part of the piece. 10% of the sales of the book go towards the children's scholarship fund.
www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/184495

Sincerely, Jane Weiner
Hope Stone, Inc.
1210 W. Clay #26
Houston, Texas 77019

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From Victoria Silva
Feminine Living

The Spring cycle is a time for rebirth... and new beginnings... a perfect
time for you to change the way you think, and be a more positive and loving
woman... for yourself... for your own life, your future... and by doing
so... you will make a huge difference in the world. Be the woman you were
created to be... and shine your femininity and feminine power out into the
world... and be the miracle.

I have some wonderful and nurturing services and classes to share with you
this month of March. Don't miss my Lavender Cooking Class March 29th... see the details at www.feminineliving.com/calender.html
and then call or email me to register!!!

P.S. Here is another wonderful change in perception and a new beginning...
my husband's mission is to GIVE... and his website will explain how his
thinking changed his life...and is changing the world...
http://www.giveawayadollaraday.com/ .

New beginnings to all,
Victoria
http://www.feminineliving.com/
713.849.3535

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From Archana Pyatt
Owner, Serenitea Tea Room & Gift Shop

Every Friday during the month of March, come in anytime between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm and taste the select varieties of teas offered, accompanied by scones served with lemon curd and clotted cream. Cost: $9.95/person

A very special Holiday Tea will be offered on Saturday, May 10th. Enjoy our traditional Afternoon Tea with an assortment of finger sandwiches, scones with lemon curd and clotted cream, and dessert. All Moms will also receive a special gift compliments of Serenitea! Cost: $25/person. By reservation only.

13889 SW Freeway
Sugar Land, TX 77478
281-491-4588
http://www.sereniteatearoom.com/

Author's Note: Southern Living magazine has chosen Serenitea Tea Room as one of the top ten tea rooms to visit in Texas. The list will appear as part of a web story called "I Love Texas" sometime in late spring.

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From the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC)
Grassroots Advocacy in Action

TAKE ACTION NOW!

We've spent years looking for cures for breast cancer. Why aren't we also looking for the cause? We’re getting closer! Our Breast Cancer Environmental Research bill (BCERA) made it through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee. Now on to the Senate floor! BCERA gets us critical research at NIH to examine the potential links between breast cancer and the environment. We need answers to what causes breast cancer and how to prevent it. You are helping us get there.

When we asked you to get your members of Congress as cosponsors on this bill, you acted. And, now, nearly two-thirds of the House and Senate have co-sponsored BCERA. Now we need you to tell the leaders of the Senate to act on and pass this bill. Head on over to the Less Pink More Research site and urge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to pass the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act this year. We are grateful for your help: together we can make this happen.

Link: http://www.lesspinkmoreresearch.org/?lk=7149857-7149857-0-31238-5JJMtpwekxdt9keArtPTv-I4D0nALvlN

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From Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Advocacy Alliance

It is that time of year, when Congress prepares to divvy up funding for the year ahead – and breast cancer research and early detection programs are on the line.
This is a matter of real lives, not just numbers. If programs like the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program and agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) aren't properly funded, lives will be lost. We can't let that happen!

Take action now! Urge Congress to set aside more funding so we can help others catch cancer early before it claims even more lives. Write to your members of Congress today asking for a responsible investment in breast cancer in the 2009 budget.

http://komenpolicy.org/campaign/us_appropriations/8kgxk8n2v7bwjene?

Thank you for all that you do to help end breast cancer forever. Together, we'll make sure that breast cancer continues to be a national priority.

Sincerely,

Diane Balma
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance

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From the National Coalition of Cancer Survivorship (NCCS)
Advocacy Alert

Spring Break for Congress = A Great Time to Talk about Improving Cancer Care
Rep. Carolyn C. Kilpatrick meets with a young constituent

Your member of Congress will be home in the district office soon for the March 15 - March 30 congressional recess. It’s the perfect time to visit and get support for H.R. 1078, the Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act! Make an appointment to visit your representative in the district office or attend a local Town Hall meeting if one is scheduled.

Action Needed:

Check to see if your representative is a co-sponsor of H.R. 1078. Click here to see the current list. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR01078:@@@P
Make an appointment to meet with your representative in the district office. Encourage others who care about quality cancer care and live in your congressional district to join you. There is strength in numbers! Learn more about meeting with public officials.

Find out whether your representative is hosting a Town Hall meeting. (Find your representative’s website and contact information here.) If the answer is YES, invite friends who care about quality cancer care to attend the meeting with you. Be prepared to ask your representative to support quality cancer care and bring along background materials to hand out. Learn more about making a difference at a Town Hall meeting.

Whether you arrange a district office meeting or attend a Town Hall meeting, it’s important to bring printed information about quality cancer care to hand out. Download materials that explain and support H.R. 1078.
If you want to contact your legislator, but need a little more help or information, contact us at advocacy@canceradvocacy.org or call us at 301-650-9127.

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From Emma Jacobs:
Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation

The Unbeatable movement has begun! Next Fall, Unbeatable – A New Musical, which chronicles one woman’s struggle with breast cancer, will have its world premiere production at Houston’s acclaimed Stages Repertory Theatre and the anticipation is remarkable. More importantly, the comprehensive network of support that this new musical has already generated is awe-inspiring: M.D Anderson, The Pink Ribbons Project and The Susan G. Komen Foundation have joined dozens of individual donors to pledge significant support to develop this amazing project. Now is your moment to join our Unbeatable movement and bring this inspirational musical to Houston.

In a time when there are so many worthy causes drawing our attention, I encourage you to consider Unbeatable as a unique way to support the arts and provide a message of great hope to those taken ill with an insidious cancer. Thanks to your support we are well on our way to our goal of bringing Unbeatable to Houston!

Sincerely,

Emma Jacobs
Fundraising chair, Unbeatable
Stages Repertory Theatre

Checks made payable to the Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation, 206 Terrace Drive, Houston, Texas 77007.

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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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/ /

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Mark Your Calendars and Save the Dates!

ROSEBUDS MEETING
March 18, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet

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). Please join us on March 18, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER
Houston Team Captain Training Luncheon
DoubleTree Hotel Houston Downtown
All team captains and co-captains are invited to attend the Houston Walk Team Captain Training Luncheon on March 19, 2008. This event promises to be a lot of fun, bringing together representatives from corporate, family, and club teams!

The luncheon is an opportunity for your team to learn fun ways to fundraise as well as meet others who will be there on Mother's Day morning By attending you will be one of the first to receive our brand-new 2008 promotional posters and brochures which will help you get started on the right foot!

DoubleTree Hotel Houston Downtown
400 Dallas Street
Houston, TX 77002
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
http://main.y-me.org/site/Calendar/2108956386? view=Detail&id=5161&JServSessionIdr004=avtc2m4ov4.app14a

VICTORIA'S PLACE
Seed Meditation with Victoria Silva
Saturday, March 22nd
7:00 PM
Cost: $10
http://www.feminineliving.com/ for the details and RSVP. See you there!

ROSEBUDS II MEETING
March 27, 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.

THE FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Appearances Breast Care Boutique
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Mays Clinic, Floor #2
Houston, TX
Wednesday, April 2nd
11:00am - 4:00pm
Meet the author and participants from the book!

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Fatigue Awareness Week - April 7 -10, 2008
Monday April 7th, 10am - 1pm - Clinic Open House
Mays Clinic, Sixth Floor
Tuesday, April 8th, - Cancer-related Fatigue Video Viewing
6:30 - 7:30pm
Cancer Prevention Building, Eight Floor, Rooms 1 & 2
RSVP: 713-792-2808 or e-mail bsmp@mdanderson.org
For more information, call the Patient Education Office at 713-794-5379
or e-mail www.mdanderson.org/departments/patedu

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County.
April 8, 2008, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Holy Cross Episcopal Church
For additional info and directions: http://sosporchlight.blogspot.com/

AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER
Houston - April 12 - 13, 2008
Congratulations on deciding to register for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer! By registering online now, you will have immediate access to all of the tools of your 'My Avon Walk Center' and can begin fundraising towards your goal today. https://secure2.convio.net/avon/site/TRR/Walk2008/Houston/1021196898? pg=ptype&fr_id=1420&JServSessionIdr004=x9jrwe2701.app26b or For more information, please call us at (713) 968-9250. Email: volunteer.houston@avonwalk.org

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

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
April 18, 2008 6:00 PM - April 19, 2008 6:00 AM
Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

NATIONAL BREAST CANCER COALITION (NBCC):
2008 Annual Advocacy Training Conference
Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
April 26th - 29th 2008

Register now to attend NBCCF's 16th Annual Advocacy Training Conference. Join hundreds of national and international breast cancer activists in our fight to eradicate breast cancer.

NBCCF's yearly gathering helps participants hone their advocacy skills and learn about the latest in breast cancer science, research and policy. Hear directly about the controversies and issues from important leaders, scientists, and advocates. To learn more about this event and registration, visit: http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=1

SUSAN'S RALLY in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
The Susan Roberson Wade Memorial Car Rally
Save the Dates: Rally - April 27, 2008
Golf Tournament - October 27, 2008
For more information: http://www.susansrally.org/

HOPE STONE, INC.
Save The Date for our Premiere Piece
PEACE PIECE ...May 1st, 2008
a dance, theater and music performed by
the Kid's Play Ensemble and YouthSound
7:00 pm
Kaplan Theater, JCC
tickets on sale now
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/
713.526.1907 ext. 3

CURE MAGAZINE
Registration is open for the 2008 CURE Day of Caring Breast Cancer Forum on May 3 & 4in Denver. The Day of Caring weekend features breast cancer experts from around the country, as well as educational exhibits, and a Survivor’s Fashion Show.
Full agendas, hotel accommodations, and online registration are available now! We look forward to seeing you there! http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer? pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

M.D. ANDERSON NETWORK 20th ANNUAL
LIVING FULLY WITH and BEYOND CANCER CONFERENCE
This annual event for patients/survivors and caregivers celebrates its 20th anniversary with the theme, “Live, Reach, Celebrate,”
Keynote Speaker, Actor Gerald McRaney
September 4 - 6, 2008
Houston Marriott Westchase
Online Registration starts Monday, June 16, 2008
Details TBA or visit www.mdanderson.org/andersonnetwork

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
Tour de Pink 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tour de Pink is the annual fundraising bike ride sponsored by Pink Ribbons Project to raise funds for breast cancer education and awareness.
Details, TBA

"UNBEATABLE"
Stages Repertory Theatre
Coming September, 2008
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. http://www.unbeatablemusical.com/ Details TBA
To make a donation, contact Emma Jacobs at emma@jacobswoerner.com

SUSAN G. KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE
Houston, Saturday October 4th, 2008
Save the Date! Details TBA

CURE MAGAZINE
Coming later this fall, the 5th Annual CURE Patient & Survivor Forum will take place November 1 & 2 in Dallas. CURE is proud to offer a Young Adult Track at this meeting in addition to CNE credit for nurses. For More information visit:
http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to thepinkcrusader1@aol.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I believe in the sun when it's not shining, I believe in love even when I feel it not, I believe in God even when he is silent.” - Irish Saying

Until we meet again...stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing no matter how many interruptions!
Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

Pink Crusader Interrupted

2008-03-09T09:52:00.017-05:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,
Welcome to The Pink Crusader blog spot!The Pink Crusader is currently on a personal mission and will return in the near future. Until then, please check back often for community updates, book events, and....of course...a heaping helping of the best cyber-hugs in town!

"Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And, meeting again after moments or lifetimes is certain for those who are friends" -Richard Bach
--------------------------------------------------------------------
FYI

From Cheryl P. Donlin:

I have a favor to ask.

KPFT 90.1 FM radio is a major sponsor of both Tour de Pink and Pink Ribbons Project. KPFT is currently in fund drive mode and I encourage you to pick up the phone and make a donation. I am asking you to do this because KPFT has been a valuable resource to us in getting our message out, both through support for Tour de Pink and in providing Open Journal radio show time to us.

We also have a very personal connection to the station: Pat Donlin -- my fabulous husband -- DJs the Monday Morning Mix (6:00 to 8:00 am every Monday)! He showcases Tour de Pink on his show in addition to the PSAs that KPFT provides, and does a pre- and post Tour de Pink interview with our Ride Director Margaret Shelton. Who could ask for more? So, call in between 6:00 and 8:00 am on Monday, and make Pat's day!

It couldn't be easier: just call 713.526.5738 and tell the volunteer on the other end of the line that you want to contribute to keeping this great community resource going by donating in support of Pat's Monday Morning Mix show. Your donation is tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Thank you in advance for helping us keep this broadcast media resource available to us.

Work. Create. Grow. Give.
Cheryl P. Donlin
Communications & Marketing Committee
Pink Ribbons Project, in motion against breast cancer

P.S. This is not the Univerity of Houston radio station. That is KUHF 88.7 Cpd.

********************************

From Serenitea Tea Room & Gift Shop:

You are invited to our Tea Tasting sessions every Friday during the month of March. Come in anytime between 2 pm and 5 pm and try a variety of our select teas each week.This is aan experience for novices and teaites alike! Begin your journey of discovering the world of tea or experience teas beyond the familiar classics.

Each Tea-Tasting Menu is Accompanied by scones served with lemon curd and clotted cream. To view the complete menu, visit: http://www.sereniteatearoom.com/files/Tea_Tasting_flyer.htm

Cost: $9.95/person.
Hours: Mon - Thurs 11 - 4, Fri - Sat 11 - 5
Phone: 281-491-4588
http://www.sereniteatearoom.com/
13889 Southwest Frwy.
Sugar Land, TX 77478

*************************************

From Hope Stone Inc:
Hope Happenings at the Hope Center

Our biggest news, of course, is WE are a BOOK!!!! Check out the behind the scenes view of Hope Stone Dance's world premiere of SEE Me seen from the lens of photographer Simon Gentry's camera. An amazing book that captures the beauty, humaness, and energy that was a HUGE part of the piece. 10% of the sales of the book go towards the Kid's Play scholarship fund.

Where & When:
Come to the release of the book SEE Me
by Simon Rodrick Gentry
March 15th, 2008
Te House of Te
1927 Fairview @Woodhead
7-9 p.m
www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/184495

Sincerely, Jane Weiner
Hope Stone, Inc.
1210 W. Clay #26
Houston, Texas 77019

**************************************

From Emma Jacobs:
Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation

The Unbeatable movement has begun! Next Fall, Unbeatable – A New Musical, which chronicles one woman’s struggle with breast cancer, will have its world premiere production at Houston’s acclaimed Stages Repertory Theatre and the anticipation is remarkable. More importantly, the comprehensive network of support that this new musical has already generated is awe-inspiring: M.D Anderson, The Pink Ribbons Project and The Susan G. Komen Foundation have joined dozens of individual donors to pledge significant support to develop this amazing project. Now is your moment to join our Unbeatable movement and bring this inspirational musical to Houston.

In a time when there are so many worthy causes drawing our attention, I encourage you to consider Unbeatable as a unique way to support the arts and provide a message of great hope to those taken ill with an insidious cancer. Thanks to your support we are well on our way to our goal of bringing Unbeatable to Houston!

Sincerely,

Emma Jacobs
Fundraising chair, Unbeatable
Stages Repertory Theatre

Checks made payable to the Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation, 206 Terrace Drive, Houston, Texas 77007.

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Mark Your Calendars and Save the Dates!

KNOCKOUT ROSES
A support group for women diagnosed under 40.
2nd Monday of each month, at 5:45 pm, March 10th, 2008.
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet.
Contact Amy Rigsby, Technical Director of The Rose, 713-660-6675.

ROSEBUDS II MEETING
March 13, 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. Future Meetings: MARCH 27

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Conference
Conference activities will include genetics of hereditary cancer, risk management, panel discussions with patients, survivors and caregivers, research directions and clinical trials.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
8am - 1 pm
Registration now open. www.mdanderson.org/departments/ccg
For info: call 713-745-7391 or e-mail ccg@mdanderson.org

ROSEBUDS MEETING
March 18, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet

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). Please join us on March 18, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER
Houston Team Captain Training Luncheon
DoubleTree Hotel Houston Downtown
All team captains and co-captains are invited to attend the Houston Walk Team Captain Training Luncheon on March 19, 2008. This event promises to be a lot of fun, bringing together representatives from corporate, family, and club teams!

The luncheon is an opportunity for your team to learn fun ways to fundraise as well as meet others who will be there on Mother's Day morning By attending you will be one of the first to receive our brand-new 2008 promotional posters and brochures which will help you get started on the right foot!

DoubleTree Hotel Houston Downtown
400 Dallas Street
Houston, TX 77002
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
http://main.y-me.org/site/Calendar/2108956386? view=Detail&id=5161&JServSessionIdr004=avtc2m4ov4.app14a

VICTORIA'S PLACE
Seed Meditation with Victoria Silva
Saturday, March 22nd
7:00 PM
Cost: $10
http://www.feminineliving.com/ for the details and RSVP. See you there!

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Fatigue Awareness Week - April 7 -10, 2008
Monday April 7th, 10am - 1pm - Clinic Open House
Mays Clinic, Sixth Floor
Tuesday, April 8th, - Cancer-related Fatigue Video Viewing
6:30 - 7:30pm
Cancer Prevention Building, Eight Floor, Rooms 1 & 2
RSVP: 713-792-2808 or e-mail bsmp@mdanderson.org
For more information, call the Patient Education Office at 713-794-5379
or e-mail www.mdanderson.org/departments/patedu

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County.
April 8, 2008, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Holy Cross Episcopal Church
For additional info and directions: http://sosporchlight.blogspot.com/

AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER
Houston - April 12 - 13, 2008
Congratulations on deciding to register for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer! By registering online now, you will have immediate access to all of the tools of your 'My Avon Walk Center' and can begin fundraising towards your goal today. https://secure2.convio.net/avon/site/TRR/Walk2008/Houston/1021196898? pg=ptype&fr_id=1420&JServSessionIdr004=x9jrwe2701.app26b or For more information, please call us at (713) 968-9250. Email: volunteer.houston@avonwalk.org

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
April 18, 2008 6:00 PM - April 19, 2008 6:00 AM
Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

NATIONAL BREAST CANCER COALITION (NBCC):
2008 Annual Advocacy Training Conference
Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
April 26th - 29th 2008

Register now to attend NBCCF's 16th Annual Advocacy Training Conference. Join hundreds of national and international breast cancer activists in our fight to eradicate breast cancer.

