myWarmWishes

Usually I try to post about encouragement or supportive information around cancer topics and awareness, but I recently saw an item on QVC that I wished I had seen when my mom was bald and battling.

It's a large soft hood with a scarf attached, which is nice because it is separate from a coat or jacket, and still stylish and easy to wear and use. Not only would this product be helpful during chilly, windy, or freezing outdoor weather, but also for cozying up inside with a blanket or robe. In addition, the hood is big and loose, if a tight-knit cap or beanie isn't desirable.

I remember through several loved ones how quickly they would go through cold and hot spells during cancer treatment or recovery. This hood/scarf would be a handy solution. If any of you have used this item or something similar, please feel free to post your experience.

Thinking of yourCancerStory...warmest wishes!

myHopeDerived

Climbing through some challenges in my life recently I was offered support from the book of Romans. I've learned that dealing with cancer comes with obvious and surprising trials to the physical, and particularly emotional well-being. Remember dealing with cancer does not only refer to the cancer patient, but to the loved ones who offer help, hope, and support to the patient. There are many aspects of a Cancer Story and my prayer is that this passage helps as you journey through your cancer path.

"Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand and we exult in the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." ~Romans 5: 1-5

myPassionatelyPinkTeam

A local news station prompted me to start a team with Susan G. Komen's Passionately Pink for the Cure. I enlisted my office to participate, especially considering we are majority female staff, and to my pleasure everyone was excited about the team. We are a small staff, but with generous donations from staff and other community members, we are reaching our goal.

Basically, Passionately Pink for the Cure is a project geared toward work places. Each team chooses a day during Breast Cancer Awareness Month of October to wear pink and donate (if not done before) at least $5 toward the team goal. As part of starting a team Susan G. Komen for the Cure supplies posters, post cards, awareness pins, breast cancer and self exam information, and an envelope to return offline donations.

Our office decided in lieu of costumes we will wear pink for Halloween, October 31st.

As the daughter of a breast cancer victim, it has touched my heart to see my coworkers so enthusiastic about this cause. They have even spread the word to their family and friends. If you would like to join our team and donate on our team's Passionately Pink for the Cure webpage, click here. Any and all donations are appreciated and will 100% go toward the Susan G. Komen for the Cure cause.

If you have any questions please post a comment.

Together we can change the future of Breast Cancer.

myPurchase

Supporting breast cancer research and awareness can be rewarding, but also fun! There are purchases you can make which will donate funds in honor of the breast cancer causes. I visited the Susan G. Komen for the Cure website today and learned the following companies are sponsoring breast cancer research and support:

General Mills: Pink for the Cure
"During the month of October in grocery retailers nationwide, General Mills brands will turn their packages pink to support October’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Komen for the Cure. Brands going Pink for the Cure include Cheerios, Total Raisin Bran, Total Honey Nut Clusters, Green Giant, Progresso Soup, Betty Crocker Warm Delights, Betty Crocker cookie mixes, Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper and Betty Crocker Potatoes. Komen for the Cure will receive $2 million for the Pink for the Cure program."

In addition, General Mills supports PinkTogether.com, which collects women's stories about their experience with breast cancer.

Better Homes and Gardens: limited edition cookbook Celebrating the Promise
In October 2007, Better Homes and Gardens will release “Celebrating the Promise,” a new cookbook commemorating Komen for the Cure’s 25th year as a leader in the movement to save lives and end breast cancer forever. The company will make a guaranteed minimum donation of $250,000 in conjunction with the new book, which will feature a 64-page special section dedicated to women’s health, new recipes and anecdotes from celebrity chefs, including Paula Deen and Sara Moulton.

Parent company Meredith Corporation supports breast cancer awareness programs including QuiltPink and ScrapPink, inspirational collection"Words for the Cure," and in November, "Read for the Cure" magazine subscriptions.

HSN: Home Shopping Network supports Komen for the Cure
From October 1 through October 31, 2007, HSN will sell various items to benefit Komen live on the air and on www.hsn.com. The retail sales price and benefit to Komen varies per product, and HSN will make a $250,000 minimum guaranteed donation through this initiative. HSN will also solicit donations from viewers throughout the month of October, and 100% of the funds collected will be donated to Komen. For a complete product listing and more information, visit www.hsn.com, keyword search “pink”.
Payless ShoeSource: Taking Steps to Fight Breast Cancer
"Payless ShoeSource will continue its Taking Steps to Fight Breast Cancer program by selling breast cancer awareness bracelets and limited-edition pink ribbon slippers. One hundred percent of the net profits earned from the sale of the bracelet and $1.30 from the sale of each pair of slippers will be donated to Komen for the Cure with a minimum guaranteed donation of $100,000. The products will be available for purchase in Payless ShoeSource stores nationwide and on www.payless.com beginning September 27 and continuing through February 28, 2008."

Happy shopping!~

myClick

Apparently I'm a little behind the times, but there is a very cool...and very easy...fundraiser benefiting breast cancer awareness. Simply by clicking a free link you can contribute toward the Breast Cancer Site's campaign to offer free mammograms.

