Boobs On Ice™

Cancer Fundraising - Sacrifices and Possibilities

Pan-Mass Challenge - One Rider's View from Doug Haslam on Vimeo.

I'm proud to know Doug Haslam who made this video of his experience with the PanMass Challenge, a 2 day bike trip across the state of Massachusetts to raise funding for cancer research and treatment. And I'm proud that the Frozen Pea Fund could contribute to enable him to make his goal.

He's got some excellent footage of what it's like to participate in this sort of event and something that stood out for me while watching was how much small bits of support can help participants.

One of the things that happens with individuals taking on a challenge like this is that it's just overwhelming. Not only the physical effort that goes into it, but the idea of finding support to get that fund-raising thermometer started, or to finally get to the goal, can be difficult.

The thought of what supplies and gear might be necessary to outfit a team with what they need can be intimidating as well.

Although it will take lots of people to make it happen, it's my hope that in some small way what the Frozen Pea Fund can do for people who make these sacrifices is to help those who want to participate leap more easily over some of those hurdles along the way.

I've been doing my own thing and not talking too much about it lately, preferring to put some time into volunteer efforts and outreach rather than to thinking much about my own situation.  At least that's the plan. It seems like it's one step back then another forward, then another back, but overall there's progress over the past six months and I'm glad about that.

I promise I'll share a little more about my own story soon, but right now I'd rather focus on people like Doug who put their energies into doing something hard so that research into a cure for cancer might be found.

PS - Doug's still glad to find new supporters and has a sponsor page set up here

How the Peapods Came to the Hermit and How You Can Help

    This video http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=24061806261&ref=nf is a quick snippet of the Frozen Peas campsite in Second Life as part of this year's Relay for Life virtual fund raising event sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

Team Captain Joyce Bettencort writes:

"The theme this year was 'Heroes' and to a lot of us in the online, social media scene Susan Reynolds, her personal fight with breast cancer and the warmth and courage of sharing her experiences with us, has made her our hero. Because of that, several us, with Susan's blessings and help put together a team and campsite for this years virtual relay event."

The virtual relay walk and events starts at 10AM (PST) this Saturday the 19th and you can walk with us and visit the campsite in SL at:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Heroes%2010/115/95/25

To donate to the Frozen Peas team go to:  http://tinyurl.com/6czpxl 

And find out more info on Susan and the real life Frozen Peas on her blog site: http://boobsonice.com/

Note Joyce & other Second Life Pea-funders came up with this idea & jumped in with no input from me other than "sure you should do it" Not only did I have no idea what the theme was to be I'm not sure anyone did. Now though embarrassed to be called a hero,I thank them from the bottom of my heart. Most people don't know that since my second surgery in June, this time involving multiple lines of stitches all across my chest, things have been beyond difficult. In the month since the surgery my incisions have still not closed. Yes, that's painful in may ways and it has my emotions raw and often depressed. I've become quite the hermit. So an idea of a second Life campsite visit has been so emotional an idea for me - well I just couldn't bring myself to do it. For the second time this week I had to say I couldn't do something - and all because I knew I'd fall apart when I saw it. I knew I'd be in tears at their talent & generosity. Instead they brought the peek to me through this video and I'm more touched than I can say. Please help me thank them by giving your support on Sat July19th in the relay for Life. If you can sign into Second Life and Visit the Pea Team campsite at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Heroes%2010/115/95/25 it would be an honor. And if you'd like to make a donation through the website at http://tinyurl.com/6czpxl  Super! Thanks to all who helped in Second Life & previously. I am deeply grateful & profoundly humbled.                   Susan - aka Tynan Clary in Second Life

   

Doctors Patients Friends and Strangers

If you want your dollars to go directly to cancer research, one option is to give directly to an event that raises more money than any other athletic fundraising event in the country and in 2007 donated 100% of every rider-raised dollar directly to cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Over 200 riders in The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, the nation’s original fundraising bike-a-thon, are cancer survivors. Thousands of riders and volunteers have lost loved ones to the disease. Still more ride in honor of those in treatment.

The PMC has contributed more than $200 million to lifesaving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute since its 1980 inception.

My friend Doug Haslam is a rider who needs your support. he rides in a pure spirit of generosity, saying

"Any physical hardship that we face in trying to complete the ride will always pale in comparison to what people face in fighting cancer."

Doctors, patients, friends and strangers join in this race as teammates, riding for a unified goal. I hope you'll help them. If everyone who reads this gave just ONE Dollar Doug would be well on his way to his goal. And perhaps cancer might even be conquered in my lifetime.

Less Boobage Awaits

It's 3:30 AM and I leave at 9AM for the hospital. It could be that I'm a little nervous.

Most everyone knows that I'm  going in for surgery and that it will complete this phase of the rebuilding of my breast after it was removed because of a sudden cancer diagnosis in December 2007 but I haven't said much beyond that.