NBCCF's yearly gathering helps participants hone their advocacy skills and learn about the latest in breast cancer science, research and policy. Hear directly about the controversies and issues from important leaders, scientists, and advocates. To learn more about this event and registration, visit: http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=1

SUSAN'S RALLY in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
The Susan Roberson Wade Memorial Car Rally
Save the Dates: Rally - April 27, 2008
Golf Tournament - October 27, 2008
For more information: http://www.susansrally.org/

HOPE STONE, INC.
Save The Date for our Premiere Piece
PEACE PIECE ...May 1st, 2008
a dance, theater and music performed by
the Kid's Play Ensemble and YouthSound
7:00 pm
Kaplan Theater, JCC
tickets on sale now
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/
713.526.1907 ext. 3

CURE MAGAZINE
Registration is open for the 2008 CURE Day of Caring Breast Cancer Forum on May 3 & 4in Denver. The Day of Caring weekend features breast cancer experts from around the country, as well as educational exhibits, and a Survivor’s Fashion Show.
Full agendas, hotel accommodations, and online registration are available now! We look forward to seeing you there! http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer? pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

M.D. ANDERSON NETWORK 20th ANNUAL
LIVING FULLY WITH and BEYOND CANCER CONFERENCE
This annual event for patients/survivors and caregivers celebrates its 20th anniversary with the theme, “Live, Reach, Celebrate,”
September 4 - 6, 2008
Houston Marriott Westchase
Details TBA

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
Tour de Pink 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tour de Pink is the annual fundraising bike ride sponsored by Pink Ribbons Project to raise funds for breast cancer education and awareness.
Details, TBA

"UNBEATABLE"
Stages Repertory Theatre
Coming September, 2008
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. http://www.unbeatablemusical.com/ Details TBA
To make a donation, contact Emma Jacobs at emma@jacobswoerner.com

SUSAN G. KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE
Houston, Saturday October 4th, 2008
Save the Date! Details TBA

CURE MAGAZINE
Coming later this fall, the 5th Annual CURE Patient & Survivor Forum will take place November 1 & 2 in Dallas. CURE is proud to offer a Young Adult Track at this meeting in addition to CNE credit for nurses. For More information visit:
http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to thepinkcrusader1@aol.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Every day I shall put my papers in order and every day I shall say farewell. And the real farewell, when it comes, will only be a small outward confirmation of what has been accomplished within me day to day." - Etty Hilsum

Until we meet again...stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing no matter how many interruptions!

Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

Fever Pitch

2008-03-03T23:15:00.004-06:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,

Greetings and warm hugs! Welcome to The Pink Crusader blog spot where Spring Fever is at an all-time high. Come and join the March madness as we prepare for another fun-filled month of community events. Time's a-wasting so get moving and read on...
"It's spring fever...You don't quite know what it is you DO want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"
- Mark Twain

March is such a joyful, transitional month. It lifts our spirits and reacquaints us with the wonders of Springtime. It's a time of celebration as we officially bid farewell to the winter blahs and watch the world around us wake up from a deep sleep... Good-bye to cabin fever and hello to fresh routines.

With Spring just around the corner, it's also time to clean house in preparation for the arrival of those lovable leprechauns and the happy, hoppy Easter Bunny. Of course we will "Beware the Ides of March," but not at the expense of St. Paddy's Day or Easter Sunday.

And, no matter how delirious from the first sightings of blue skies and bright, sunny days, we hope you will enjoy every bit of March madness...until it's time to cheer for the arrival of Summer!
------------------------------------------------------------
SURVIVOR UPDATES:

Faye Sallie (per Jeannie Frazier)

You all know that Faye has been fighting bone metastisis for about 4 years. The chemo has kept her cancer from spreading beyond the bones all this time. Last week Faye went to the emergency room after meeting and spending the morning with Dave and Jan Dravecky. After a battery of tests she found out the cancer has spread to multiple places in her lungs and multiple places in her liver. She had an infection in her lungs which has responded to antibiotics and she hopes to be going home tomorrow. Please lift Faye and her family up to the Lord in prayer!

Please pray:

__That God will work through the hands, hearts and minds of the medical team.

__That Faye will not wrestle with God but continue to seek the Lord despite her difficult circumstances.

__That the Holy Spirit will fill her with strength, comfort and peace.

__That she and her family will see Jesus in the faces of those who minister to them and that they will feel Your loving arms around them all.

Her situation is extremely serious and she needs all the prayers and encouragement we can send her!!! Faye has 3 children-a son who is a senior in high school, a daughter 13 ( I think) and a daughter in the 4th grade.

faye.sallee@sbcglobal.net
14830 Sagamore Hills
Houston, Texas 77082

Love, Jeannie

***************************************

Angie Elliott (per Colin Elliott)

February 26, 2008

With Angie working on a large update, I wanted to get out some information real quick.

Thank you for all of your continued support. Without you, our path would be MUCH different that it is today. Since the last post, we have been busy. For Valentine's Day, we skipped dinner out and spent a quiet evening at home... with the clippers. We both have been feeling the breeze on our heads a bit more now. Pictures will be posted later this week.

Her laryngoscopy went smoothly and showed that her right vocal cord isn't moving. Whether that is from nerve damage or trauma from the breathing tube may affect whether the repair is done in a temporary or permanent manner. The former is an injection into the non-responsive vocal cord and the latter is actual surgery. We have an appointment with the ENT Thursday for more details.

A number of people have inquired about her chemotherapy treatment schedule. It's hard to say exactly how long she'll be receiving chemotherapy. Her current treatment has her getting Abraxane in a three week on, one week off schedule. That means that she gets the drug on weekly (on Wednesday for her) for three consecutive weeks and then she gets a vacation for a week to give her body a chance to recover from the chemo. Unfortunately, her second drug, Herceptin, is administered weekly with no breaks. When she has the next PET scan in May, we'll know what the next steps are. In the meantime, we'll just focus on getting through each day and week.

That's the quick update I wanted to post, so look for pictures in the next few days.

Colin

********************************************

We send our prayers and well-wishes for a speedy recovery to the following lovely ladies:

Sonia Einstein
Diana Gonzalez
Argelia Lopez
Mary Raia
Marsha Yeager

---------------------------------------------------------------------
FYI

From Cheryl P. Donlin:

I have a favor to ask.

KPFT 90.1 FM radio is a major sponsor of both Tour de Pink and Pink Ribbons Project. KPFT is currently in fund drive mode and I encourage you to pick up the phone and make a donation. I am asking you to do this because KPFT has been a valuable resource to us in getting our message out, both through support for Tour de Pink and in providing Open Journal radio show time to us.

We also have a very personal connection to the station: Pat Donlin -- my fabulous husband -- DJs the Monday Morning Mix (6:00 to 8:00 am every Monday)! He showcases Tour de Pink on his show in addition to the PSAs that KPFT provides, and does a pre- and post Tour de Pink interview with our Ride Director Margaret Shelton. Who could ask for more? So, call in between 6:00 and 8:00 am on Monday, and make Pat's day!

It couldn't be easier: just call 713.526.5738 and tell the volunteer on the other end of the line that you want to contribute to keeping this great community resource going by donating in support of Pat's Monday Morning Mix show. Your donation is tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Thank you in advance for helping us keep this broadcast media resource available to us.

Work. Create. Grow. Give.
Cheryl P. Donlin
Communications & Marketing Committee
Pink Ribbons Project, in motion against breast cancer

P.S. This is not the Univerity of Houston radio station. That is KUHF 88.7 Cpd.

********************************

From Serenitea Tea Room & Gift Shop:

You are invited to our Tea Tasting sessions every Friday during the month of March. Come in anytime between 2 pm and 5 pm and try a variety of our select teas each week.This is aan experience for novices and teaites alike! Begin your journey of discovering the world of tea or experience teas beyond the familiar classics.

Each Tea-Tasting Menu is Accompanied by scones served with lemon curd and clotted cream. To view the complete menu, visit: http://www.sereniteatearoom.com/files/Tea_Tasting_flyer.htm

Cost: $9.95/person.
Hours: Mon - Thurs 11 - 4, Fri - Sat 11 - 5
Phone: 281-491-4588
http://www.sereniteatearoom.com/
13889 Southwest Frwy.
Sugar Land, TX 77478

*************************************

From Donna Fong:

The Winter 2008 issue of CURExtra is now available at http://www.curetoday.com/cureXtra/currentissue . If you do not subscribe online to CURExtra, I am enclosing the article re Avastin being approved by the FDA for breast cancer. Click on the blue underlined web site below to read the current issue and the article.

FDA Approves Avastin for Metastatic Breast Cancer

For this story and a calendar of upcoming events, visit www.curetoday.com/cureXtra/currentissue .

Donna

*************************************

From Staci Hobbitt:

Josie,

I'd meant to send this on to you. I don't know how you feel about it, but I do know you'll find this interesting -- if you haven't already seen it. - S

The New York Times
February 21, 2008
Use of Private Care Tests British Health System
By SARAH LYALL

LONDON — Created 60 years ago as a cornerstone of the British welfare
state, the National Health Service is devoted to the principle of free
medical care for everyone. But recently it has been wrestling with a
problem its founders never anticipated: how to handle patients with
complex illnesses who want to pay for parts of their treatment while
receiving the rest free from the health service.

Although the government is reluctant to discuss the issue,
hopscotching back and forth between private and public care has long
been standard here for those who can afford it. But a few recent cases
have exposed fundamental contradictions between policy and practice in
the system, and tested its founding philosophy to its very limits.

One such case was Debbie Hirst’s. Her breast cancer had metastasized,
and the health service would not provide her with Avastin, a drug
that is widely used in the United States and Europe to keep such cancers at
bay. So, with her oncologist’s support, she decided last year to try
to pay the $120,000 cost herself, while continuing with the rest of
her publicly financed treatment.

By December, she had raised $20,000 and was preparing to sell her
house to raise more. But then the government, which had tacitly
allowed such arrangements before, put its foot down. Mrs. Hirst heard
the news from her doctor. “He looked at me and said: ‘I’m so sorry,
Debbie. I’ve had my wrists slapped from the people upstairs, and I can
no longer offer you that service,’ ” Mrs. Hirst said in an interview.

“I said, ‘Where does that leave me?’ He said, ‘If you pay for Avastin,
you’ll have to pay for everything’ ” — in other words, for all her
cancer treatment, far more than she could afford.

Officials said that allowing Mrs. Hirst and others like her to pay for
extra drugs to supplement government care would violate the philosophy
of the health service by giving richer patients an unfair advantage
over poorer ones.

Patients “cannot, in one episode of treatment, be treated on the
N.H.S. and then allowed, as part of the same episode and the same
treatment, to pay money for more drugs,” the health secretary, Alan
Johnson, told Parliament.

“That way lies the end of the founding principles of the N.H.S.,” Mr.
Johnson said.

But Mrs. Hirst, 57, whose cancer was diagnosed in 1999, went to the
news media, and so did other patients in similar situations. And it
became clear that theirs were not isolated cases.

In fact, patients, doctors and officials across the health care system
widely acknowledge that patients suffering from every imaginable
complaint regularly pay for some parts of their treatment while
receiving the rest free.

“Of course it’s going on in the N.H.S. all the time, but a lot of it
is hidden — it’s not explicit,” said Dr. Paul Charlson, a general
practitioner in Yorkshire and a member of Doctors for Reform, a group
that is highly critical of the health service. Last year, he was the
co-author of a paper laying out examples of how patients with the
initiative and the money dip in and out of the system, in effect
buying upgrades to their basic free medical care.

“People swap from public to private sector all the time, and they’re
topping up for virtually everything,” Dr. Charlson said in an
interview. For instance, he said, a patient put on a five-month
waiting list to see an orthopedic surgeon may pay $250 for a private
consultation, and then switch back to the health service for the
actual operation from the same doctor.

“Or they’ll buy an M.R.I. scan because the wait is so long, and then
take the results back to the N.H.S.,” Dr. Charlson said.

In his paper, he also wrote about a 46-year-old woman with breast
cancer who paid 250 pounds for a second opinion when the health
service refused to provide her with one; an elderly man who spent
thousands of dollars on a new hearing aid instead of enduring a
yearlong wait on the health service; and a 29-year-old woman who, with
her doctor’s blessing, bought a three-month supply of Tarceva, a drug
to treat pancreatic cancer, for more than $6,000 on the Internet
because she could not get it through the N.H.S.

Asked why these were different from cases like Mrs. Hirst’s, a
spokeswoman for the health service said no officials were available
to comment.

In any case, the rules about private co-payments, as they are called,
in cancer care are contradictory and hard to understand, said Nigel
Edwards, the director of policy for the N.H.S. Confederation, which
represents hospitals and other health-care providers. “I’ve had
conflicting advice from different lawyers,” he said, “but it does seem
like a violation of natural justice to say that either you don’t get
the drug you want, or you have to pay for all your treatment.”

Karol Sikora, a professor of cancer medicine at the Imperial College
School of Medicine and one of Dr. Charlson’s co-authors, said that
co-payments are particularly prevalent in cancer care. Armed with
information from the Internet and patients’ networks, cancer patients
are increasingly likely to demand, and pay for, cutting-edge drugs
that the health service considers too expensive to be cost-effective.

“You have a population that is informed and consumerist about how it
behaves about health care information, and an N.H.S. that can no
longer afford to pay for everything for everybody,” he said.

Professor Sikora said that oncologists are adept at circumventing the
system by, for example, referring patients to other doctors who can
provide the private medication separately. As wrenching as it can be
to administer more sophisticated drugs to some patients than to
others, he said, “if you’re a doctor working in the system, you should
let your patients have the treatment they want, if they can afford to
pay for it.”

In any case, he said, the health service is riddled with inequities.
Some drugs are available in some parts of the country and not in
others. Waiting lists for treatment vary wildly from place to place.
Some regions spend $280 per capita on cancer care, Professor Sikora
said, while others spend just $90.

In Mrs. Hirst’s case, the confusion was compounded by the fact that
three other patients at her hospital were already doing what she had
been forbidden to do — buying extra drugs to supplement their cancer
care. The arrangements had “evolved without anyone questioning whether
it was right or wrong,” said Laura Mason, a hospital spokeswoman.
Because their treatment began before the Health Department explicitly
condemned the practice, they have been allowed to continue.

The rules are confusing. “It’s quite a fine line,” Ms. Mason said.
“You can’t have a course of N.H.S. and private treatment at the same
time on the same appointment — for instance, if a particular drug has
to be administered alongside another drug which is N.H.S.-funded.”
But, she said, the health service rules seem to allow patients to
receive the drugs during separate hospital visits — the N.H.S. drugs
during an N.H.S. appointment, the extra drugs during a private
appointment.

One of Mrs. Hirst’s troubles came, it seems, because the Avastin she
proposed to pay for would have had to be administered at the same time
as the drug Taxol, which she was receiving free on the health service.
Because of that, she could not schedule separate appointments.

But in a final irony, Mrs. Hirst was told early this month that her
cancer had spread and her condition had deteriorated so much she could
have the Avastin after all — paid for by the health service. In other
words, a system that forbade her to buy the medicine earlier was now
saying that she was so sick she could have it at public expense.

Mrs. Hirst is pleased, but only up to a point. Avastin is not a cure,
but a way to extend her life, perhaps only by several months, and she
has missed valuable time. “It may be too bloody late,” she said.

“I’m a person who left school at 15 and I’ve worked all my life and
I’ve paid into the system, and I’m not going to live long enough to
get my old-age pension from this government,” she added.

She also knows that the drug can have grave side effects. “I have
campaigned for this drug, and if it goes wrong and kills me, c’est la
vie,” she said. But, she said, speaking of the government: “If the
drug doesn’t have a fair chance because the cancer has advanced so
much, then they should be raked over the coals for it.”
For more information: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/world/europe/21britain.html?
_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

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From Susan G. Komen for the Cure:

New radiation therapy shows promise

As you may know, one of the main drawbacks of radiation therapy is its frequency and long duration. MammoSite®, a radiation treatment delivery tool for partial breast irradiation over a period of five to seven days, may be an effective treatment for some early-stage breast cancers. However, before beginning any treatment, we recommend you discuss your options with your health care provider to see what treatment is right for you.

Call 1-877 GO KOMEN (1-877-465-6636) Or visit: http://cms.komen.org/Komen/AboutBreastCancer/Treatment/index.htm
© 2008 Susan G. Komen for the Cure

**************************************

From the Cure:

Don’t miss the chance to honor your favorite oncology nurse and win an all-expenses-paid trip for you and a guest to the award ceremony! CURE is now accepting essay nominations for the 2008 Extraordinary Healer Award for Oncology Nursing. We invite you to take this opportunity to describe the compassion, expertise, and helpfulness a special oncology nurse exhibited to you during your care. Three essay finalists, along with the nurses they nominated, will be honored on May 15 at a special reception during the Oncology Nursing Society’s 33rd Annual Congress in Philadelphia. Nominations must be received by April 7, 2008 so start writing today!

For more Information: http://www.curetoday.com/healeraward/index.htm

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From Hope Stone Inc:
Hope Happenings at the Hope Center

Dear Josie,

Greetings one and all as we come to the end of February, and proceed to march into March!!! And wow, is Hope Center marching into spring with a lot of activities. So what is on the docket? Check below and come check them out!

Our biggest news, of course, is WE are a BOOK!!!! Check out the behind the scenes view of Hope Stone Dance's world premiere of SEE Me seen from the lens of photographer Simon Gentry's camera. An amazing book that captures the beauty, humaness, and energy that was a HUGE part of the piece. 10% of the sales of the book go towards the Kid's Play scholarship fund.

Where & When:
Come to the release of the book SEE Me
by Simon Rodrick Gentry
March 15th, 2008
Te House of Te
1927 Fairview @Woodhead
7-9 p.m
www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/184495

Sincerely, Jane Weiner
Hope Stone, Inc.
1210 W. Clay #26
Houston, Texas 77019

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From Emma Jacobs:
Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation

The Unbeatable movement has begun! Next Fall, Unbeatable – A New Musical, which chronicles one woman’s struggle with breast cancer, will have its world premiere production at Houston’s acclaimed Stages Repertory Theatre and the anticipation is remarkable. More importantly, the comprehensive network of support that this new musical has already generated is awe-inspiring: M.D Anderson, The Pink Ribbons Project and The Susan G. Komen Foundation have joined dozens of individual donors to pledge significant support to develop this amazing project. Now is your moment to join our Unbeatable movement and bring this inspirational musical to Houston.