Visit the Breast Cancer Site and Click to Give on the big pink button at the top of the page. Every click donates a free mammogram, and during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, if they collect 500 clicks, that's 500 mammograms, their sponsors will donate an additional 150 mammograms! So Click to Give at the Breast Cancer Site...

Your moment to click may save a life.

myFind#2

I read a press release today that FTD.com is donating 10% of sales of their Breast Cancer Awareness floral arrangements now through May, 2008. Only a couple of the arrangements appear to be obviously "breast cancer awareness" themed, and the others are simple pink bouquets.



If you have an occasion coming up, or want to send flowers just because consider FTD.com. Or if you know someone going through breast cancer treat them to one of these special gifts, showing your support of them personally, in addition to the cause. Your purchase will help ensure no one goes through breast cancer alone.

myFind

"Before cancer or a life-threatening illness, we kind of tap dance through life...When we get cancer, the dance changes." --Carolyn, cancer patient quoted in Cancer Talk

One of the first things I remember my parents doing when my mom was diagnosed was research. They hit the Internet, friends, colleagues, coworkers, doctors, books, magazines--anything they could get their hands on to learn more about the journey ahead. I found this book Cancer Talk and peeked in it a bit to see if it was worth recommending here.

While researching the technical aspect of cancer, including treatment options, surgical procedures, recovery, pain medicines, and more, I think finding information for your emotional health is just as important. This book, Cancer Talk, appears to offer a wide range of topics, anecdotes and quotes from people who have experienced cancer, as well as valid information to support research in the medical side. The bi line on the book is Voices of Hope and Endurance from "The Group Room," the World's Largest Cancer Support Group, which says it all...and more. :)

If you have read this book please feel welcome to share your thoughts and impressions with me. Or, if you have other suggestions for positive reading regarding the cancer journey, please share your comments.

As always, thoughts and prayers are with you...

To purchase Cancer Talk through Amazon.com please click one of the links at the right of this blog.

mySupport...of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October

I nearly forgot, but October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I remembered when a very cute update on Yahoo.com's logo caught my attention with a little pink ribbon and cartoon women on either end of the word.

Websites, articles, support groups, newsletters, research, marathons and relays, and more will mark the month of October shedding light on breast cancer awareness. Here are a few interesting websites I found promoting breast cancer awareness in October:

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month website, which also had a shop where you can purchase mass quantities of items to motivate support.

The Breast Cancer Site Store: affordable and cute ways to show your support.

Lee National Denim Day: your office can participate in Denim Day and raise funds for breast cancer research and support.

The Pink Ribbon Shop: selling items for showing off your support of breast cancer awareness. (This site looks great because you can buy individual items, that would make great gifts as well!)

The Promise Shop at Susan G. Komen for the Cure

The BC Mall has cute ideas for fundraising for cancer support, as well as items worth wearing or using to show your personal support.

Have you found any special websites or products that offer support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month? Share your ideas; I'd love to share them. Together, we can promote a better future for breast cancer.

myAwareness

I've noticed that decorative forms of cancer awareness have almost become part of mainstream fashion. Is it a bittersweet reality that supporting cancer research and awareness has become popular? Or is it about time?

However you feel, if you or a loved one are going through cancer, sometimes displaying your support of cancer awareness is the only thing you feel control over. By wearing jewelry or clothing, or decorating your car with magnets and stickers, you make it easy for others to ask about your cause, your cancer story. When we share our stories people going through cancer build hope, offer prayer, and share the burden.

On that note, I found breast cancer support items at a local dollar store. I've also seen beautiful items through Avon, Mary Kay, and even on QVC. Wear your story; you may change the future of cancer.

myDailyDose

"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow." ~Orison Marden

Orison Marden, I learned was an inspirational author from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I was searching for cancer support websites and this quote caught my attention. I may have to research this author more to see if he has anything else worth sharing. :)

Today I wish you peace with your past and motivation to find the answers to your path ahead. Have hope, always. There is never regret in hoping for the best or expecting something better. With hope, there is however, the potential for miracles.

Have you had your daily dose of hope today?

myHarvest

I came upon this scripture today and wanted to share it's encouragement:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ~Galatians 6:9

What harvest are you trying to reap? Do you have faith that there is a harvest for your efforts in good?

I've often noticed that God is more often acknowledged under bad circumstances. Some people turn to Him for support, help, hope, others turn against Him for a lack of understanding His plan. Though He wants us to lean on Him when we are weak, He also needs us to believe He is there when we reap our harvests.

When God presents your harvest remember He is there in good times and in bad. Praise God for the blessings He gives you in answer to your prayer during hard times. Further, do not use your time of struggle to justify discontinued acts of good. Your harvest is promised to be bountiful and rewarding!

myDailyBlessings

About six months before my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer she began a journal in which she wrote down at least 5 things she found good in that day. This proved especially helpful as she pursued surgery and cancer treatments that wore her out and taxed her emotionally. Every day she would write a brief entry in what she called her Grateful Journal.

It's very easy to journal about things that are difficult or challenging, but looking back I am inspired by my mom's Grateful Journal. Instead of reading about all the hard and bad things in her life at that time, I enjoy reading the blessings she counted. Her list of blessings help her remember that there is always something to be thankful for.