The process of having a balloon surgically inserted inside the muscle wall to expand it, then gradually injected with saline every few weeks was a laborious one but it was the safest for me given my health history. It involved frequent drives into DC for visits to the office of my surgeon and getting to know some really nice staff at George Washington Hospital faculty medical building. I'll take photos with them next time I see them since It's been a memorable journey and you should meet them.

So tomorrow around noon I get wheeled in to have my chest muscle expander removed and Doctor Chang will then clean out the  capsule and a semi-permanent implant will be added to that pocket created within the chest wall. My other breast will be reduced in size to match the new implant. (I won't even start on the story about nipples.)

Looking for a silver lining I look forward to having 40 year old breasts instead of 60 year old breasts. I'd like to hope for 20 but that's too much to ask in the best case. I can tease Doctor Chang that  I'll be expecting perky but that's as far as that goes.

Since he will be leaving George Washington University for New York at the end of July I am very glad that I will be able to complete this process with the surgeon, Raymond Chang, in whom I have faith and with whom I have developed a good relationship since we first met in December.

His advice has been caring and tailored to my situation. I've never felt pressure to do things his way and I appreciate that immensely.  He's handled my moments of doubt with calm and reassurance, always focusing on what my feelings and needs were.

And I did have doubts. Vacillating between complete removal of the second breast for prophylactic reasons to lessen the chance of recurrence, having no reconstruction at all, opting for a different type implant; I was all over the place. There were many moments of doubt. Well - being truthful, there were days and weeks of doubt.

But Doctor Chang was always interested in my feelings and even the rest of my cancer treatment including what my reactions to oncologists and other doctors were. And when I was at my most vulnerable he was at his most understanding and helpful, showing a genuine effort to not be the cold surgeon but to emphasize that all women are different, have different needs and reactions; he encouraged me to be patient and understanding with myself.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't apprehensive. I've not had surgery at George Washington before and don't know the system, the rooms, the process. And this time I'll have drains on both breasts - double the pain. I don't know if my husband can spend the night like he did at Sibley and Reston Hospitals. This time I'll have two sore arms and two sides of my chest painful for the week or two after surgery. Dealing with fatigue has been a problem already and I can't imagine that this will make it better. And pain control has been an ongoing issue.

I try not to think that they could possibly find another cancer when they're in there doing their thing. But it does pop up into my mind. More than that I know that another surgery means being out of commission even further and makes more work for my number three daughter who remains my caretaker, nutritionist, sounding board, and who's been forced into the role of private-duty nurse and go-fer.

Then there's the issue of a whole new anatomy to get used to. If there is a change or thickening in the newly shaped breast tissue will I be able to identify it? I don't know.

I anticipate coming home Thursday. But I'll probably do a lot of sleeping even through the weekend and hope I can get daughter #2 to come over and relieve little sister a couple of times during that time. The good news is that this is the last surgery for awhile, knock on wood, and the rest of the family should be able to get back to a relatively normal life soon.

Meanwhile I try to figure out what I'm doing with hormone therapy - and where. . .  and if I think that lab results  from bone scan, CT scan and x-rays interpreted as "no clear evidence of cancer" should merit another look-see by someone more curious and thorough.

What can you, my readers and friends do? Don't hesitate to offer to kidnap me for dinner or lunch, coffee or drinks in a week or so. Yes a meal delivered - no soy - would be grand or a gift certificate for a restaurant that delivers or does pickup might just be the right thing to have. Other options are books on tape. Or I  could just go stir crazy and need someone to spring me, get me out of the house. Thinking about it, it's more likely that Kate aka twitterer Badwolf will need to be sprung on her own - to a movie or a bar just to talk and  to vent like anyone who'd been cooped up with me for weeks would need to.

I'm just looking forward. Only a few more days wearing bras is something to look forward to.

Art As Therapy and Tribute

Beyond Exhaustion

The long ordeal is reflected around the eyes. It’s a look that’s more than tired; it’s a look that’s beyond exhaustion.

life size masks - clay, steel
©2000, John Magnan

Mary Magnan had ovarian cancer. To deal with his feelings about the ordeal that she was going through, her husband John created art.

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Mary Magnan lost her battle with cancer in 2006. She was 59. John's work lives on as a testament to her.

Bodyimage-bodyessence.com showcases his series of sculptures.

To learn more about Mary and John, his art, the Ovarian Cancer Coalition which sponsors exhibits of this series or to contact the artist follow this link

 

My ooVoo Birth Day: From Pea Fun to Pea Fund

On Sunday February 10 I had the best birthday ever, using a cool new internet technology and talking face to face in groups of six with people I'd not ever imagined I'd meet in person. And the way ooVoo is set up I really did feel as if I was meeting them.