Valentine's weekend, we offered a sample of the music with performances from Houston artists that drew rousing cheers and in some cases a tear or two. If you were unable to attend, we missed you – those in attendance let us know that the passion and artistry of the project is clear and striking. There are several ways to join with those already committed to Unbeatable whether it is through individual giving or supporting our opening night gala dinner. If the level of donations is any indication, then we have a major hit on our hands already! We were able to raise more than $50,000. Adding in the support of the above mentioned foundations and we are past the half-way mark toward our total goal of $300,000.

In a time when there are so many worthy causes drawing our attention, I encourage you to consider Unbeatable as a unique way to support the arts and provide a message of great hope to those taken ill with an insidious cancer. Clearly, I’ve found the way to combine my great love of theatre with my mission to aid those struggling with breast cancer and yes, as a breast cancer survivor myself, I bring a bit of passion to the table! My persistence comes from a place of uncompromising belief that Unbeatable is an exceptional opportunity to reach out to those in need through art. For those of you who have not already, please consider joining me in this effort. Please see full listing of donor levels below.

Sincerely,

Emma Jacobs
Fundraising chair, Unbeatable
Stages Repertory Theatre

$10,000
A Table for Eight to the opening night Gala, Saturday, September 6, 2008
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)to the opening night Gala, Saturday, September 6th
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, Saturday, September 6, 2008
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 complete the form below and return it to me now and we will process your donation.

I, ___________________________, donate $___________ in support of breast cancer awareness.

Address: ________________________________________________________________

Phone: ___________________________ Email: _______________________________

Credit Card Type: American Express Visa Master Card

Name on Credit Card __________________________________________

Credit Card Number ___________________________________________

Credit Card Expiration Date ___________________ Security Code ________________

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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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!

ROSEBUDS MEETING
March 4, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet
Future Meetings: MARCH 18

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
Tickle Me Pink Fashion Show
featuring Houston-area Student Designers
March 8th, 2008, 4:00 p.m.
Lamar High School
3325 Westheimer Drive
$10 tickets sold at door

KNOCKOUT ROSES
A support group for women diagnosed under 40.
2nd Monday of each month, at 5:45 pm, March 10th, 2008.
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet.
Contact Amy Rigsby, Technical Director of The Rose, 713-660-6675.

ROSEBUDS II MEETING
March 13, 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. Future Meetings: MARCH 27

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Conference
Conference activities will include genetics of hereditary cancer, risk management, panel discussions with patients, survivors and caregivers, research directions and clinical trials.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
8am - 1 pm
Registration now open. www.mdanderson.org/departments/ccg
For info: call 713-745-7391 or e-mail ccg@mdanderson.org

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). Please join us on March 18, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER
Houston Team Captain Training Luncheon
DoubleTree Hotel Houston Downtown
All team captains and co-captains are invited to attend the Houston Walk Team Captain Training Luncheon on March 19, 2008. This event promises to be a lot of fun, bringing together representatives from corporate, family, and club teams!

The luncheon is an opportunity for your team to learn fun ways to fundraise as well as meet others who will be there on Mother's Day morning By attending you will be one of the first to receive our brand-new 2008 promotional posters and brochures which will help you get started on the right foot!

DoubleTree Hotel Houston Downtown
400 Dallas Street
Houston, TX 77002
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
http://main.y-me.org/site/Calendar/2108956386?view=Detail&id=5161&JServSessionIdr004=avtc2m4ov4.app14a

VICTORIA'S PLACE
Seed Meditation with Victoria Silva
Saturday, March 22nd
7:00 PM
Cost: $10
http://www.feminineliving.com/ for the details and RSVP. See you there!

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Fatigue Awareness Week - April 7 -10, 2008
Monday April 7th, 10am - 1pm - Clinic Open House
Mays Clinic, Sixth Floor
Tuesday, April 8th, - Cancer-related Fatigue Video Viewing
6:30 - 7:30pm
Cancer Prevention Building, Eight Floor, Rooms 1 & 2
RSVP: 713-792-2808 or e-mail bsmp@mdanderson.org
For more information, call the Patient Education Office at 713-794-5379
or e-mail www.mdanderson.org/departments/patedu

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County.
April 8, 2008, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Holy Cross Episcopal Church
For additional info and directions: http://sosporchlight.blogspot.com/

AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER
Houston - April 12 - 13, 2008
Congratulations on deciding to register for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer! By registering online now, you will have immediate access to all of the tools of your 'My Avon Walk Center' and can begin fundraising towards your goal today. https://secure2.convio.net/avon/site/TRR/Walk2008/Houston/1021196898?pg=ptype&fr_id=1420&JServSessionIdr004=x9jrwe2701.app26b or For more information, please call us at (713) 968-9250. Email: volunteer.houston@avonwalk.org

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
April 18, 2008 6:00 PM - April 19, 2008 6:00 AM
Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

NATIONAL BREAST CANCER COALITION (NBCC):
2008 Annual Advocacy Training Conference
Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
April 26th - 29th 2008

Register now to attend NBCCF's 16th Annual Advocacy Training Conference. Join hundreds of national and international breast cancer activists in our fight to eradicate breast cancer.

NBCCF's yearly gathering helps participants hone their advocacy skills and learn about the latest in breast cancer science, research and policy. Hear directly about the controversies and issues from important leaders, scientists, and advocates. To learn more about this event and registration, visit: http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=1

SUSAN'S RALLY in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
The Susan Roberson Wade Memorial Car Rally
Save the Dates: Rally - April 27, 2008
Golf Tournament - October 27, 2008
For more information: http://www.susansrally.org/

HOPE STONE, INC.
Save The Date for our Premiere Piece
PEACE PIECE ...May 1st, 2008
a dance, theater and music performed by
the Kid's Play Ensemble and YouthSound
7:00 pm
Kaplan Theater, JCC
tickets on sale now
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/
713.526.1907 ext. 3

CURE MAGAZINE
Registration is open for the 2008 CURE Day of Caring Breast Cancer Forum on May 3 & 4in Denver. The Day of Caring weekend features breast cancer experts from around the country, as well as educational exhibits, and a Survivor’s Fashion Show.
Full agendas, hotel accommodations, and online registration are available now! We look forward to seeing you there! http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer? pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

M.D. ANDERSON NETWORK 20th ANNUAL
LIVING FULLY WITH and BEYOND CANCER CONFERENCE
This annual event for patients/survivors and caregivers celebrates its 20th anniversary with the theme,
“Live, Reach, Celebrate,”
September 4 - 6, 2008
Houston Marriott Westchase
Details TBA

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
Tour de Pink 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tour de Pink is the annual fundraising bike ride sponsored by Pink Ribbons Project to raise funds for breast cancer education and awareness.
Details, TBA

"UNBEATABLE"
Stages Repertory Theatre
Coming September, 2008
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. http://www.unbeatablemusical.com/ Details TBA
To make a donation, contact Emma Jacobs at emma@jacobswoerner.com

SUSAN G. KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE
Houston, Saturday October 4th, 2008
Save the Date! Details TBA

CURE MAGAZINE
Coming later this fall, the 5th Annual CURE Patient & Survivor Forum will take place November 1 & 2 in Dallas. CURE is proud to offer a Young Adult Track at this meeting in addition to CNE credit for nurses. For More information visit:
http://www.curetoday.com/forums/index.html

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"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

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"May the strength of God pilot us, may the wisdom of God instruct us, may the hand of God protect us, may the word of God direct us. Be always ours this day and for evermore."
- St. Patrick

Until next week stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing that cute little jig!

Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

Chocolate Is as Chocolate Does

2008-02-23T10:40:00.008-06:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,

Welcome, welcome, welcome to The Pink Crusader blog spot! As always, we greet you with a big hug and warm smile. Come join us for a guilt-free moment of "sweet" indulgence as we pass around the Whitman Sampler. Grab the chocolate(s) of your choice and please read on...

There's a thin person inside of me screaming to get out, but I keep her sedated with chocolate. - Unknown

This week we are singing the praises of one of life's simple pleasures...the joy of eating chocolate and the heart-health benefits it provides. So before you have eater's remorse over devouring the last nugget of Valentine truffles, enjoy the following article. This will conclude our special February healthy-heart series.

The Health Benefits of Chocolate: Can Chocolate Benefit Your Health?
by Marguerite Bonneville

Chocolate is one of the most popular sweet-tasting treats in the world and has been for centuries. But part of the myth surrounding chocolate is that if it tastes so good, it must be bad for your health.

But the surprising news from the scientific community is that this reputedly decadent treat actually has some health benefits, especially if you choose your chocolate wisely.

Is Chocolate A Health Food?
Chocolate contains more than 300 chemicals, and has been the subject of a number of studies by universities and other scientific organizations. Here's a quick rundown of the results. (Note, we have no way of proving or disproving these claims so we offer them here as a stimulus for further research. If you're really interested in the subject, this may provide you with a starting point.)

* Cacao, the source of chocolate, contains antibacterial agents that fight tooth decay. Of course, this is counteracted by the high sugar content of milk chocolate.

* The smell of chocolate may increase theta brain waves, resulting in relaxation.

* Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine, a mild mood elevator.

* The cocoa butter in chocolate contains oleic acid, a mono-unsaturated fat which may raise good cholesterol.

* Drinking a cup of hot chocolate before meals may actually diminish appetite.

* Men who eat chocolate live a year longer than those who don't.

* The flavanoids in chocolate may help keep blood vessels elastic.

* Chocolate increases antioxidant levels in the blood.

* Mexican healers use chocolate to treat bronchitis and insect bites.

* The carbohydrates in chocolate raise serotonin levels in the brain, resulting in a sense of well-being.

What Chocolate Won't Do
There are many myths and half-truths about the effects of chocolate on the human body. Here are the latest findings on several of them.

* Studies show that chocolate is not a causative factor in acne.

* Cacao contains the stimulants caffeine and bromine, but in such small quantities that they don't cause nervous excitability.

* Chocolate is not addictive.

* Chocolate contains stearic acid, a neutral fat which doesn't raise bad cholesterol.

* Chocolate doesn't make you 'high'. You'd need to eat a huge quantity (about 25 pounds at one sitting) to feel any noticeable effect.

But On The Negative Side...
1. Chocolate may trigger headaches in migraine sufferers.
2. Milk chocolate is high in calories, saturated fat and sugar.

What About Chocolate And Your Pets?
Chocolate is considered dangerous to animals because it contains a stimulant called theobromine, which they can't digest.

Dark chocolate and baking chocolate are even more dangerous because they contain higher concentrations of the substance. This applies whether chocolate is in candy bar form, or an ingredient in cake, cookies, puddings or ice cream.

If a pet becomes ill after eating chocolate, take it to the vet immediately.

Dark Chocolate Versus Milk Chocolate
Dark chocolate contains more cacao and less sugar than milk chocolate. It follows that any health benefits would be more pronounced in dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate is allowed on the popular Montaignac diet while milk chocolate is not.

You'll need to do a little research if you have any health concerns about eating chocolate. But with products like gluten-free and sugar-free brands finding their way onto supermarket shelves, you're sure to find some form of chocolate you can enjoy with a clear conscience.

© Marguerite Bonneville is a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) whose passion is publishing information online. She is a contributing writer for http://www.romantic-gift-ideas-online.com/ , a resource site dedicated to helping visitors find the perfect romantic gift.

Source: http://www.momscape.com/
Copyright 2008 Momscape.com All Rights Reserved
To read more, visit: http://www.momscape.com/articles/chocolate.htm

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SURVIVOR UPDATES:

Please keep the following ladies in your thoughts and prayers as they prepare for surgery this week:

Diana Gonzalez

Marsha Yeager

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Faye Sallee (per friend Dorothy Slator Paterson)

Please pray for Faye Sallee. She is in the hospital at MD Anderson with infection in her lungs Please pray that the infection will clear up so she can start her new chemotherapy treatment. - Dorothy
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Mary Raia (per friend Dottie)

Just got the call, Mary is out of surgery, Dr. is pleased. Mary is doing fine, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday when she goes home. All is well with the world.....Thanks to all

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Sonia Einstein

Get-well wishes to Sonia who is recovering from recent surgery.

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Argelia Lopez
We wish Argelia a speedy recovery following her stay in the hospital and hope to see her soon at the next Rosebuds II meeting.

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FYI

From Marsha Yeager:

To all SOS Support Group members: We need to know who will be a 5-year survivor this year, 2008. Survivorship is marked from the date that you are diagnosed going forward. Even if your month/day anniversary occurs in the summer, we want to know about it now so we can honor our survivors at our last meeting, which is May. Please call ( 281 431 0700) or email (marshayeager@yahoo.com ) if you will be an honoree. Blessings, Marsha

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From Serenitea Tea Room & Gift Shop:

You are invited to our Tea Tasting sessions every Friday during the month of March. Come in anytime between 2 pm and 5 pm and try a variety of our select teas each week.This is aan experience for novices and teaites alike! Begin your journey of discovering the world of tea or experience teas beyond the familiar classics.

Each Tea-Tasting Menu is Accompanied by scones served with lemon curd and clotted cream. To view the complete menu, visit: http://www.sereniteatearoom.com/files/Tea_Tasting_flyer.htm

Cost: $9.95/person.
Hours: Mon - Thurs 11 - 4, Fri - Sat 11 - 5
Phone: 281-491-4588
http://www.sereniteatearoom.com/
13889 Southwest Frwy.
Sugar Land, TX 77478

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From M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Network Newsletter
Winter, 2008

Doctor Doctor: Giving the heart its due

The more than 10 million cancer survivors in the United States, and even some physicians, often aren’t aware of the consequences of cancer and its treatments on the heart. That’s why Jean-Bernard Durand, M.D., medical director of Cardiomyopathy Services at M. D. Anderson, and his colleagues are working to better understand hypertension and cardiotoxicity, possible late effects of treatment. Their ultimate goal is to prevent heart damage or intervene during treatment, rather than treat the problem when heart failure occurs.

What are hypertension and cardiotoxicity?
Hypertension is abnormally high blood pressure as well as the disease of which this is a symptom. Uncontrolled, it progresses to heart failure.

Cardiotoxicity is an acute or long-term injury to the heart as a result of cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, targeted therapy and hormonal therapy. When we speak about cardiotoxicity that implies the whole cardiovascular system: the arteries, the veins, the heart valves, the heart muscle or the electrical system.

What has inhibited research in this area?
Part of the difficulty with clinical trials studying heart problems in cancer patients is that we tend to work in silos. Patients with significant cardiac problems are largely excluded from cancer clinical trials while patients with a significant cancer history are largely excluded from cardiovascular trials. We have this great work in cardiology and in cancer. As we develop new therapies, our success in getting patients safely through treatment requires that we bring these two disciplines together to reduce associated cardiovascular risks.

Which drugs cause hypertension or cardiotoxicity?
For decades, one of the standard ingredients of combination chemotherapy has been a class of drugs called anthracylcines, such as doxorubicin and epirubicin. While they are effective in treating cancer, we also know they can cause cardiotoxicity.

However, in the last few years, there has been a major paradigm shift as researchers introduce new targeted therapies. While these drugs have reduced cardiotoxicity, the risk of drug-induced hypertension is significant. For example, bevacizumab (Avastin) causes hypertension in 23% to 34% of patients and is life-threatening in 14%; alemtuzumab (Campath) affects 11%; infliximab (Remicade) affects 10%; and rituximab (Rituxan) affects 6%. Others that may cause cardiotoxicity include bortezomib (Velcade), trastuzumab (Herceptin) and imatinib (Gleevec).

Can hypertension and cardiotoxicity be managed?
When heart problems occur, people get frightened. However, in many cases, they’re treatable. We’ve found a way to improve heart function, combining beta blockers, specifically carvedilol (Coreg) and metoprolol (Toprol XL), with ACE inhibitors. In addition, M. D. Anderson has integrated current guidelines from the American Heart Association and the Heart Failure Society into clinical practice.

Our most important efforts, however, are to be proactive and prevent or detect problems early. Currently, we’re investigating a blood test called BNP, brain naturetic peptide, a molecule released from the heart in times of stress. Now FDA approved to diagnosis heart failure, it may provide an excellent predictor of who will develop cardiotoxicity long before the EKG or echocardiogram becomes abnormal or symptoms develop.

What’s next?
While the incidence of heart failure is low, the incidence of hypertension is high. A National Cancer Institute task force is looking at how to treat high blood pressure in patients on these targeted therapies. There also is an important committee of experts in cardiology and oncology who have come together to form CONQUER, Cardiology Oncology InterNational QUest to Educate and Research Heart Failure, to begin establishing recommendations on how to improve the care of cancer patients and survivors with cardiovascular disease. http://www.mdanderson.org/publications/network/display.cfm?id=A55428DF-8D70-4204-B7DB8FFA6C230A1B&method=displayFull

Source: ©2008 The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Disclaimer: The material and content contained in this website is for general health information only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Users of this website should not rely exclusively on information provided in this website for their own health needs. All specific medical questions should be presented to your own health care provider.

In consideration for your use of and access to this website, you agree that in no event will M. D. Anderson or any other party involved in creating, producing or delivering this website or any site linked to this website, be liable to you in any manner whatsoever for any decision made or action or non-action taken by you in reliance upon the information provided through this website.

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From the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC):

NBCC Briefs Capitol Hill On Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program

On February 11, NBCC held its annual briefing on Capitol Hill about the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, one of our top legislative priorities. Since 1992, the DOD Breast Cancer Research Program has fostered new ideas, partnerships and models in breast cancer research. NBCC Executive Vice President Carolina Hinestrosa, Col. Janet Harris (Director of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs), and Rosemary Rosso (member of the Metropolitan D.C. Breast Cancer Coalition, and advocate peer-reviewer for the Program), were on hand to provide an overview of the Program, describe its unprecedented structure and share its groundbreaking accomplishments. For more information visit: http://www.stopbreastcancer.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=333

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From Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization:
Y-Me Walk to Empower

You can now RSVP online for our upcoming luncheon. If you're looking for print materials, ideas and enthusiasm to jumpstart your team, then join us at the DoubleTree Hotel Houston Downtown on Wednesday, March 19. Team captains heading up family & friends teams, corporate teams, club teams and school teams are all invited to join us as we kick off team-building season for Y-ME's Walk to Empower. We hope to see you there! RSVP online today or call us at 877-YME-7223.
http://main.y-me.org/site/Calendar/2108956386?view=Detail&id=5161&JServSessionIdr004=avtc2m4ov4.app14a

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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!