Today my mom's blessings remind me to count the good in my life, especially when the bad is easier to see. Try changing your perspective by beginning a Grateful Journal of your own.

Here are my blessings today:

1. My puppy let me sleep in today
2. I took a good walk with my puppy and it wasn't too hot
3. Enjoying blogging as a new outlet and excuse to learn
4. Water is back on! :)
5. It's getting dark earlier and cool at night.

What are your blessings?

A Special Note:

It's hard to commemorate a day in history that many wish never happened, but today, on September 11th, a Tuesday, I honor those military and safety service men and woman who have served and given their life to defend our country to this day. God bless America and those who stand for it.

myFriend

My sister blog, La Donna Benedetta, posted this today and I felt it fit well here too:

There comes days when all I can think about is tomorrow...the future, the what-ifs, the uncertain. I have heard many times not to worry about tomorrow, but it never stuck until last year when several troubling events piled up around the same time.

It is part of human nature to try to plan and prepare for the future. While I believe that some amount of preparedness is healthy and helpful, it can also lead to a lack of faith not only in oneself to handle a situation, but also in God's plan for our tomorrows.

Tonight one of my best friends will be close in heart, prayer and thought as she tries to let tomorrow worry about itself.

~Dear Friend, find comfort in His word:

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." ~Matthew 6:34

myAdvice

After my mom passed away, an older (I say that because he was my parents' age) friend/co-worker I had at the time shared his best piece of comfort and advice. Bill S. said:

The best way to keep a person close after you lose them is to keep their memory alive by carrying on something you admire about them. Then when people compliment you for the action or trait or anything...you can know and share how you learned it.

I often think of this when I miss a loved one. Since her death, I catch myself doing little things, and sometimes bigger things, that she would have done, would have wanted to do, or always did. For instance, she was very open with people about how she loved them. I have shared my appreciation to many of whom I may never have expressed openly to before. Also, my mom would just laugh...people knew her laugh. I hear my mom in my laugh sometimes...and so do others. She loved to see the positive in everyday life, to love her family and the Lord, and enjoy small things like the "V" of flying geese, horses feeding, or a colorful sunset. It is a wonderful feeling to have someone comment on something I did or do and to be able to reply "thanks, my mom used to do that too." :)

I've applied this piece of advice after a few other loved ones passed. From my Grandpa G., I took his kind, "how do you do?" sense about him that made even strangers feel special. I try to remember to smile more often because he loved my smiles...he loved smiling. From my grandmother in-law, Ginger, I admire her tolerance, patience, and forgiveness. She handled life with so much grace and femininity, as well as strength and faith...I am trying to carry these on.

What do you remember and admire about a loved one who you lost? Is it something you can take as your own as a way to honor their life? What will you want for someone someday to admire and remember about you that they might take with them after you are gone?

myCrosses

Today a great friend invited me to a Women's Bible Study Breakfast at her church. The message was on depression and how to recover from the heavy cloud of depression using God's word and truth. The speaker made a point that when you are clouded by depression it is easy to feel like you're the only one with troubles. This is simply paraphrased, but what I took from it is that we all have crosses to bear, which we must find ways in God's strength and plan to carry.

She referenced the book of Job, in which he endured tragedy and basically fell into a depression, feeling that even his own existence was a mistake. In the end, God showed Job how even his small life was part of the beauty that God created in the world. Job was saved because he surrendered to God's plan, and most of all surrendered to the faith that God would take care of him.

Since cancer is so hard to anticipate or control, often I have felt, and have heard others, question about why a person developed cancer. Why them? Why now? Further, since I have known several loved ones to suffer and even die from cancer, all within a short period of time, it is easy to start wondering why I am a part of this suffering.

It's just one of my crosses, I concluded today. I think I've known this a while, having been raised to believe in God's plan, but it was so simply described today. In Him, I can have help carrying this cross and someday, in the clear perspective of heaven, I'll understand why I was woven into so many others' cancer stories.

myStory

MyMom
The day after my 22nd birthday my mom and dad sat me down on our living room couch, my mom on my right and my dad on my left, and told me my mom had Breast Cancer. She would need surgery, a double mastectomy in a month, followed by chemo therapy. I was in shock, concern, and fear. But my parents assured me that the doctors said it looked early enough to treat with success.

One year later we celebrated her "Boob Birthday," as she joked; one year later, two days after my sister's 23rd birthday, my mom called me to let me know that the doctor found "a spot" in her lung. The cancer came back. Six months and a day later my mom died on Christmas Eve, 2002, from metastasized Breast Cancer; she was 50. I miss her every single day.

MyVoice
Since then, I have talked with God at length, trying to find out why this, and other trials I never imagined before the age of 30 were being put on my plate. I have decided that He must have something for me to share and needs me to have the experience so that my words mean more.

Therefore, this blog. I hope to share my own Cancer Story, as well as support, encourage, honor, and learn from other people's Cancer Stories. I know that some people find cancer a difficult topic, but my hope is that together we can become more than cancer survivors, but cancer thrivers.