You are invited...

Yesterday morning, one of my Columbus friends passed away from metastatic breast cancer. She was just 36 years old. She was diagnosed at the age of 31, just 3 weeks before she was married. Yolanda discovered the YSC and all that it offered 3 years ago by coming to our annual Conference for Young Survivors on a scholarship. She attended Project LEAD and learned about the science behind breast cancer. She joined other YSC volunteers at our affiliate leadership conference a year ago. She wasn’t just surviving – she was thriving because she found an organization just for her – the YSC. Next Friday night, November 6th, the Central Ohio Affiliate of the YSC will be holding its annual fundraiser, In Living Pink. This gala event provides the necessary funding to allow local young women diagnosed with breast cancer to find supportive programs and services just for them. It brings together families and friends of those living with the disease, and those who have passed, and those who work to fight it. In this month of pinkness ~ this event is unique because it is about Yolanda: young women with breast cancer.

In addition to raising money through raffles and live/silent auctions, we’ll celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of special friends of the YSC:

• Miguel Perez and Ologie
• Dr. Ewa Mrozek
• Jody M. Carrico

Please join us as we gather to honor those who passed yesterday, celebrate with those who thrive today, and raise money to support those who will be diagnosed tomorrow, so they will not be alone.

Heavy hors d’oeuvres ~ Cash bar ~ Live music by 80’s cover band “Six Pack Theory”

DATE: Friday, November 6, 2009
TIME: 7pm – 11pm
LOCATION: Worthington Hills Country Club, 920 Clubview Blvd. S.
COST: $75 per person, $35 for Survivors

To register (or make a donation if you are unable to attend) please click here but you must do so by October 30!!

I'm Back!

Well- actually - I never went away!
I've been busy with other projects...
Perhaps you have been made aware of the YSC Puck Bunnies? It's the team that consists of myself and Alison Lukan , riding in the Tour de Pink to raise money and awareness about the Young Survival Coalition. We started a website/bog, a twitter, page, and of course have been fundraising like mad-rabbits in order to meet our minimum.
Then, as a part of that, we also organized a hockey game to raise money for the local YSC chapter in Columbus.
And of course now I am in training for the TdP itself.
So, yeah - I'm busy. Lots going on.
But I want to get back into writing because I need this outlet, even if no one reads it :-)

I'm updating my links too - so please make sure to click on those to read up on some of my favorite writers.
Some of them are new:

• Alison has her own blog~ it's this incredible project wherein she writes up about how someone or something has touched her life. It's very personal and thoughtful.
• Several months ago when I was grieving for Tracy Pleva Hill, I mentioned that her sister Jamie had also been recently diagnosed. Jamie has invited us all to join her on her journey and her treatment is ending soon. You can go back and see her evolve to where she is now. The healing will begin!
• Leigh is a person I am acquainted with only professionally through a YSC project and she is smart, funny and a brilliant writer. Through her blog you will want to click on and on and on...
• LeAnn has always been there from the start. Luke and Anabel (A) are growing and gorgeous!
• I love Three Woofs because the writer has the same humor as me for humanizing the thoughts of animals!
• and finally, FUPenguins, puts it all into perspective because, honestly, we take ourselves much too seriously.

So - hopefully you will tune back in and I will have something interesting to say!

I have mentioned before that I am the vice-president of the Board of Directors of the Young Survival Coalition (YSC). On many occasions when I have lobbied for cancer research dollars on the federal level I have heard comments such as “When are the American people going to fund cancer research the way they do the Red Cross, etc?” (apparently these folks haven’t heard of Komen or the American Cancer Society).And many of you may have heard about the Stand Up 2 Cancer (SU2C) live telethon this Friday night.

Earlier this summer, Katie Couric, Charles Gibson, and Brian Williams toured the morning talk shows to announce this unprecedented collaboration to raise money via a live telethon. This was inspired I am sure, by the tremendous response post-Katrina and September 11 events of similar nature.According to the site – more than 50 personalities from TV, film, sports and music will be making personal appearances and attending to a phone bank. There will also be a performance of the song “Just Stand Up” – available now on iTunes with the proceeds going directly to SU2C.SU2C dollars will go to a variety of research avenues – including an RFP that went out seeking “Dream Team” collaborations moving bench side research to bedside. I am proud to say that the YSC is participating in this event as a resource for young breast cancer survivors and their caregivers, as well as researchers. As such – I will be in attendance during the telethon!!

I fly out on Thursday, attend a luncheon hosted by Sherry Lansing and other celebs, and then attend the actual event. I don’t think I will be answering phones or on tv but if it means I get to sit next to George Clooney then I will do whatever they ask!I would be so honored if you consider watching the telethon and keep an eye out for me. I would be even more honored if you would consider taking this opportunity to make a donation to the YSC in my honor! Every little bit helps!I am sporting a pink swatch of hair right now so you might spot me! Let me know if you do! The YSC has 4 tickets and so Lanita Moss and I will be attending with two others YSC members. Again – it is Friday night, 8pm (EST) on all three networks.

GEARing up for October

October is unbelievably busy for me. Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know that it's breast cancer awareness month. As a breast cancer survivor and VP of a national breast cancer non-profit, I have a love-hate relationship with this month. I love that it brings so many awareness opportunities for the YSC. I love that I have many personal opportunities to talk about the YSC and tell my story.
However, I get very pinked-out by ALL the pink products. It started as a few things here and there...the ribbons, the Yoplait lids, Edy's Ice Cream...and then things seemed to change about 3 years ago...now you see pink Cheerios, pink toilet paper, and pink . . . wait for it . . . vacuum cleaners. Last year I even gave a talk about buying pink (or not!) as a form of breast cancer advocacy work. Some consider the shopping a form of fund raising. Others view it as being pimped out as a survivor by some often less than legitimate forms of fundraising. I tend to agree with this view and am skeptical of most pink efforts.
**sighs**
That being said, the YSC has developed a wonderfully supportive relationship with the Hershey's Corporation. Several years ago they decided to do pink cream centered York Peppermint Patties and gave us a sizable minimum donation (none of the xx% goes to xxx organization crap - high minimum donations and no maximum donations are the way to go and the thing to look for if you are going to buy pink!!). Then they stepped in to become a major sponsor of our annual Tour de Pink. Since then they have increased that minimum donation as well as increased the types of products they "pink" out for sale as well as listing us on most of their products year round.
I love chocolate :-)
Anyway - for more on how Hershey's and gear-heads are helping the YSC -check out this blog!