HOPE STONE, INC. SATURDAY SAMPLER SERIES
Hit the winter blues and blahs with our new sampler series!!!! Hope Center offers a lovely sampling of classes for you to try out during the next few Saturdays....a great way to try a new movement class.....experience a novel way to move and care for your body....to be in the community with other awesome Hope Center students, and gosh darn it, to HAVE FUN. Our teachers are the best of the best!!!!!

Week #7 - March 1 - CAPOEIRA MARTIAL ARTS
11:45 - 1:00pm
Cost is $18 drop in, class cards can be used as well!
Call now to register-713.526.1907 ext. 1
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/

ROSEBUDS II MEETING
February 28, 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. Future Meetings: MARCH 13 & 27

M. D. ANDERSON SPRING WORKSHOP
Innovations in Breast Cancer and the Art of Cancer Survivorship
Saturday, March 1, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Cancer Prevention Building, 8th floor
1155 Pressler
Houston, Texas
Keynote Speakers
Melissa Crosby, M.D. - Developments in Reconstructive Surgery
P.K. Morrow, M.D. - Future Directions in Breast Cancer Treatment: Updates from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
Karin Hahn, M.D., Moderator - Multidisciplinary Panel Discussion
COLLAGE: Art of Survivorship
http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/yngbreastsrv/dIndex.cfm?pn=C6D164AE-19F1-4DD3-B99D0566A30B813F or You can RSVP at bsmp@mdanderson.org

ROSEBUDS MEETING
March 4, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet
Future Meetings: MARCH 18

FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Saks Fifth Avenue - Mexico City
50 Fabulous Women - Breakfast Benefit
March 5th, 2008 Details TBA

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
Tickle Me Pink Fashion Show
featuring Houston-area Student Designers
March 8th, 2008, 4:00 p.m.
Lamar High School
3325 Westheimer Drive
$10 tickets sold at door

KNOCKOUT ROSES
A support group for women diagnosed under 40.
2nd Monday of each month, at 5:45 pm, March 10th, 2008.
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet.
Contact Amy Rigsby, Technical Director of The Rose, 713-660-6675.

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Conference
Conference activities will include genetics of hereditary cancer, risk management, panel discussions with patients, survivors and caregivers, research directions and clinical trials.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
8am - 1 pm
Registration now open. www.mdanderson.org/departments/ccg
For info: call 713-745-7391 or e-mail ccg@mdanderson.org

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). Please join us on March 18, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER
Houston Team Captain Training Luncheon
DoubleTree Hotel Houston Downtown
All team captains and co-captains are invited to attend the Houston Walk Team Captain Training Luncheon on March 19, 2008. This event promises to be a lot of fun, bringing together representatives from corporate, family, and club teams!

The luncheon is an opportunity for your team to learn fun ways to fundraise as well as meet others who will be there on Mother's Day morning By attending you will be one of the first to receive our brand-new 2008 promotional posters and brochures which will help you get started on the right foot!

DoubleTree Hotel Houston Downtown
400 Dallas Street
Houston, TX 77002
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
http://main.y-me.org/site/Calendar/2108956386?view=Detail&id=5161&JServSessionIdr004=avtc2m4ov4.app14a

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Fatigue Awareness Week - April 7 -10, 2008
Monday April 7th, 10am - 1pm - Clinic Open House
Mays Clinic, Sixth Floor
Tuesday, April 8th, - Cancer-related Fatigue Video Viewing
6:30 - 7:30pm
Cancer Prevention Building, Eight Floor, Rooms 1 & 2
RSVP: 713-792-2808 or e-mail bsmp@mdanderson.org
For more information, call the Patient Education Office at 713-794-5379
or e-mail www.mdanderson.org/departments/patedu

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County.
April 8, 2008, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Holy Cross Episcopal Church
For additional info and directions: http://sosporchlight.blogspot.com/

AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER
Houston - April 12 - 13, 2008
Congratulations on deciding to register for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer! By registering online now, you will have immediate access to all of the tools of your 'My Avon Walk Center' and can begin fundraising towards your goal today. https://secure2.convio.net/avon/site/TRR/Walk2008/Houston/1021196898?pg=ptype&fr_id=1420&JServSessionIdr004=x9jrwe2701.app26b or For more information, please call us at (713) 968-9250. Email: volunteer.houston@avonwalk.org

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
April 18, 2008 6:00 PM - April 19, 2008 6:00 AM
Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

NATIONAL BREAST CANCER COALITION (NBCC):
2008 Annual Advocacy Training Conference
Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
April 26th - 29th 2008

Register now to attend NBCCF's 16th Annual Advocacy Training Conference. Join hundreds of national and international breast cancer activists in our fight to eradicate breast cancer.

NBCCF's yearly gathering helps participants hone their advocacy skills and learn about the latest in breast cancer science, research and policy. Hear directly about the controversies and issues from important leaders, scientists, and advocates. To learn more about this event and registration, visit: http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=1

SUSAN'S RALLY in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
The Susan Roberson Wade Memorial Car Rally
Save the Dates: Rally - April 27, 2008
Golf Tournament - October 27, 2008
For more information: http://www.susansrally.org/

HOPE STONE, INC.
Save The Date for our Premiere Piece
PEACE PIECE ...May 1st, 2008
by the Kid's Play Ensemble and YouthSound
Tickets on sale soon!!!! Details TBA

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer? pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

M.D. ANDERSON NETWORK 20th ANNUAL
LIVING FULLY WITH and BEYOND CANCER CONFERENCE
This annual event for patients/survivors and caregivers celebrates its 20th anniversary with the theme,
“Live, Reach, Celebrate,”
September 4 - 6, 2008
Houston Marriott Westchase
Details TBA

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT
Tour de Pink 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tour de Pink is the annual fundraising bike ride sponsored by Pink Ribbons Project to raise funds for breast cancer education and awareness.
Details, TBA

"UNBEATABLE"
Stages Repertory Theatre
Coming September, 2008
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. http://www.unbeatablemusical.com/ Details TBA
To make a donation, contact Emma Jacobs at emma@jacobswoerner.com

SUSAN G. KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE
Houston, Saturday October 4th, 2008
Save the Date! Details TBA
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"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

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“My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.” - Dave Barry

Until next week stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing with a Snickers in one hand and an Oreo in the other!

Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

Happy Mind & Healthy Heart

2008-02-18T07:48:00.022-06:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,

Greetings to one and all! Welcome to The Pink Crusader blog spot where you are only one squeeze away from a great, BIG HUG! We hope you are all doing well and wish you a lovely 3-day weekend. Now, before you get into too much mischief, please read on...

"Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone's major source of wealth. Without it, happiness is almost impossible."
- Unknown

In honor of "Healthy Heart Month," this week we are sharing the Five Secrets to a Happy and Healthy Heart, Adapted from The Heart of Living Well: Six Principles for a Life of Health, Beauty, and Balance

by Judy Lubin, MPH

You know the drill when it comes to staying heart healthy. Stay physically active, maintain a healthy weight and eat a diet low in fat and cholesterol. But what about your emotional health?

While most of us recognize that there’s more to health than just our physical wellbeing, the emotional link to our heart health is often overlooked. But the reality is that our emotions have plenty to do with keeping our hearts in tip-top shape. The connection between the heart and our emotions isn’t a head in the cloud notion or fodder for romance novels. There is solid scientific research that the heart continuously sends signals to the brain that affect our perceptions, thinking and emotional processing.

A popular French proverb reminds us that gratitude is the
heart’s memory. When we genuinely appreciate the many blessings and gifts in our lives, the feeling resonates in our hearts as joy. Age-old spiritual wisdom has taught that a grateful heart is key to happiness and health. Several studies have shown that people who adopt an attitude of gratitude—that is, they regularly appreciate the good things in life—are happier and more resilient. In one study, people who counted their blessings weekly for ten weeks noticed that they had fewer physical complaints, spent more time exercising and experienced improved quality of sleep.

It has been well documented that anxiety, depression, worry and loneliness are all linked to an increased risk of having a heart attack or dying early of heart disease. But don’t panic...who hasn’t worried, felt a bit anxious or depressed at some point in their lives? It’s human nature. The concern grows when we move from short periods of not-so happy emotional experiences to a chronic state of anxiety or depression.

The good news is that we have more power over our emotions and health than we often give ourselves credit. The new science of happiness is showing us that happiness is often a choice and even a muscle that can be flexed and developed by focusing on the positive things in life.

How does this all translate to a healthy heart? Researchers at The Institute of Heart Math have found that when we are anxious, angry or worried, the heart’s rhythm becomes erratic and contributes to the tension and tightness that we often feel in our chest area and other parts of the body when we’re stressed. But when we experience positive emotions, the reverse is true. Heart rhythms are more harmonious and balanced when we feel emotions such as love, gratitude and compassion.

So are you ready to start experiencing more of those warm and fuzzy feelings? Here are five tips from my book, The Heart of Living Well, to help you flex those happiness muscles and keep your precious heart in good shape.

1. Stop Worrying. Chronic worriers are two to five times more likely to have a heart attack. Anxious and fear-based thoughts and emotions also trigger stress hormones that weaken the immune system and sap our energy.

Tip: Instead of being swept away by your worries, try scheduling a time to worry. Write down your thoughts, doubts and fears and then determine what you can do about them. Acknowledging your worries in this way can stop the repetitive thoughts about them. Move toward the resolution of the ones you can take action on. The longer you remain in a state of inaction, the more you will worry. If the situation is beyond your control, move toward acceptance.

2. Be grateful. People who regularly appreciate the good things in life are happier and more resilient, sleep better and even spend more time exercising.

Tip: Make gratitude a habit. Keep a gratitude journal, say a prayer of thanks each morning, or reflect on three good things that occurred during the day every evening before you go to bed.

3. Think positively. In a Yale University study researchers found that people with an optimistic outlook on life live seven and half years longer than their more gloomy counterparts. In the study, the tendency toward positive thinking had more influence than blood pressure and cholesterol levels on an individual’s health and longevity.

Tip: Choose to see the opportunity when facing a challenging situation. Focus on the solution rather than the problem. Ask yourself: Is there a lesson here for me? How can I make the best of my present situation?

4. Forgive and Let go. Holding on to past hurts is detrimental to our health. The various emotions that block forgiveness, including anger, hostility, and fear, have all been linked to increased blood pressure, disruptive hormonal changes, impaired immune function and a higher risk of heart disease.

Tip: Develop a forgiving personality. Practice letting go of everyday gaffes (such as a friend showing up late or a stranger maneuvering into a parking spot at the mall despite the fact that you were there first). If you make a mistake, accept it as such, instead of beating yourself up about it. If you have been deeply hurt by someone else’s actions, take time to process the experience and your emotions. Be patient and compassionate with yourself. Remember, to err is human, but to forgive, divine.

5. Manage Stress. Chronic stress can pose a serious risk to your heart. Stress contributes to weight gain, lowers estrogen levels, increases the likelihood of developing depression and increases blood pressure.

Tip: Make self-care a priority. Commit to giving yourself a minimum of thirty minutes each day to connect with yourself through meditation, journaling, yoga or other forms physical activity. Create and honor your boundaries. Friends and family will be more likely to take your commitment to self-care seriously if you do. If guilt or feelings of selfishness creep up, remind yourself that self-care and stress management is about your health and livelihood.

Source: Heart and Style
Copyright © Heart and Style Media 2004-2007
Heart and Style provides information and inspiration to help women live long and live well. Heart and Style living is all about embracing wellness and honoring who you are at heart. It’s about living a healthy, balanced and purposeful life. In a nutshell: it’s about living well, putting yourself on the “A” list, and living a heart-inspired life.SM

To read more, visit: http://www.heartandstylewoman.com/five-secrets-to-a-happy-and-healthy-heart.htm

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SURVIVOR UPDATES:

Mary Raia

We continue to send our best wishes to Mary, for a speedy recovery.
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Jack Peters

Get-well wishes to good friend Jack Peters who underwent surgery last week. We hope he is feeling better and back on his feet in no time!

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FYI

From Donna Fong:

Reuters_News@reuters.com
Digital mammogram best for younger women: study
Tue Jan 29 09:57:44 UTC 2008

By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Digital mammography was much better than traditional film mammography at spotting breast cancers in younger women or those with dense breasts, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

The results confirm earlier findings and better define who will benefit from the newer, more costly digital exams. Early findings from this same study of 49,528 women published in 2005 suggested that younger women and women with dense breasts would benefit, but also found the digital test was no better than traditional film-based mammography for the overall population of women.

"This paper confirms that if you are under 50, pre- or perimenopausal, and have dense breasts, you should definitely be screened with digital rather than film," Dr. Etta Pisano of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill said in a statement.
Unlike traditional mammograms, digital mammograms can be stored on a computer and the images can be enhanced and sent electronically. Digital mammograms also use less radiation than film mammograms. But the digital systems cost about 1.5 to 4 times more than film systems.

In the study, published in the journal Radiology, the researchers sought to determine which women would benefit most from the more costly tests. They looked at the results of The Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial or DMIST -- begun in 2001 -- which compared the two types of mammograms.

DIGITAL TEST FOR PRE-, PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN
Women in the study were considered premenopausal or perimenopausal if they had a menstrual period with 12 months of their mammograms. Women typically enter menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, with the average age being 51.

Pisano and colleagues looked at the results of several different subgroups of women, including those of different age groups and those with dense or fatty breasts.
Dense breast tissue can make a mammogram harder to read than fatty breast tissue. And other studies have shown women with dense breast tissue -- who are usually younger -- have a higher risk of cancer.

The new analysis confirmed that the digital system was better for pre- and perimenopausal women under 50 years old with dense breasts. For women over 65 with fatty breasts, film appeared to work better. For other groups, there was no significant difference between the two.

Dr. Stamatia Destounis, a radiologist at the Elizabeth Wende Breast Clinic in Rochester, New York, offers both types of mammograms. "If you are a young lady and you fulfill the criteria, we steer you toward digital and keep you there," Destounis said in a telephone interview. "For patients with fatty breasts and the elderly, it's just fine to use film."
"I think this study confirms that the initial results were accurate. This wasn't a fluke."
According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.2 million people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Breast cancer will kill more than 40,000 Americans this year. The American Cancer Society recommends women age 40 and older get a mammogram every year.
http://www.reuters.com/article/email/idUSN2851817320080129

© Copyright Reuters 2006 All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only.
Quotes and other data are provided for your personal information only, and are not intended for trading purposes. Reuters, the members of its Group and its data providers shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the quotes or other data, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

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From Janice Duplessis:

American heart association - Your support is a vital part of the Go Red movement. So please, share your story and support the cause by taking the Heart CheckUp or getting involved with Go Red in your community. Do what you can - for your health, for your life, for the women you love.

Sign up and receive your free "Go red dress pin," for heart disease in women, along with information on women's heart health. http://www.goredforwomen.org/

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From Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization:

Y-ME wants you to know that we are thinking of you!

You are not alone in the breast cancer journey. Y-ME has an entire network of survivors, patients and loved ones who can provide information, support and encouragement when you need it most.

Your Y-ME network is here, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer your questions and help ease your worries. Our free-of-charge programs and services are available to anyone touched by breast cancer.

Call us at 1-800-221-2141 or e-mail askyme@y-me.org and talk with someone who has walked in your shoes.

Chat now with your peers on the message boards at www.y-me.org/network

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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!

ROSEBUDS 17th BIRTHDAY PARTY
6:00 p.m - Tuesday, February 19, 2008
At the home of Janet Covington
3316 University Boulevard, Houston
Refreshments will be provided.
However, if you have a special/favorite finger food or apppetizer feel
free to make it and bring it to the party. Birthday cake will be provided for
dessert. At our annual birthday party we recognize those who have attained a 5 year, 10 year, 15 year, etc. anniversary of diagnosis/treatment during
the past year. If you are one of these people, please advise Donna Fong.
713-681-7716 or donnafong5948@yahoo.com

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER LECTURE SERIES
Drowning in Calories: What It Will Take to Turn the Tide
Featuring David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H,
a syndicated nutrition columnist for The New York Times
and O, The Oprah Magazine
Reserve your seat today!
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008
5:30 p.m. Check In
6:00 p.m. Program
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
South Campus Research Building
7435 Fannin Street at Old Spanish Trail Houston, TX 77054
Free admission and parking
Registration deadline: Feb. 18
To register, e-mail publiced@mdanderson.org
or call 713-745-0549.

Y-ME SHARE RING NETWORK
Wednesday, February 20th
7 - 8pm - Central Time
Topic: "Fertility after Breast Cancer"
Speaker: Karine Chung, M.D, M.S.C.E.
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Division Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
Free presentation followed by a discussion. Sign up now at
http://main.y-me.org/site/Survey? SURVEY_ID=7140&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&autologin=true&s_src=feb_08&JServSessionIdr004=gs2tmh3c32.app14a The February call is presented in partnership with the Young Survival Coalition and Fertile Hope.

ANDERSON NETWORK and COLLAGE
Join us on a just-for-fun Day Away on Friday, February 22, 2008
Time: 9:30am - 2:00pm
Cost: FREE (includes lunch but not parking at M. D. Anderson)
The Art for Cancer Network invite adult patients, caregivers and survivors to take a day trip on a Sacred Spaces Art Walk. Bus departs from Rotary House at 9:30 a.m. Activities include visiting the Cy Twombly Gallery, The Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum, Rothko Chapel (Meditation and Healing lecture/demonstration)Trip is open to any M. D. Anderson patient, caregiver or survivor age 18 or older. Space is limited to 30 participants. For reservations or more information, please contact Anderson Network at 713-745-9204 or 1-800-345-6324.
To view the flier, please click on the following link: http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/andersonnet/display.cfm?id=3a4268cb-eb1e-4f99-bd1d681196222ef2&method=displayfull&pn=b0238868-2a67-438d-bfdb1349b8957cab

HOPE STONE, INC. SATURDAY SAMPLER SERIES
Hit the winter blues and blahs with our new sampler series!!!! Hope Center offers a lovely sampling of classes for you to try out during the next few Saturdays....a great way to try a new movement class.....experience a novel way to move and care for your body....to be in the community with other awesome Hope Center students, and gosh darn it, to HAVE FUN. Our teachers are the best of the best!!!!!
Week #6 - February 23 - INTRO TO MODERN DANCE
Week #7 - March 1 - CAPOEIRA MARTIAL ARTS
11:45 - 1:00pm
Cost is $18 drop in, class cards can be used as well!
Call now to register-713.526.1907 ext. 1
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/

VICTORIA'S PLACE
Essential Oil-Making Class
Saturday, February 23rd
2:00 TO 4:00 PM
$28 includes supplies, refreshments and
TWO 1oz. take home bottles of your own blend
Anyone who loves using essential oils... needs to take this class... so you
can make your OWN high quality blends, instead of paying those HIGH PRICES at the store...this is a hands on and super fun class! Go to
http://www.feminineliving.com/ for the details. See you there!