The MyOoVooDay events in which I tool part just happened to coincide with my birthday. What timing, I thought when Scott Monty, a contact from my twitter list, approached about hosting a couple of hours of interactive chat with members of my community - meaning people online who follow what I wrote about or are interested in my work or cancer struggle or whatever.

I 'd never heard of the event sponsor, Oovoo, but one of the first events I got involved in when I was learning about the interactive world Second Life was the Coke Virtual Thirst campaign and it too was arranged by Crayon, a new media marketing company. Oh and Scott works for Crayon.

The more I learned about the community centric focus of the Crayon ooVoo concept the more impressed I became with their approach to introducing this product/service. But I hadn't heard anything yet.

They had also decided to kick off this new technology by donating to charity in the name of the host who would interact and essentially try out the beta service with five other people at a time over the course of an afternoon.

That was way cool already. But on top of that - because of the community-based grassroots nature of the the Frozen Pea Fund and that our focus has from day one on stressing personal connections, OoVoo chose us to be the preferred recipient of their generosity.

This was right up my alley. Webcams I didn't know - people I did. And I knew that they would want to interact face to face if given an opportunity to chat in more than the 140 characters they normally get in twitter. It surpassed my wildest dreams as far as fun and learning the system with some very very nice people.

Testing a first day beta service with groups of 6 people who had never used the system before was gutsy - or insane - but side from a few glitches - especially for macs it was a fun experience, got people using the service, got us familiar with it to the point that we even used it for a family chat that night, during which they sang happy birthday to me.

So though there are a few glitches oovoo has to iron out, the concept of their service isn't one of them. I had an oovoolicious birthday and their donation to the frozen pea fund on the part of their hosts is our first corporate donation. They put their money where their mouth is and in this case they have very good taste, believing in Peas.

And to think that the pea fun started when I put a little baggie of peas in my camisole to soothe after multiple biopsies. In less than two months look how many conversations it's started. What a nice thing to be reminded of on my birthday.
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Can Today Really be the 4th Frozen Pea Friday?

Relays and Walks: Which Events and When?

A few nights ago while interacting on twitter with people who are planning on walking the Susan G Komen 60 mile walk in October and others who are doing the shorter Making Strides Against Cancer walk, I was asked about attending the Relay for Life in Frederick Maryland on May 16th.

But to tell the truth I honestly knew nothing about the Relay for Life other than having heard the name.

Let's face it - I'm not alone. A lot of us know people who walk for various causes. Sometimes we "pledge" to help them. We give our x amount per mile or write a check. But do we really understand what they're doing?

After talking with remarkable women who will be walking for the Komen foundation and others that will be doing American Cancer Society events I wanted to know more.

I've only got so much energy to devote to going to events or supporting them in other ways and I wondered. What would make us pick one over another? And if someone participates in an American Cancer Society events instead of an event aimed solely at breast cancer should we feel like we're not making a difference for MY kind of cancer?

Truth be told, I believe that research in any area will benefit cancer victims across all areas, but beyond that I was surprised with what I learned.

In fact it is Breast cancer that's the number one reason people call the American Cancer Society. It has a presence in more than 3,400 communities across the country and is the only organization available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help people touched by cancer.

OK, I thought, then I don't have to feel as if Avon and Susan G Komen are the only "walking" groups who fund breast cancer research and patient support. So if I'm interested in another one are there even more options?

More Googling later I'd found out that "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is a noncompetitive"- and traditionally relatively short 5 mile walk "to help fight breast cancer." So what's not to love about that? It's held in cities all over the country and is a sea of wall to wall pink shirts, ribbons, sneakers and more.

But there are other options including one with a touch of the ceremonial. The Relay For Life ^® events also sponsored by the American Cancer Society includes teams of people who gather at schools, fairgrounds, or parks and take turns walking or running laps. These are held overnight to represent the fact that cancer never sleeps. I like the symbolism of that.

And through the survivors' lap and the luminaria ceremony, people who have faced cancer are honored and those who have been lost to this cancer are remembered. The emotion of that might not be something I could get though easily but I can see the appeal of laps, taking turns, helping each other.

So in addition to attending the TWO DC walks in which my friends are participating to help raise money for research (woot!) I'll try to at least get to the Frederick event on May 16th and one of the smaller events closer to home

In addition to the event in Frederick, local events include these. I've got a lot to chose from and I admire these people so much.

Will you be at one of these or another event? Let me know about it. I'm behind you all the way.

1. Relay For Life of Vienna

2. Relay For Life of NVCC

3. Relay For Life of George Mason University

4. Relay For Life of Falls Church

5. Relay For Life of Reston

6. Relay For Life of Herndon

7. Relay For Life of Arlington

8. Relay For Life of Eastern Loudoun County

9. Relay For Life of American University/George Washington University

10. Relay For Life of Georgetown University

 

Link: Find Relay Events | RelayForLife.org.