ROSEBUDS II MEETING
February 28, 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. Future Meetings: MARCH 13 & 27

FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Saks Fifth Avenue - Mexico City
50 Fabulous Women - Breakfast Benefit
March 5th, 2008
Details TBA

M. D. ANDERSON SPRING WORKSHOP
Innovations in Breast Cancer and the Art of Cancer Survivorship
Saturday, March 1, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Cancer Prevention Building, 8th floor
1155 Pressler
Houston, Texas
Keynote Speakers
Melissa Crosby, M.D. - Developments in Reconstructive Surgery
P.K. Morrow, M.D. - Future Directions in Breast Cancer Treatment: Updates from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
Karin Hahn, M.D., Moderator - Multidisciplinary Panel Discussion
COLLAGE: Art of Survivorship
http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/yngbreastsrv/dIndex.cfm?pn=C6D164AE-19F1-4DD3-B99D0566A30B813F or You can RSVP at bsmp@mdanderson.org

ROSEBUDS MEETING
March 4, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet
Future Meetings: MARCH 18

KNOCKOUT ROSES
A support group for women diagnosed under 40.
2nd Monday of each month, at 5:45 pm, March 10th, 2008.
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet.
Contact Amy Rigsby, Technical Director of The Rose, 713-660-6675.

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Conference
Conference activities will include genetics of hereditary cancer, risk management, panel discussions with patients, survivors and caregivers, research directions and clinical trials.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
8am - 1 pm
Registration now open. www.mdanderson.org/departments/ccg
For info: call 713-745-7391 or e-mail ccg@mdanderson.org

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). Please join us on March 18, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Fatigue Awareness Week - April 7 -10, 2008
Monday April 7th, 10am - 1pm - Clinic Open House
Mays Clinic, Sixth Floor
Tuesday, April 8th, - Cancer-related Fatigue Video Viewing
6:30 - 7:30pm
Cancer Prevention Building, Eight Floor, Rooms 1 & 2
RSVP: 713-792-2808 or e-mail bsmp@mdanderson.org
For more information, call the Patient Education Office at 713-794-5379
or e-mail www.mdanderson.org/departments/patedu

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County.
April 8, 2008, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Holy Cross Episcopal Church
For additional info and directions: http://sosporchlight.blogspot.com/

AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER
Houston - April 12 - 13, 2008
Congratulations on deciding to register for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer! By registering online now, you will have immediate access to all of the tools of your 'My Avon Walk Center' and can begin fundraising towards your goal today. https://secure2.convio.net/avon/site/TRR/Walk2008/Houston/1021196898?pg=ptype&fr_id=1420&JServSessionIdr004=x9jrwe2701.app26b or For more information, please call us at (713) 968-9250. Email: volunteer.houston@avonwalk.org

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
April 18, 2008 6:00 PM - April 19, 2008 6:00 AM
Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

NATIONAL BREAST CANCER COALITION (NBCC):
2008 Annual Advocacy Training Conference
Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
April 26th - 29th 2008

Register now to attend NBCCF's 16th Annual Advocacy Training Conference. Join hundreds of national and international breast cancer activists in our fight to eradicate breast cancer.

NBCCF's yearly gathering helps participants hone their advocacy skills and learn about the latest in breast cancer science, research and policy. Hear directly about the controversies and issues from important leaders, scientists, and advocates. To learn more about this event and registration, visit: http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=1

SUSAN'S RALLY in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
The Susan Roberson Wade Memorial Car Rally
Save the Dates: Rally - April 27, 2008
Golf Tournament - October 27, 2008
For more information: http://www.susansrally.org/

HOPE STONE, INC.
Save The Date for our Premiere Piece
PEACE PIECE ...May 1st, 2008
by the Kid's Play Ensemble and YouthSound
Tickets on sale soon!!!! Details TBA

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer? pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

M.D. ANDERSON 3-DAY WELLNESS CONFERENCE
Living Fully with and beyond Cancer
September 4 - 6, 2008
Houston Marriott Westchase
Details TBA

"UNBEATABLE"
Stages Repertory Theatre
Coming September, 2008
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. http://www.unbeatablemusical.com/
Details TBA

SUSAN G. KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE
Houston, Saturday October 4th, 2008
Save the Date! Details TBA
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"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

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"The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something
to love, and something to hope for." - Allan K. Chalmers

Until next week stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing to the five simple rules for happiness and a healthy heart.
Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

All for Love. Love for All.

2008-02-11T06:10:00.001-06:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,

Valentine's Greetings! Welcome to The Pink Crusader blog spot where warm hugs and candy kisses are yours for the taking. We're on the express lane to celebrate Valentine's Day, so pile into the "luv bus" and read on...

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."

- Mother Teresa

This Valentine's Day, how many of us will be sitting, waiting and wishing for a simple act of love from someone we care about or admire. Maybe we'll be dreaming of a romantic dinner for two.... or longing for a few words of poetry attached to a heart-shaped box of Belgian truffles?

Romantic, passionate, silly or lustful....emotions that defy reason. It's knowing someone's flaws and being drawn to them anyway. Who cares if we seem a bit too eager to intertwine with the object of our desire? Smoldering love is what Valentine's Day is all about...or at least what we've come to expect.

Well, maybe it's time to reconsider the myths and folklore surrounding this holiday, and challenge the "FOR LOVERS ONLY," membership. Unless it involves a proposal or engagement ring, this really is not an exclusive club. There's plenty of love for everyone on Valentine's Day...young, old, single or otherwise... and anyone with a pulse can participate.

Forget the expectations! Much can be said about a pure heart and creating your own trends. Sincere gestures from the heart are far more memorable than all the bon bons, rose petals and bubbly in the world. Sometimes a few thoughtful words are the best way to convey affection to loved ones, along with hand-crafted gifts or home-baked treats....Chocolate brownies anyone?

For those who are single, whether by choice or circumstance, grab a couple of friends and start your own love-day traditions...a night at the movies or a day at the spa...There's no reason why you can't pamper yourself just because you are flying solo. A little nudge and encouragement are all you need.

Okay my babies, check your pulse and don't be shy! Remember, it's all for love and love for all! Happy Valentine's Day!

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SURVIVOR UPDATES:

Angie Elliott
February 10, 2008 at 08:54 PM CST

Sorry for the delay. We respect the fact that you haven't push us for the news.

We got the results of the PET scan on Wednesday as planned. And, it was mostly good, but there was a significant hiccup that changes our way forward. We did get quite a bit of good news. As a reminder, the PET scan in November showed significant activity in the lymph nodes of her chest, single spots in the left lower lobe and middle right lobe of the lungs, a spot in the liver and activity in a number of her bones. As we wrote earlier, the xray from January showed that the lungs had miraculously cleared of the cancer and all other stuff, and the PET scan confirmed that it was in fact gone. Continuing the good news, the lymph nodes have all resolved as well... NO cancer in the lymph nodes in the chest. That's huge as this includes the two pesky lymph nodes that have been active since February of 2007 and have been a hold out for the cancer when it has been gone everywhere else.

The bones have stayed stable. Some of the spots are a little less active, but in general, things are only a little bit better. Now that's not a bad thing of course. It's just that we were hoping for another serious miracle and a full clear report. Maybe we were aiming too high, but if you don't ask...

The worst news is that another spot showed up in the liver. Now it doesn't mean that it wasn't there before, but it means that the spot wasn't active enough to reach the threshold where activity is deemed to be cancer. So, if you go back to the PET scan in November, you'll see that there were a few spots that showed some activity in the liver, but only one had a high enough uptake of the radioactive sugar for the radiologist to read that the spot was probably cancerous.

So, after we got the news, the doctor told us that he was happy to see the progress, especially in the chest. But, with the new spot in the liver, we all decided that we needed to be a bit more aggressive. That means a change in chemotherapies.

We were taking a chemotherapy drug Vinorelbine (Navelbine) and the antibody Herceptin. The doctor suggested a more aggressive chemotherapy would be a good idea to target the liver and the bones. So, we replaced Navelbine with Paclitaxel (Abraxane) last Wednesday. The unfortunate thing about Abraxane is that Angie will most definitely lose her hair within the next two to three weeks. This drug also has the more typical dibilating effects of severe fatigue and hand and foot changes that can cause her fingernails and toenails to lift from their beds and possibly come off altogether.

As you know from her posts, losing her hair is a very depressing thought for her. She's fully aware that it will come back when she's done with the treatment, but it will make her look sick again. The last time she lost her hair, it was in the very beginning of treatment, and we were coming to terms with the original stage 4 diagnosis and all the baggage that is carried along with that. As Angie says, it's easier to keep your head in the game and fight when you don't look sick. When you loose your hair, you look sick and everyone looks at you at differently, and you see yourself differently. It makes the mental battle that much harder.

So, we're still coming to terms with the news. It's been tough; I won't lie to you. But, this is when we can rely on the strength that you and God provide to us. That helps us get up every day and face the challenges ahead.

Oh, and Angie finally got her PT scheduled! Unfortunately, that means that she'll be spending even more time at MD Anderson, but if it helps her get better, we'll all be happy about that. She has a laryngoscopy scheduled in a couple weeks to see what's going on with her vocal chords to see if anything is damaged and how to help her get her voice back.

Thank you for your support in all of its many forms!

Love,
Colin & Angie

**************************************

Mary Raia

Thoughts and prayers to Mary as she prepares for surgery next week,
with our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

**************************************

We continue to send well-wishes to Cheryl P. Donlin, Nadine Eidman,
and Flo Carroll following recent surgery.

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FYI

From Rosemary Herron:

If you would like to purchase the new 2008-2009 Pink Phurree Dragon Boat two-year calendar, please contact Rosemary at: greatwhiteheron@alltel.net The calendars are priced at $25. Thank you for your support.

****************************

From Brenda K. Hoffman:
Next breast cancer workshop - Bayshore Medical - 2-23-08

If anyone is interested in paddling with the Pink Phurree's Dragon Boat Racing Team... this would be a good time to get started with the Trainer!!!
I'm working and can't make this particular appointment... but encourage you all to. This has been so much fun for me!! So motivating and so encouraging... I'd love to have you all paddling in the boat along side me!! We have a boat for Survivors and Friends, as well...
Love & Hugs!! B. Kaye b.kaye@earthlink.net

**********************************

From Memorial Hermann Southwest:

The Breast Cancer Support Group meets the first Wednesday of every month at 5:30pm, for anyone affected by breast cancer or simply seeking information. A light meal is served and validated parking provided.

Location: 7600 Beechnut, Houston, TX 77074
Austin Room, Concourse level. For additional directions: 713-456-5000
For additional information call 713-456-4028 or 713-448-4820

**********************************

From Susan G. Komen for the Cure:

Tell the candidates: I Vote for the Cure!

Our I Vote for the Cure (TM) campaign calls on the candidates to address how they would increase funding for breast cancer research and improve access to screening and treatment for all Americans. These simple, common-sense ideas unite the American public:

6 in 10 voters are willing to raise taxes to ensure all women have access to quality breast cancer screening and treatment. 70 percent of voters said income level impacts quality of care and half think ethnicity affects quality of care – a view supported by Komen's research.
Half of voters feel candidates are not spending enough time on healthcare issues, a top priority for both men and women surveyed. And only 12 percent are aware of their preferred presidential candidate's position on issues relating to breast cancer! With so many voters agreeing with us already, the wind is at our back, and momentum is on our side. Now we need your help to reach 100,000 signatures!

Help us make breast cancer a top issue in the '08 elections – sign the petition TODAY. http://komenpolicy.org/campaign/ivftc/8kgxk8n4r7ttwx3m?

Our I Vote for the Cure (TM) campaign is one of the most ambitious we've ever launched. In just a few short weeks, 31,944 people have signed the petition! But it doesn't stop there – from our voter survey, to on-the-ground presence at the debates, we are leading the charge for better breast cancer access and care in 2008.

Thank you for all your efforts. We couldn't do any of it without you!

Sincerely,

Diane Balma
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance

*************************************

From Ellen Stovall, President & CEO
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS):

For cancer survivors, every year is precious.
Members of Congress recently returned to Washington, D.C. to begin their work for 2008, and we want them to make cancer care a priority this year!

Ask your Representative to make cancer care a priority by supporting H.R. 1078, the Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act (CCCIA).
https://secure2.convio.net/nccs/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr004=ymu6f1z2c1.app7a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=143

The CCCIA would encourage a system of cancer care planning that addresses the need for long-term follow-up care when primary cancer treatment has ended. It would also help people diagnosed with cancer get a written plan of their treatment before it begins, so they have an idea of what to expect and are better equipped to ask questions and participate in their treatment decisions.

Read more about the CCCIA, and send a letter to your Representative today!

Sincerely,

Ellen Stovall, 36-year cancer survivor
President & CEO, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship

************************************

From: Beth Sanders Moore Young Breast Cancer Survivors' Program:

Young Breast Cancer Survivors' Support Group
2nd and 4th Mondays of the Month at M. D. Anderson Mays Clinic
Place of Wellness, 2nd Floor, 3pm - 4pm
For more information contact Michelle Jabbie at 713-794-1385

*************************************

From Jane Weiner, Hope Stone, Inc.

Our Hope Trees are up at the studio and several businesses (a bientot,Gyrotonic Houston) around town...lovely heart ornaments created by students, and the chance to donate to the gift of art classes at Hope Center for a child at risk. (you keep the ornament!!...now there is a win/win!)

Also, a reminder that LuLu Lemon athletic wear is offering a free INTRO to West African Dance this Saturday, February 16th, 8:45-9:45 a.m. with Bunmi. Lulu Lemon is located in the Highland Village! The dance is GREAT and the fashions are AWESOME!!

We still need a few more good men...or women interns...call the office and Annell will give you the specifics!!! 713.526.1907 ext. 1

Last week of Wednesday night 6:30-8 p.m. Modern Class Series with Jackie Nalett---
February 13 (Live music with Chris Shooner)

Finally---Save The Date for our Premiere Piece-PEACE PIECE by the Kid's Play Ensemble and YouthSound...May 1st, 2008. Tickets on sale soon!!!!
*************************************

From AztraZeneca:

The Celebration Chain—Better Than Ever!

Not long ago, AztraZeneca announced the launch of the Celebration Chain Web site. The Celebration Chain is a way to honor special women in our lives who have been touched by breast cancer and to celebrate their unique, endearing qualities. It’s easy and fun and, not surprisingly, has gained tremendous popularity. To date, more than 5,000 people have created more than 7,000 celebrations for women in their lives who have faced or are facing breast cancer.

How does it work? You design a personalized, animated doll that represents your loved one’s unique attributes. She will receive an e-mail telling her how to view her celebration doll. You’ll also receive a confirmation e-mail. You can invite friends and family members to participate. As her Celebration Chain grows, check back often to see what’s been added.

To get started go to: http://www.arimidex.com/celebration/

For every new doll created, AstraZeneca will donate $1 (up to a total of $25,000) to a breast cancer charity.

****************************************

From Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization:

Y-ME Advocacy reminds you that the United States Presidential primary elections are right around the corner. Have you registered to vote yet? If not, register now!
https://ssl.capwiz.com/y-me/e4/nvra/

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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/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Mark Your Calendars and Save the Dates!

KNOCKOUT ROSES
A support group for women diagnosed under 40.
2nd Monday of each month, at 5:45 pm, February 11th, 2008.
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet.
Contact Amy Rigsby, Technical Director of The Rose, 713-660-6675.

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County.
February 12, 2008, 6:30 - 8:00 pm
La Madeline Cafe and Bistro, Sugar Land.
Please RSVP with Marsha Yeager at marshayeager@yahoo.com

FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Thursday, Feb 14th, 11:00am - 3:30 pm
Appearances Breast Care Boutique
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Mays Clinic
2nd Floor
Houston, TX
Come and meet the author and participants from the book!

ROSEBUDS II MEETING
February 14, 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.
Future Meetings: FEBRUARY 28, MARCH 13 & 27

HOPE STONE, INC. SATURDAY SAMPLER SERIES
Hit the winter blues and blahs with our new sampler series!!!! Hope Center offers a lovely sampling of classes for you to try out during the next few Saturdays....a great way to try a new movement class.....experience a novel way to move and care for your body....to be in the community with other awesome Hope Center students, and gosh darn it, to HAVE FUN. Our teachers are the best of the best!!!!!

February 16 PILATES - Week #5
February 23 INTRO TO MODERN DANCE
March 1 CAPOEIRA MARTIAL ARTS

11:45 - 1:00pm
Cost is $60 for the remainder of the series, $18 drop in, class cards can be used as well! Call now to register-713.526.1907 ext. 1
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Information Session: Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008
10:00am - 12:00pm
Panera Bread, 8350 Westheimer, Houston
RSVP: 877-YME-7223 or email: houstonwalk@y-me.org

SUSAN G. KOMEN FOR THE CURE - HOUSTON
2008 Pink Tie Gala After-Party
Party with Komen and Support the
Fight Against Breast Cancer
Saturday, February 16th
9:00 pm to 1:00 am
The Discovery Center
InterContinental Hotel
2222 W. Loop South
Houston, TX 77027
Tickets: $100
Cocktail Attire

Enjoy an evening of lavish desserts and fabulous drinks while you dance to the sounds of Houston’s own jazz/funk bank Brotherhood. To order tickets use this link: https://secure2.convio.net/rfch/site/Ecommerce?VIEW_PRODUCT=true&product_id=1222&store_id=1421

FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Save the Date! Valentine's Day Tea Party
Hosted by KnockOut Roses
Sunday, February 17th, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Randall's Community Resource Center
The Rose Medical Plaza
12700 North Featherwood
Houston, TX 77034
Meet the author and participants from the book.
BYOTC (Bring Your Own Tea Cup)
RSVP with Amy Rigsby at 713-254-1399
arigsby@the-rose.org , by Thursday, Feb. 14th

ROSEBUDS 17th BIRTHDAY PARTY
6:00 p.m - Tuesday, February 19, 2008
At the home of Janet Covington
3316 University Boulevard, Houston
Refreshments will be provided.
However, if you have a special/favorite finger food or apppetizer feel
free to make it and bring it to the party. Birthday cake will be provided for
dessert. At our annual birthday party we recognize those who have attained a
5 year, 10 year, 15 year, etc. anniversary of diagnosis/treatment during
the past year. If you are one of these people, please advise Donna Fong.
713-681-7716 or donnafong5948@yahoo.com

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER LECTURE SERIES
Drowning in Calories: What It Will Take to Turn the Tide
Featuring David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H,
a syndicated nutrition columnist for The New York Times
and O, The Oprah Magazine
Reserve your seat today!
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008
5:30 p.m. Check In
6:00 p.m. Program
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
South Campus Research Building
7435 Fannin Street at Old Spanish Trail Houston, TX 77054
Free admission and parking
Registration deadline: Feb. 18
To register, e-mail publiced@mdanderson.org
or call 713-745-0549.

Y-ME SHARE RING NETWORK
Wednesday, February 20th
7 - 8pm - Central Time
Topic: "Fertility after Breast Cancer"
Speaker: Karine Chung, M.D, M.S.C.E.
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Division Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
Free presentation followed by a discussion. Sign up now at
http://main.y-me.org/site/Survey? SURVEY_ID=7140&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&autologin=true&s_src=feb_08&JServSessionIdr004=gs2tmh3c32.app14a The February call is presented in partnership with the Young Survival Coalition and Fertile Hope.

ANDERSON NETWORK and COLLAGE
Join us on a just-for-fun Day Away on Friday, February 22, 2008
Time: 9:30am - 2:00pm
Cost: FREE (includes lunch but not parking at M. D. Anderson)
The Art for Cancer Network invite adult patients, caregivers and survivors to take a day trip on a Sacred Spaces Art Walk. Bus departs from Rotary House at 9:30 a.m. Activities include visiting the Cy Twombly Gallery, The Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum, Rothko Chapel (Meditation and Healing lecture/demonstration)Trip is open to any M. D. Anderson patient, caregiver or survivor age 18 or older. Space is limited to 30 participants. For reservations or more information, please contact Anderson Network at 713-745-9204 or 1-800-345-6324.
To view the flier, please click on the following link: http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/andersonnet/display.cfm?id=3a4268cb-eb1e-4f99-bd1d681196222ef2&method=displayfull&pn=b0238868-2a67-438d-bfdb1349b8957cab

VICTORIA'S PLACE
Essential Oil-Making Class
Saturday, February 23rd
2:00 TO 4:00 PM
$28 includes supplies, refreshments and
TWO 1oz. take home bottles of your own blend
Anyone who loves using essential oils... needs to take this class... so you
can make your OWN high quality blends, instead of paying those HIGH PRICES at the store...this is a hands on and super fun class! Go to
http://www.feminineliving.com/ for the details. See you there!

M. D. ANDERSON SPRING WORKSHOP
Innovations in Breast Cancer and the Art of Cancer Survivorship
Saturday, March 1, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Cancer Prevention Building, 8th floor
1155 Pressler
Houston, Texas
Keynote Speakers
Melissa Crosby, M.D. - Developments in Reconstructive Surgery
P.K. Morrow, M.D. - Future Directions in Breast Cancer Treatment: Updates from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
Karin Hahn, M.D., Moderator - Multidisciplinary Panel Discussion
COLLAGE: Art of Survivorship
http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/yngbreastsrv/dIndex.cfm?pn=C6D164AE-19F1-4DD3-B99D0566A30B813F or You can RSVP at bsmp@mdanderson.org

ROSEBUDS MEETING
March 4, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet
Future Meetings: MARCH 18

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Conference
Conference activities will include genetics of hereditary cancer, risk management, panel discussions with patients, survivors and caregivers, research directions and clinical trials.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
8am - 1 pm
Registration now open. www.mdanderson.org/departments/ccg
For info: call 713-745-7391 or e-mail ccg@mdanderson.org

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). Please join us on March 18, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
Fatigue Awareness Week - April 7 -10, 2008
Monday April 7th, 10am - 1pm - Clinic Open House
Mays Clinic, Sixth Floor
Tuesday, April 8th, - Cancer-related Fatigue Video Viewing
6:30 - 7:30pm
Cancer Prevention Building, Eight Floor, Rooms 1 & 2
RSVP: 713-792-2808 or e-mail bsmp@mdanderson.org
For more information, call the Patient Education Office at 713-794-5379
or e-mail www.mdanderson.org/departments/patedu

AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER
Houston - April 12 - 13, 2008
Congratulations on deciding to register for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer! By registering online now, you will have immediate access to all of the tools of your 'My Avon Walk Center' and can begin fundraising towards your goal today. https://secure2.convio.net/avon/site/TRR/Walk2008/Houston/1021196898?pg=ptype&fr_id=1420&JServSessionIdr004=x9jrwe2701.app26b or For more information, please call us at (713) 968-9250. Email: volunteer.houston@avonwalk.org

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
April 18, 2008 6:00 PM - April 19, 2008 6:00 AM
Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

NATIONAL BREAST CANCER COALITION (NBCC):
2008 Annual Advocacy Training Conference
Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
April 26th - 29th 2008

Register now to attend NBCCF's 16th Annual Advocacy Training Conference. Join hundreds of national and international breast cancer activists in our fight to eradicate breast cancer.

NBCCF's yearly gathering helps participants hone their advocacy skills and learn about the latest in breast cancer science, research and policy. Hear directly about the controversies and issues from important leaders, scientists, and advocates. To learn more about this event and registration, visit: http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=1

SUSAN'S RALLY in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
The Susan Roberson Wade Memorial Car Rally
Save the Dates: Rally - April 27, 2008
Golf Tournament - October 27, 2008
For more information: http://www.susansrally.org/

HOPE STONE, INC.
Save The Date for our Premiere Piece
PEACE PIECE ...May 1st, 2008
by the Kid's Play Ensemble and YouthSound
Tickets on sale soon!!!! Details TBA

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer? pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

M.D. ANDERSON 3-DAY WELLNESS CONFERENCE
Living Fully with and beyond Cancer
September 4 - 6, 2008
Houston Marriott Westchase
Details TBA

SUSAN G. KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE
Houston, Saturday October 4th, 2008
Save the Date! Details TBA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

May you live as long as you wish and love as long as you live.
-Robert A. Heinlein

Until next week stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing to the beat of your heart.
Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

Foiled by the Flu

2008-02-03T21:47:00.000-06:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,
The Pink Crusader continues to "fly under the radar" while still battling a stubborn case of the flu....Sorry, no hugs this week (sigh). We look forward to returning to our post next week and appreciate your patience while we "starve the fever and feed the cold." In the meantime, feel free to catch-up on the latest community updates, pop a little Vitamin C, and enjoy the following bit of "sick" humor.....

"How to Avoid the Flu"

Eat right! Make sure you get your daily dose of fruits and veggies.

Take your vitamins and bump up your Vitamin C.

Get plenty of exercise because exercise helps build your immune system.

Walk for at least hour a day, go for a swim, take the stairs instead of the
elevator, etc.

Wash your hands often. If you can’t wash them, keep a bottle of antibacterial
solution handy.

Get lots of fresh air. Open windows whenever possible.

Try to eliminate as much stress from your life as you can.

Get plenty of rest.

OR ….

Think about it: when you go for a shot, what do they do first? Clean your arm with alcohol.. Why? Because alcohol kills germs.

So……I walk to the liquor store (exercise),

I put lime in my Corona (fruit),

celery in my Bloody Mary (veggies),

drink at the bar patio (fresh air),

get drunk, tell jokes, and laugh (eliminate stress)

and then pass out (rest).

The way I see it, if you keep your alcohol levels up, flu germs can’t get you!!!!

- Unknown

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SURVIVOR UPDATES:

Thoughts and prayers go out to several of our dear friends who are scheduled for surgery this week. We wish them all a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing them back in action as soon as possible:

Patty Brown (patty@wbc.necoxmail.com )

Cheryl P. Donlin (cdonlin@tejaslabs.net )

Nadine Eidman (naeidman@aol.com )

*************************************

Rosemary Barr:

Get-well wishes to Rosemary as she recovers from a foot injury.

**************************************

Lori C. Kwiatkowski:

Congratulations to Lori who was featured in an article on acupuncture treatments in the new AARP magazine (with Jack Nicholson on the cover).

---------------------------------------------------------------------
FYI

From Cheryl P. Donlin:

Josie,
This item is a little unusual in terms of the scope of your blog, but it is such a good thing and such an easy thing to do to help provide some much needed distraction for some very sick children in our community, that I am sending it to you, anyway. Have you met Bear? He's one of the dynamos behind Tour de Pink, donating his time, expertise and enthusiasm. He provided the start/finish balloon arch and much, much more for Tour de Pink last year - Cheryl

Please vote for Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital
It only takes a second, please click on the link below and vote for Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital to receive a "Fun Center" for sick children from Colgate-Palmolive.

Now, you can make a difference by voting to help our children win a Fun Center. Colgate-Palmolive and Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation have teamed up this year to help children with Sickle Cell Disease by providing FUN CENTERS in hospitals. Fun Centers feature a flat screen monitor, DVD player and a Nintendo® Wii and rolls right up to a child’s bedside. Nine centers have been selected to participate in the contest and the THREE hospitals with the most votes win. Click on the following website and place your vote for Children’s Memorial Hermann. Voting ends February 29th. Each user can vote once per day. http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/CommunityPrograms/show-the-love.cvsp
Thanks,
David 'Bear' Holle
OSO promotions www.osopromo.com

******************************

From Susan G. Komen for the Cure:

International Conference Convenes Young Breast Cancer Survivors, Leading Healthcare Experts to Address Breast Cancer in Young Women

Jacksonville, Florida Plays Host to Only International Conference Addressing Unique Concerns of Young Breast Cancer Survivors

Jacksonville — January 10, 2008 — The world’s leading breast cancer experts will bring the latest medical, research and quality-of-life information on breast cancer in pre-menopausal women to an estimated 1,000 young breast cancer survivors, caregivers and medical professionals from around the world at the 8th Annual Conference for Young Women Affected by Breast Cancer, to be held at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, February 22-24, 2008. For additional information, visit: http://cms.komen.org/komen/NewsEvents/KomenNews/080110_YSC_Conference

*************************************

From National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC):

Save the Date

2008 Annual Advocacy Training Conference
Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
April 26th - 29th 2008

Register now to attend NBCCF's 16th Annual Advocacy Training Conference. Join hundreds of national and international breast cancer activists in our fight to eradicate breast cancer.

NBCCF's yearly gathering helps participants hone their advocacy skills and learn about the latest in breast cancer science, research and policy. Hear directly about the controversies and issues from important leaders, scientists, and advocates.

To learn more about this event and registration, visit: http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=598&Itemid=1

*************************************

From Jane Weiner, Hope Stone, Inc.

February 9 BELLY DANCE
February 16 PILATES
February 23 INTRO TO MODERN DANCE
March 1 CAPOEIRA MARTIAL ARTS

Cost is $80 for the remainder of the series, $18 drop in, class cards can be used as well!
Call now to register-713.526.1907 ext. 1

*************************************

From Donna Fong:

I have registered to volunteer at the walk on April 12-13, 2008. If you want to make a difference, you can register at this website or to volunteer.

It should be fun!!! - Donna
Please visit Avon Foundation for more information at: http://walk.avonfoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=walk_volunteer_2k8&s_oo=PXJJPI_HS81cJnIJpjYXKw..

****************************************

From Victoria Silva:

Ladies, February is known as a month of love... with Valentines Day being a
fun and wonderful celebration from the heart on February 14th. But did you
know that February is also a month to practice FORGIVENESS and once and for all put past hurts and mistakes behind you?

Please join me for a heart felt and life changing ceremony of FORGIVENESS...
held in my HEALING ROOM... FEBRUARY 9TH... AT 7:00 to 9:30 PM...

$25 fee which includes all supplies and refreshments... AND as a wonderful nurturing treat and body healing experience RENA LEVERENCE L.M.T. will be giving mini-massages as part of your FORGIVENESS process...

$15 for 15 blissful minutes! CALL VICTORIA TO REGISTER 713-849-3535.
Visit my website http://www.feminineliving.com/ for details

I love you all, Victoria

****************************************

From American Cancer Society-Houston Metro Office:

Relay for Life 2008

Relay For Life is a community gathering where everyone can participate in the fight against cancer by supporting the American Cancer Society. It features great entertainment, food, and fun for all ages. Survivors walk the first lap marking the start of Relay. After that at least one person from each team is on the track at all times. Cancer doesn’t sleep and neither will we! The focal point of the evening is the luminaria ceremony honoring those who lost their fight against cancer and celebrates those who have won that battle. There is a true sense of camaraderie as everyone gathers for a common cause.

Relay For Life is the signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society whose mission is to eliminate cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and services.

For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

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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!

ROSEBUDS MEETING
February 5th, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet
Future Meetings: FEBRUARY 19**, MARCH 4 &18
** The Rosebuds 17th Birthday Party

VICTORIA'S HEALING ROOM
Forgiveness Ceremony - A rite of passage.
Saturday, Feb 9th
7:00 PM to 9:30 PM

I believe so much in the power of FORGIVENESS... that I hold a FORGIVENESS CEREMONY every February. Look for all the details in February on my website www.feminineliving.com . Rena Leverance L.M.T, will also be available at the FORGIVENESS ceremony with mini massage to help with your release and healing!
For details and RSVP, visit: http://www.feminineliving.com/
or call Victoria Silva at 713.849.3535

HOPE STONE, INC. SATURDAY SAMPLER SERIES
Hit the winter blues and blahs with our new sampler series!!!! Hope Center offers a lovely sampling of classes for you to try out during the next few Saturdays....a great way to try a new movement class.....experience a novel way to move and care for your body....to be in the community with other awesome Hope Center students, and gosh darn it, to HAVE FUN. Our teachers are the best of the best!!!!!

February 9 BELLY DANCE
February 16 PILATES
February 23 INTRO TO MODERN DANCE
March 1 CAPOEIRA MARTIAL ARTS
11:45am - 1:00pm
Call now to register-713.526.1907 ext. 1
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/

KNOCKOUT ROSES
A support group for women diagnosed under 40.
2nd Monday of each month, at 5:45 pm, February 11th, 2008.
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet.
Contact Amy Rigsby, Technical Director of The Rose, 713-660-6675.

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County.
February 12, 2008, 6:30 - 8:00 pm
La Madeline Cafe and Bistro, Sugar Land.
Please RSVP with Marsha Yeager at marshayeager@yahoo.com

FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Thursday, Feb 14th, 11:00am - 3:30 pm
Appearances Breast Care Boutique
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Mays Clinic
2nd Floor
Houston, TX
Come and meet the author and participants from the book!

ROSEBUDS II MEETING
February 14, 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.
Future Meetings: FEBRUARY 28, MARCH 13 & 27

FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Save the Date! Valentine's Day Tea Party
Hosted by KnockOut Roses
Sunday, February 17th, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Randall's Community Resource Center
The Rose Medical Plaza
12700 North Featherwood
Houston, TX 77034
Meet the author and participants from the book.
BYOTC (Bring Your Own Tea Cup)
RSVP with Amy Rigsby at 713-254-1399
arigsby@the-rose.org , by Thursday, Feb. 14th

ROSEBUDS ANNUAL BIRTHDAY PARTY
6:00 p.m - Tuesday, February 19, 2008
At our annual birthday party we recognize those who have attained a 5 year,10 year, 15 year, etc. anniversary of diagnosis/treatment during the past year. If you are one of these people, please advise Donna Fong. 713-681-7716 or donnafong5948@yahoo.com Refreshments will be provided.

M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER LECTURE SERIES
Drowning in Calories: What It Will Take to Turn the Tide
Featuring David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H,
a syndicated nutrition columnist for The New York Times and O, The Oprah Magazine
Reserve your seat today!
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008
5:30 p.m. Check In
6:00 p.m. Program
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
South Campus Research Building
7435 Fannin Street at Old Spanish Trail Houston, TX 77054
Free admission and parking
Registration deadline: Feb. 18
To register, e-mail publiced@mdanderson.org
or call 713-745-0549.

VICTORIA'S PLACE ESSENTIAL OIL MAKING CLASS:
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23RD
2:00 TO 4:00 PM
$28 includes supplies, refreshments and
TWO 1oz. take home bottles of your own blend

Anyone who loves using essential oils... needs to take this class... so you
can make your OWN high quality blends, instead of paying those HIGH PRICES
at the store...this is a hands on and super fun class! Go to
http://www.feminineliving.com/ for the details. See you there!

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). Please join us on March 18, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER
Houston - April 12 - 13, 2008
Congratulations on deciding to register for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer! By registering online now, you will have immediate access to all of the tools of your 'My Avon Walk Center' and can begin fundraising towards your goal today. https://secure2.convio.net/avon/site/TRR/Walk2008/Houston/1021196898?pg=ptype&fr_id=1420&JServSessionIdr004=x9jrwe2701.app26b or For more information, please call us at (713) 968-9250. Email: volunteer.houston@avonwalk.org

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Relay for Life, 2008
4/18/2008 6:00:00 PM - 4/19/2008 6:00:00 AM

Location: Rice University Track Field, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005
Contact: Shelton Moore,Rosalyn, (713)706-5634 x296
Email: Rosalyn.SheltonMoore@cancer.org
No registration fee. Each person is asked to raise $100.00
Agenda: Survivor Ceremony, Luminaria Ceremony, Entertainment, Food and Games. For more information: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/coe?EID=62080

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer? pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

M.D. ANDERSON 3-DAY WELLNESS CONFERENCE
September 4 - 6, 2008
Details TBA

SUSAN G. KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE
Houston, Saturday October 4th, 2008
Save the Date! Details TBA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon."

-Doug Larson

Until next week stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing to the Super Bowl Shuffle!
Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

A Little Extra Effort

2008-01-27T20:03:00.000-06:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,

Greetings to one and all! Welcome to the Pink Crusader blog spot where we serve-up the best cyber-hugs in town! Glad you stopped by to spend some time with us. Grab a seat, join the gang, and read on ......
"God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest."
- J.G. Holland.

At the beginning of each year we shift into a new "cycle"......hopefully not the same old vicious cycle...but rather an opportunity to take what we didn't like about the past year and convert it into something more palatable. Whether we succeed or fail depends on how much of an effort we are willing to make to turn most situations around and get what we want.

Reaching goals can be serious business, one that requires commitment, consistency and flexibility. But don't lose your sense of humor in the process. Laughter, combined with a healthy, realistic and positive approach, will keep you moving forward and help you stay the course. Oh yes, did I mention that patience is a virtue?

And when there's just too many things to juggle, revise as you go along. Be selective and accomplish what you can....don't stress over what you can't do or add pressure on yourself with unrealistic deadlines and expectations. Stay focused, prioritize your choices and step around the distractions.

Above all, don't let the fear of failure sabotage your best plans. We can't always be prepared for bumps in the road or sudden twists and turns. Just remember that you have not failed as long as you don't dwell on the setbacks. Think of these temporary upsets as "character builders," and move on....

Okay my babies...slow and steady wins the race...See you at the finish line!

------------------------------------------------------------
SURVIVOR UPDATES:

Angie Elliott
January 22, 2008 - Miracle #2

Last Wednesday Colin and I went in for my regular weekly chemo appointment. We stopped by the breast clinic to see the triage nurse on duty to have some stitches removed. I’ve had them on my leg since I was unconscious in the hospital. They were just a couple small ones; I guess they held some tube in place. Why they didn’t use the dissolving kind is beyond me?!

While the nurse went to get supplies to remove the stitches, we got a surprise visit from our doctor. He came in and I immediately popped out of the wheelchair and gave him a huge hug. That was the first time I’d seen him since he was at my bedside in the ICU. Anyway, he had a great big smile on his face. He said, “I want to show you something.”

“Is it the results of the x ray from last week?”

He nods and pulls up on the computer screen in split images a view of the actual x ray on the left side and the transcribed pathology report on the right. He said, “Your lungs are clear.” I’m thinking, “Well, that’s great, no fluid, that’s what we were going for.” Then I see line 2 of the pathology report, NO METASTATIC DISEASE. I immediately, with gaping mouth, point at the computer screen in disbelief.

“Is that right?!”

“Yes, your lungs are clear”, he says.

I start tearing up and with my hands to heaven say, “Thank you God!” I look at my doctor and say, “I guess all those prayers are working. He smiles and says, “I guess so.” I look at Colin and we’re both speechless. I can barely describe the emotion we both felt in that moment.

And that my friends is Miracle #2. Now we’re shooting for Miracles 3 & 4 which would be a clean liver and clear bones, although both clear at the same time would suffice for Miracle # 3, then Miracle # 4 would be STAYING CLEAR! ; )

My next PET scan is on 2/4 which will show the effectiveness of the chemo on the rest of my body. We’ll get the results of the scan the following day.

So it’s been 4 weeks since I got home from the hospital and we’ve had a lot of changes. I’m now able to walk up and down the 48 stairs of our townhouse like a “normal” person. (We’re talking 4 stories here!) My voice is still a whisper. Apparently my vocal cords didn’t like sharing space with tubes and they’re still revolting.

Speaking of revolting, I found out my hair loss may not be fully caused by the chemo. The stress my body went through while in the ICU is probably making things worse. So, (you guessed it) I got my hair cut short. It’s in a bob just below my ears. I thought that might help things and the girls at the salon taught me some tricks and hooked me up with some good products. I thought it might hold on but it still continues to come out every time I wash my hair. This is still very distressing for me. I don’t know if it’s going to get so thin that I just need to shave it all off or not. It makes me very sad.

Okay, enough of that. I still have trouble walking long distances without getting so fatigued that I’m scrambling to find a place to sit down. Because of the voice issues and the mobility issues I will most likely have to do PT and Speech Therapy. The doctor just cleared me for lymphedema therapy to help get the swelling in my right arm down. There will be lots and lots of therapy in the near future. I’m not sure I’m looking forward to it. A necessary evil I suppose.

Colin’s parents came in town a couple weeks ago. It was so great to see them again. They basically blitzed the house. Anything and everything that needed to be done, they did - dusting, cooking, cleaning, and laundry. They helped restore some much needed order to our otherwise disorganized house. (We’re still not done with the renovation project. ) I am so blessed to have such loving, self-sacrificing, exceptionally generous in-laws.

We all went out for dinner the last night they were here. (HUGE!) I made it through the whole leisurely meal without having to leave early to lie down. What a triumph!...well, either that or it was the two sangrias I had. = ) It was the most I’ve felt like myself in a long time.

Colin started back to work and it’s been a little hard being alone in the house. I’m still struggling to be independent. It’s very hard when just going down the stairs to the kitchen to fix something to eat is exhausting. And there’s still no hopping in the car to run errands. My reflexes are still too slow both physically and mentally. The sooner I get my strength back the better. I have been
fighting a lot of fatigue.

My long time friend from St. Louis, Suzanne came down for the weekend. She’s an OT and an Ergonomic Specialist, so amongst our fun catching up she helped me with some daily exercises that I think will help a lot until I get into regular PT.

So as you can see there are still several reasons to keep the prayers and positive energy flowing. A big “THANK YOU” to all of you who have taken time to bring dinners, send gift cards to restaurants and donate to the Angie Fund at Wachovia Bank. Those of you that brought food, please don’t hesitate to let us know if you need your containers back. Evening meals are something we still need, especially with Colin back at work. In addition, if any of you are available during the day to drive, transportation is another need. I have a number of different therapists I need to see and as I mentioned earlier, I’m still unable to drive.

Our friend Cindy is coordinating both these needs (and any others that will come up) through the Lotsa Helping Hands website. If you are willing to help out with either of these needs please email her at cindy@cindywingo.com

Until next time…

Live In The Moment,

Angie

http://www.carepage.com/ The page name is AngieElliottsCarePage

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Stephanie Zerger

Congratulations to Stephanie on celebrating her second anniversary of survivorship! This is only the beginning of bigger and better things to come!

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Jackie Gilbreath

Thoughts and prayers to Jackie as she prepares for surgery on January 28th. We wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her smiling face at future Rosebud meetings and upcoming book events.

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FYI

From Cheryl P. Donlin:

Josie,

A good patient is an informed patient, and hopeful news is always welcome, so thought you might be interested in this short announcement from a recent issue of the Chronicle. Incidentally, AstraZeneca is also a supporter of Tour de Pink, the annual fundraising bike ride sponsored by Pink Ribbons Project to raise funds for breast cancer education and awareness. (For those who like to mark their calendars early, Tour de Pink 2008 is scheduled for Sunday, September 7!)

Work. Create. Grow. Give.
Cheryl

HEALTH - Lynn Cook
M. D. Anderson drug firm team up

The Univeristy of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is working with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to conduct research on neuropathic pain stemming from Chemotherapy.

Peripheral nerve dysfunction, such as tingling and numbness and, in some cases, extreme pain, can limit how large a dose of chemotherapy a cancer patient can receive.

The agreement is a new phase of an alliance Anderson and AstraZeneca struck in 2005 to collaborate on cancer therapy in the hopes of speeding new drugs and therapies to market.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5487413.html

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From Victoria Silva, founder of Feminine Living:

Be aware that FORGIVENESS is a huge energy to work on during your time of
purification and inner change. When you hold on to anger, resentment and
hurt... you block the flow for a better and more positive life for yourself.
I believe so much in the power of FORGIVENESS... that I hold a FORGIVENESS CEREMONY every February. Look for all the details in February on my website www.feminineliving.com . Rena Leverance L.M.T, will also be available at the FORGIVENESS ceremony with mini massage to help with your release and healing! For details and RSVP, visit: http://www.feminineliving.com/ or call 713.849.3535

FORGIVENESS CEREMONY
A RITE OF PASSAGE
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 9TH
7:00 PM to 9:30 PM
AT VICTORIA'S HEALING ROOM

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From Jane Weiner, Hope Stone, Inc.

Join us this week as Bumni puts you through the paces of West African Dance. Her energetic form and teaching will be sure to warm you up inside and out! And the following week the amazing Jo Yost Ulrich teaches the amazing Yamuna Body Rolling...a perfect class to help us teach ourselves to relax and revitalize. These two ladies are master teachers in their form and Hope Center is pleased to be able to offer you these classes!!!

January 26 WEST AFRICAN DANCE
February 2 YAMUNA BODY ROLLING
February 9 BELLY DANCE
February 16 PILATES
February 23 INTRO TO MODERN DANCE
March 1 CAPOEIRA MARTIAL ARTS

Cost is $100 for the remainder of the series, $18 drop in, class cards can be used as well! Aloha! Call now to register-713.526.1907 ext. 1

Note: We still have 2 (two) more scholarships open for our Teen Arts program (meets Tuesday & Thursday after school) Call the office or e-mail us if interested...and 1 (one) scholarship available for our children's Capoeira class Monday @ 4 p.m. An artist is a terrible thing to waste!!!!

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From Donna Fong:

This is a great website if you are interested in purchasing pink ribbon items for yourself. I have used them several times in the past and am pleased with the service and the confidentiality of credit card purchases

http://shop.thebreastcancersite.com/store/category.do?siteId=224&categoryId=470&origin=EEG_0121_C_470_m

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From American Cancer Society-Houston Metro Office:

2008 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

Contact Ashley White, Community Manager-Distinguished Events
at 714-706-5645 Ashley.white@cancer.org

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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!

HOPE STONE, INC.
SATURDAY SAMPLER SERIES

Hit the winter blues and blahs with our new sampler series!!!! Hope Center offers a lovely sampling of classes for you to try out during the next few Saturdays....a great way to try a new movement class.....experience a novel way to move and care for your body....to be in the community with other awesome Hope Center students, and gosh darn it, to HAVE FUN. Our teachers are the best of the best!!!!!

February 2 YAMUNA BODY ROLLING
February 9 BELLY DANCE
February 16 PILATES
February 23 INTRO TO MODERN DANCE
March 1 CAPOEIRA MARTIAL ARTS

Cost is $110 for the entire series, $18 drop in
Call now to register-713.526.1907 ext. 1
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT FUND RAISER
St. Thomas High School vs. Westside High School, 6 P.M., Saturday, February 2, 2008, St. Thomas High School - Hotze Field (in Granger Stadium), 4500 Memorial Drive Cost = $5.00
Proceeds from the day will benefit Pink Ribbons Project, in motion against breast cancer, and St. Thomas High School Rugby.

ROSEBUDS MEETING
February 5th, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet
Future Meetings: FEBRUARY 19**, MARCH 4 &18
** The Rosebuds 17th Birthday Party

KNOCKOUT ROSES
A support group for women diagnosed under 40.
2nd Monday of each month, at 5:45 pm, February 11th, 2008.
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet.
Contact Amy Rigsby, Technical Director of The Rose, 713-660-6675.

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County.
February 12, 2008, La Madeline, Sugar Land.
Details TBA

FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Thursday, Feb 14th, 11:00am - 3:30 pm
Appearances Breast Care Boutique
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Mays Clinic
2nd Floor
Houston, TX
Come and meet the author and participants from the book!

ROSEBUDS II MEETING
February 14, 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.
Future Meetings: FEBRUARY 28, MARCH 13 & 27

FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Save the Date! Valentine's Day Tea Party
Hosted by KnockOut Roses
Sunday, February 17th, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Randall's Community Resource Center
The Rose Medical Plaza
12700 North Featherwood
Houston, TX 77034
Meet the author and participants from the book.
BYOTC (Bring Your Own Tea Cup)
RSVP with Amy Rigsby at 713-254-1399
arigsby@the-rose.org , by Thursday, Feb. 14th

ROSEBUDS ANNUAL BIRTHDAY PARTY
6:00 p.m - Tuesday, February 19, 2008
At our annual birthday party we recognize those who have attained a 5 year,10 year, 15 year, etc. anniversary of diagnosis/treatment during the past year. If you are one of these people, please advise Donna Fong. 713-681-7716 or donnafong5948@yahoo.com Refreshments will be provided.

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). Please join us on March 18, 2008 at 7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m. Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer?pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

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"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com
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"Men are made stronger on realization that the helping hand they need is at the end of their own arm." -Sidney J. Phillips

Until next week stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing with a little extra effort and a lot of determination!

Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com

Brief Repose

2008-01-20T08:20:00.000-06:00

Dear Blogger Family & Friends,

"A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book."

-Irish Proverb

The Pink Crusader is a bit under the weather but promises to be back next week...ready, willing and able. Until then take care, stay well, and have a most excellent week. Read on for updates....

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FYI:

From Paul A. Levine, MD, FHRS, FACC:

Spread the word!! We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.

If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this "ICE" (In Case of Emergency) Campaign.

The concept of "ICE" is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name "ICE" ( In Case of Emergency).

The idea was conceived by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as "ICE." For more than one contact name, simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc.

Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our Mobile phones today! Please forward this. It won't take too many "forwards" before everybody will know about this It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest . ICE will speak for you when you are not able to.
Source: Circulated e-mail

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From Y-Me Advocacy:

Join the Y-ME Advocacy network as we influence legislation and progress in the fight to end breast cancer!

With the primary election season upon us and the general election only months away, 2008 is an exciting year for the breast cancer community. Get involved with Y-ME Advocacy and empower yourself to create change for better research, treatment, prevention and a cure.

Y-ME Advocacy constantly monitors key legislation affecting the breast cancer community. When you join Y-ME Advocacy, you will receive a special alert when the time is right to take action. We will provide you with the tools you need to contact your legislator and let them know where you stand. One individual cannot fight cancer alone, but together we can make a difference!

http://capwiz.com/y-me/mlm/signup/

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From M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Public Education Office:

National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service 1-800-4-CANCER
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and a critical strategy in cancer control efforts is the education of Americans about steps they can take to prevent cancer, detect it early when treatment is most likely to be effective, and choose the best treatment plan.

For nearly 30 years, the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service has been providing the latest and most accurate cancer information to patients, their families, health professionals, and the public. Through its network of regional offices and partnerships with nonprofit, private, and other government agencies, the CIS reaches people who do not traditionally seek health information. For those who do seek information, the CIS offers a toll-free telephone number (1-800-4-CANCER) and an instant messaging service (LiveHelp) on the NCI's Web site (http://www.cancer.gov/ ). You can learn more about CIS at www.cancer.gov/cis or by calling 1-800-4-CANCER.

M. D. Anderson is under contract with the National Cancer Institute (Contract #HHSN261200511010C) to administer the Cancer Information Service’s Partnership Program and Research Coordination Program. The Partnership Program serves Texas and Oklahoma, and the Research Coordination Program serves Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.

****************************************

From Jane Weiner:

Special 5 week Wednesday night 6:30-8 p.m. Modern Class Series with Jackie Nalett--- January 9-February 6 (Live music with Chris Shooner)

Jacqueline is adjunct faculty at the UH where she teaches modern dance, jazz, and creative movement. She is on staff at Rice University where she teaches jazz and hiphop dance and is a dance teaching artist with Young Audiences of Houston. Her technique classes are based in proper alignment and technique and are abundant in high energy and dynamic physicality. She received her B.A. in dance from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts where she focused on modern and jazz with former Bill Evans dancers Debbie Poulsen and Terese Freedman. While at MHC, staff musician/composer Peter Jones was a huge influence on Jackie's dance education. Her choreography has been presented at the American College Dance Festivals in New England and Texas, at Mount Holyoke College, the University of Houston, Rice University,and the Houston Jewish Community Center's Summer Series. During the summer of 2007 she choreographed and performed a solo work entitled "Impulse" as part of the Gathering at the Big Range Dance Festival.

Finally---
we still have 3 scholarships open for our Teen Arts program (meets Tuesday & Thursday after school) Call the office or e-mail us if interested...and two scholarships available for our children's Capoeira class Monday @ 4 p.m. An artist is a terrible thing to waste!!!!

Sincerely, Jane Weiner, Hope Stone, Inc.

Hope Stone, Inc. is a unique organization dedicated to presenting authentic dance, music and theater performances, as well as embracing and nurturing the creative and expressive side of children through the positive empowering expression of the performing arts. http://www.hopestoneinc.org/

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From Beth Irvine:

Hi Everyone,

I have been busy with my 10 city TV media tour, Healthy Living with Beth Irvine. I was trying to think of a way to stay connected with everyone while I was on the road as so many people have asked for me to stay in touch. So I have decided to keep a blog tour going about my month away. Check in every few days to hear the ups and downs of life on the road. Check out my first leg...Media Tour or Spiritual Journey?

I have decided that my media tour is going to be my "spiritual journey" through the month of January. Consider this your personal invitation. Come along on the road and join me. www.truewellbeing.net/TRUEWELLBEING/Blog/Blog.html

With very best wishes, Elizabeth Irvine, BSN
Truewellbeing

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From Cheryl Donlin:
Josie,

My beautiful daughter sent this link to me. Thought you'd find the article interesting. Work. Create. Grow. Give. - Cheryl

10 Breast Cancer Myths Debunked
If you believe any of them, you've been duped — or worse.
By Marisa Weiss, MD, with Barbara Loecher, Prevention

Could that sexy underwire bra cause breast cancer? What about that frozen yogurt you just ordered? Or hormone therapy? And how would you know if you had the disease until it was too late anyway? Don't some studies show that examining your breasts and getting mammograms are useless?
Amid all the rumors and controversies surrounding breast cancer these days what causes it, how to diagnose and treat it it's hard to know what to think. Or do. One thing we can tell you is that being able to separate fact from fiction could make the difference between life and death.

Myth 1: Having a risk factor for breast cancer means you'll develop the disease.

No risk factor either alone or in combination with others means you'll definitely get breast cancer. There are various factors that may increase your risk of developing the disease. Some of these appear to increase your risk only slightly. They include smoking, drinking (more than five alcoholic drinks per week year after year), getting your first menstrual period before age 12, continuing to have periods after age 55, and not having your first full-term pregnancy until after age 30. If you have a number of these, the increase in risk can start to be more meaningful.

That said, even an inherited genetic abnormality in your family doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get breast cancer. Abnormalities in the so-called breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are very strong risk indicators. But 20 to 60 percent of women with these inherited abnormalities will not develop breast cancer.

Myth 2: If there is no breast cancer in your family, then you're not at risk for the disease.

Every woman is at risk for breast cancer. So are some men! For any individual woman, an inherited abnormality is the strongest risk factor, but only about 10 percent of all cases of breast cancer are due to inherited abnormalities. About 85 percent of women who develop the disease don't have a family history. That's why it's important for all women to get screened regularly.

Myth 3: Breast cancer is passed only from your mother, not your father.

We now know that breast cancer genes can be inherited from your dad's side of the family. So ask relatives about cases on both sides and in both men and women. About 2,000 cases of male breast cancer are diagnosed in the US each year. In fact, male breast cancer is most closely associated with a BRCA2 abnormality. So if there's a man in the family who's had breast cancer, be sure to tell your doctor.

Myth 4: No matter what your risk factors are, you really don't have to worry about breast cancer until you're through menopause.

The odds of getting the disease do increase as you age. But breast cancer can occur at any age. That's why all women need to be vigilant. Though experts recommend yearly mammograms starting at age 40, your doctor may suggest that you start even earlier if you have a family history of breast cancer at a young age.

Mammography isn't the ideal screening test for women younger than 40 because it can't "see through" their dense breast tissue. So your doctor may also recommend ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). You may be able to enroll in a study of MRI for breast cancer detection for women at increased risk.

Myth 5: Wearing a bra or using antiperspirants and deodorants increases your risk of breast cancer.

These are two Internet rumors that never seem to quit. It's not true that wearing a bra, especially underwire bras, traps toxins by limiting lymph and bloodflow in your breasts, increasing risk. There's also no proof for the claims that antiperspirants and deodorants cause cancer by keeping the body from sweating out the cancer-causing substances that build up in the breasts, or because they contain harmful chemicals that are absorbed through the skin.

Myth 6: If you have small breasts, you're much less likely to get breast cancer.

Size doesn't matter. Anyone with breasts can get it.

Myth 7: Research shows that using hormone therapy (HT) ” even for a short period of time — causes breast cancer.

Many women were understandably concerned when a major study found that HT combining estrogen and progestin increased risks of invasive breast cancer slightly. Another study also showed that combination therapy boosts breast cancer risk somewhat, however, it was able to offer some reassurance: This risk appeared to return to normal within a year or so after women stopped using the therapy. This seems to be the case for women who've been on HT for just months and those who've used it for more than 5 years.

One more thing: It's important to note that no studies have found a boost in breast cancer risk for women using estrogen-only therapy. This type of therapy is prescribed solely for women who have had hysterectomies, because estrogen taken alone can cause cancer in the lining of the uterus (endometrial cancer).

Myth 8: Eating high-fat foods and dairy products boosts your risk.

A number of studies have found that women who live in countries where diets tend to be lower in fat have a lower risk of breast cancer. But the majority of studies focusing on women in the US haven't found a solid link between dietary fat consumption and breast cancer risk. Why are these findings contradictory? It may be that women in other countries are at lower risk for other reasons: They exercise more, eat less, weigh less, smoke less, or have a different genetic profile or environmental interaction that makes them less susceptible. One thing we do know: Postmenopausal obesity is a risk factor that does put you at risk for breast and other cancers, so it pays to maintain a healthy weight.

As for dairy products, the study results are mixed. But Harvard's Nurses' Health Study, a large-scale study of 120,000 women, recently found that premenopausal women who ate a lot of dairy products, especially low-fat and fat-free ones, ran a lower risk of breast cancer. The study found no link between dairy product consumption and breast cancer risk in women who are past menopause.

Myth 9: Mammograms can prevent breast cancer.

A 2003 Harris survey of more than 500 women found that about 30 percent thought mammograms could prevent breast cancer. The truth: While mammograms can detect breast cancer, they can't prevent it.

Myth 10: Some studies actually show mammograms are worthless.

Two studies, including a review study done by Danish scientists, did suggest that getting a regular mammogram didn't lower a woman's risk of dying of breast cancer. But several other studies, including one done by the US Preventive Services Task Force, totally disagree. You can maximize the benefit of mammography screening by seeking out the best facilities and staff in your area. Look for the radiology center that handles the most breast cancer cases in the region. Go to a radiologist who specializes in reading mammograms, and ask, "How many mammograms do you read each year?" More tends to be better. A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that radiologists who read more than 300 mammograms a month were more accurate.

Source: - MSN Health & Fitness - Breast Cancer http://www.health.msn.com/

1=10803">http://health.msn.com/health-topics/breast-cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100171812>1=10803

Disclaimer: MSN Health & Fitness does not provide medical or any other health care advice, diagnosis or treatment. DO NOT RELY ON The MSN Web Sites OR ANY CONTENT ACCESSED ON OR THROUGH THEM FOR MEDICAL ADVICE - CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN.

*************************************
From Donna Fong:

Device can spot cancer cells in blood: U.S. Study
Wed Dec 19 20:21:14 UTC 2007
By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A highly sensitive microchip may help doctors detect rare traces of cancer circulating in the bloodstream, offering a way to better manage treatment, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

The device can isolate, count and analyze circulating tumor cells from a blood sample, the team at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston said. These circulating tumor cells, or CTCs, are the tiniest fragments of tumors, which are carried in the blood. Doctors have known about them for some time, but because they are so rare and so fragile, they have been hard to trap and study in a meaningful way.

"What our technology does is increase the sensitivity many, many fold, to a point where it can become a tool that can be used clinically," said Mehmet Toner, whose group developed the device. He said routine monitoring of these cells could help doctors tailor treatments to patients and may one day aid with diagnosis.

"Nine out 10 deaths in cancer are due to the metastatic process because the cancer spreads to other parts of the body," said Toner, whose study appears in the journal Nature. "These are really the cells that end up killing people."

Current blood tests to detect these rare cells involved many steps of mixing and spinning and shaking, often killing what few cells they found. "We went to the blackboard and designed it from scratch," Toner said in a telephone interview.

TRAPPING CANCER CELLS
The device they made uses a business-card sized silicon chip. It has microscopic posts that are coated with antibodies that recognize cancer cells. As blood flows over the chip, these posts act like glue, trapping cancer cells and leaving blood cells behind. Older methods may have produced one to five cells out of 60 billion cells screened in an 8-milliliter tube of blood. The new device can find 1,000 cancer cells.

The researchers tested their chip against blood samples from 68 patients with five types of tumors -- lung, prostate, breast, pancreatic and colorectal. Out of 116 samples, they found circulating tumor cells in all but one sample, and none were found in samples taken from healthy people. And the test was sensitive enough to detect changes in circulating tumor cell levels during treatment, with drops in detected CTC levels matching tumor shrinkage seen on standard CT scans.

"Suddenly, we have a great opportunity to have an impact in cancer in major ways," Toner said. He said the technology will allow for much more personalized cancer care. "You get a sense of how a patient is responding to treatment." Eventually, it also may prove useful for cancer screening. And ready access to live cancer cells will advance cancer research. "We will start to understand the biology of cancer much better," Toner said. (Editing by Maggie Fox and Xavier Briand)

© Copyright Reuters 2006 All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only.
© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world
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Combined hormone therapy increases risk of lobular breast cancer fourfold after just three years of use [Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center]
SEATTLE — Jan. 15, 2008

Postmenopausal women who take combined estrogen/progestin hormone-replacement therapy for three years or more face a fourfold increased risk of developing various forms of lobular breast cancer, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

"Previous research indicated that five or more years of combined hormone-therapy use was necessary to increase overall breast-cancer risk," said Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., the lead author of the report, published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. "Our study, the first specifically designed to evaluate the relationship between combined HRT and lobular breast cancers, suggests that a significantly shorter length of exposure to such hormones may confer an increased risk."

The study, which confirms previous reports of the association between combined hormone-therapy use and increased risk of lobular breast cancers, is the largest study of combined HRT and lobular cancer risk in the United States. It is also the first such study to take into account the recency and duration of hormone use and the first to include a centralized pathological review of tumor specimens to confirm their histological type: ductal, lobular or mixed ductal-lobular.

Lobular cancer involves the lobules, or chambers, in the breast that contain milk-producing glands. While lobular carcinoma accounts for only about 15 percent of all invasive breast cancers, it is hormonally sensitive and therefore more treatable than the more common ductal variety, which arises in the ducts that carry milk from the lobules to the nipple. However, lobular breast tumors also present a clinical challenge because they are more difficult to detect both by clinical examination and by mammography than ductal cancers, which account for about 70 percent of invasive breast cancers in the United States.

The study assessed hormone-replacement status in more than 1,500 postmenopausal women in western Washington — 1,044 breast-cancer cases (324 lobular, 196 mixed ductal-lobular and 524 ductal) and 469 controls. The researchers also confirmed tumor status through centralized examination of breast tissue.

The researchers found that current users of combined HRT had a 2.7-fold and 3.3-fold elevated risk of lobular and ductal-lobular cancer, respectively, regardless of tumor stage, size or number of lymph nodes involved. Only women who used combined HRT for three or more years faced an increased risk of lobular cancer. Among mixed ductal-lobular cases, hormone therapy increased the risk of tumors that were predominantly lobular but not tumors that had predominantly ductal characteristics.

The incidence of invasive lobular and ductal-lobular breast cancers has risen rapidly in the United States, increasing 52 percent and 96 percent, respectively, between 1987 and 1999, whereas rates of ductal cancer have increased only 3 percent during this time.

"Our research suggests that the use of postmenopausal hormone-replacement therapy, specifically the use of combined estrogen-plus-progestin preparations, may be contributing to this increase," said Li, an associate member of the Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences Division.

While the number of postmenopausal women taking combined HRT long-term has dropped by about half in recent years due to Women's Health Initiative reports of health risks associated with such therapy, such as an increase in heart-disease and breast-cancer risk, a substantial number of women are still taking HRT to manage the symptoms of menopause.

"These findings are still of considerable public-health importance considering the estimated 57 million prescriptions for menopausal hormone therapy that continue to be filled in the United States," Li said.

The National Cancer Institute funded this research, which involved researchers from the Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences and Human Biology divisions as well as the University of Washington School of Medicine.

http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/01/15/hormone_therapy.html
Source: Reprinted from web site at http://www.fhcrc.org/
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers, including three Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for health, knowledge and hope to their work and to the world. For more information, please visit www.fhcrc.org.

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From American Cancer Society-Houston Metro Office:

2008 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer
We are looking for dedicated and energetic volunteers to serve on this year's committee. Please join us for our first meeting of the year to learn more about MSABC and how you can help!

Monday, January 21, 2008, 6:00 pm
American Cancer Society - Houston Metro Office
6301 Richmond Ave.
Houston, TX 77057

Contact Ashley White, Community Manager-Distinguised Events
at 714-706-5645 Ashley.white@cancer.org

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From Susan G. Komen for the Cure - Houston Affiliate:

Join the Komen Houston Affiliate for the Pink Tie Gala and After Party which will be held Saturday, February 16, 2008 at the InterContinental Hotel. This year’s event, which is sponsored by Kroger Food Stores, will begin with a cocktail reception and luxury silent auction, followed by a fabulous dinner and exciting live auction. This special evening will be hosted by KPRC-TV’s Khambrell Marshall and will feature entertainment by the legendary comedienne, Lily Tomlin. Winning numerous awards over the years for her amazing performances including six Emmys, two Tonys and a Grammy, Tomlin continues to awe crowds and be an extraordinary entertainer. Tomlin will revisit some of her most favorite characters like Edith Ann from Laugh-In...You don't want to miss this performance!! Individual Gala tickets can be purchased for $350. Tables can be purchased for $5,000. Click here to purchase an individual ticket to the Gala (includes admittance into After Party). https://secure2.convio.net/rfch/site/Ecommerce?VIEW_PRODUCT=true&product_id=1221&store_id=1421&JServSessionIdr003=zzj9gqasx1.app8b
NEW THIS YEAR!!
Grab your friends and put your dancin' shoes on! New to the Gala this year is an exciting After Party sponsored by CenterPoint Energy that will be held in the Discovery Center of the InterContinental Hotel from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. The After Party will feature extravagant dessert bars, music by Brotherhood, a party/funk/jazz band featuring vocalist Robert Berry, and dancing. Individual After Party tickets can be purchased for $100.

Click here to purchase an individual ticket to the After Party. https://secure2.convio.net/rfch/site/Ecommerce?VIEW_PRODUCT=true&product_id=1222&store_id=1421

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From Fran Visco, President:

National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC)
Dispatch from San Antonio

Last month, many from NBCC traveled to San Antonio for the 30th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. This meeting is touted as the largest gathering of scientists in the breast cancer research field. Doctors, researchers, advocates and health care professionals from across the country and around the globe met to share state-of-the-art breast cancer information, including briefings on ongoing and soon-to-be released studies, important new research findings, lectures by experts, and much more.

NBCC led a special advocacy session covering several subjects from the consumer advocate perspective. Erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs), which are used to stimulate the production of red blood cells to reverse anemia caused by chemotherapy, were discussed, as well as anthracyclines, drugs commonly administered in combination chemotherapies to prevent the spread of breast cancer. Discussions about these two forms of treatment are important because data are accumulating regarding their limited value at the cost of serious side effects.

The item in our session provoking the most audience interest was bevacizumab (Avastin) – an innovative therapy designed to inhibit tumor growth by stopping the formation of new blood vessels needed to nourish the tumor – in effect “starving” the tumor. This idea has been around for quite a while, and, despite spectacular cures of mice in the laboratory, results in humans are unclear and seemingly quite modest. Clinical trials have been conducted to see if this therapy will work in fighting breast cancer. The results of two trials were recently presented to the Oncology Drug Advisory Committee (ODAC) of the Food and Drug Administration. ODAC decided against recommending bevacizumab for approval, because data from the clinical trials did not demonstrate that this treatment prolongs the lives of women with advanced breast cancer beyond current treatments; in fact, there were more deaths and serious side effects in the treatment group that included bevacizumab. Another issue discussed among participants was the high cost of newer cancer therapies including bevacizumab. It was a timely discussion, since the FDA is slated to make a final decision on bevacizumab in February.

The failure of this drug to improve survival in patients with breast cancer is a disappointment. However, this story highlights the importance of analyzing full sets of data over the long term and of evaluating specific survival outcomes. Data released over two years earlier had raised expectations that did not pan out, while safety concerns only were revealed with longer follow up. We must keep in mind that when treatments are rushed to patients without solid evidence we can cause more harm than good.

Source: Call to Action Newsletter, January 2008
2008© National Breast Cancer Coalition

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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!

HOPE STONE, INC.
SATURDAY SAMPLER SERIES
January 19-March 1 11:45-1 p.m.

Hit the winter blues and blahs with our new sampler series!!!! Hope Center offers a lovely sampling of classes for you to try out during the next few Saturdays....a great way to try a new movement class.....experience a novel way to move and care for your body....to be in the community with other awesome Hope Center students, and gosh darn it, to HAVE FUN. Our teachers are the best of the best!!!!!

January 19 YOGA
January 26 WEST AFRICAN DANCE
February 2 YAMUNA BODY ROLLING
February 9 BELLY DANCE
February 16 PILATES
February 23 INTRO TO MODERN DANCE
March 1 CAPOEIRA MARTIAL ARTS

Cost is $110 for the entire series, $18 drop in
Call now to register-713.526.1907 ext. 1
http://www.hopestoneinc.org/

ROSEBUDS II MEETING
January 24th, 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. Future Meetings: FEBRUARY 14 & 28, MARCH 13 & 27

PINK RIBBONS PROJECT FUND RAISER
St. Thomas High School vs. Westside High School, 6 P.M., Saturday, February 2, 2008, St. Thomas High School - Hotze Field (in Granger Stadium), 4500 Memorial Drive Cost = $5.00
Proceeds from the day will benefit Pink Ribbons Project, in motion against breast cancer, and St. Thomas High School Rugby.

ROSEBUDS MEETING
February 5th, 5:45 - 7:30 pm
Breast Cancer Support Group Meeting
Open to all Breast Cancer Patients/Survivors
1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet
Future Meetings: FEBRUARY 19**, MARCH 4 & 18
** The Rosebuds 17th Birthday Party

KNOCKOUT ROSES
A support group for women diagnosed under 40.
2nd Monday of each month, at 5:45 pm, February 11th, 2008.
The Rose, 3400 Bissonnet.
Contact Amy Rigsby, Technical Director of The Rose, 713-660-6675.

SOS SURVIVOR MEETING
Held the second Tuesday of each month for those living in Fort Bend County.
February 12, 2008, La Madeline, Sugar Land. Details TBA

FACES BEHIND BREAST CANCER BOOK EVENT
Survivor Pink Tea Party
Sunday, February 17th, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Meet the author and participants from the book.
BYOTC (Bring Your Own Tea Cup)
Details TBA

ROSEBUDS ANNUAL BIRTHDAY PARTY
6:00 p.m - Tuesday, February 19, 2008
At our annual birthday party we recognize those who have attained a 5 year,10 year, 15 year, etc. anniversary of diagnosis/treatment during the past year. If you are one of these people, please advise Donna Fong. 713-681-7716 or donnafong5948@yahoo.com Refreshments will be provided.

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). Please join us on March 18, 2008 at
7 pm. Hope to see you then, Cynthia Gdula.

Y-ME NATIONAL BREAST CANCER ORGANIZATION
Houston Walk to Empower, Non-Competitive 3-mile Walk
Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007
Check-In Begins: 7:30 a.m.
Walk Begins: 9:00 a.m.
Sam Houston Park, Houston, Texas

During the past 15 years, Y-ME’s Mother’s Day Events have raised more than $26 million to help ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone. In 2006, $6 million was raised. Please join us this year -- you’ll be proud to know that your support will help Y-ME continue providing its essential programs and services to people and their loved ones touched by breast cancer.
For more details: http://houstonwalk.y-me.org/site/PageServer?pagename=MDE_HTX_homepage

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"SHARING is CARING"
As always, The Pink Crusader welcomes your contributions, comments, stories, poems, events and photographs! Posts are updated each week. Please send your written contributions to thepinkcrusader1@aol.com
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"I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead. Not sick. Not wounded. Dead." - Woody Allen

Until next week stay strong, stay well and keep on dancing with a tissue in one hand and some decongestant in the other!
Love, Josie
The Pink Crusader
thepinkcrusader1@aol.com