National Wear Teal Day 2013

 

Friday, September 6, 2013

 

Teal is the color of ovarian cancer awareness. On the first Friday in September, we ask you to wear teal to show your support for women whose lives have been touched by this deadly disease. Taking part is easy! RSVP on the "Wear Teal Day 2013" Facebook page to pledge that you will wear teal for ovarian cancer. On September 6, don your best teal, take a photo, and post in on your favorite social media sites using the hashtag #WearTeal. Help us spread the word by sharing this event with your Facebook friends. We'll compile your best teal photos and share them throughout the month of September, which is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Learn more about ovarian cancer at http://www.ovariancancer.org/

New year = New Challenges

I have been thinking for a while about doing a triathlon.  If you know me it will not surprise you that I signed up for 2.  LOL.  Why do anything just once.  Dive right in and go for it.  I have my first sprint tri on Sept. 29th.  It is a women's triathlon for the local YMCA.  A sprint tri is a 300 meter swim (in a pool), 10 mile bike ride and 3.2 mile run.  I think I got this.  I am not going for "good" or "fast" just finish!

The second triathlon is just a week later and it is an Olympic Distance Triathlon.  This is a bit more, um, crazy.  It s 40 total miles; .9 mile swim (open water), 32 mile bike and 6.5 mile run.  This race supports the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.  Basically Ulman Fund is a special fund to help people who are in their teens, twenties and thirties to fight cancer. 

If you are able, I would love it if you could support me in this.  I love swimming, biking and running for something.  It keeps me honest and accountable to my own health.  Here is the link to my fundraising page: http://halffulltriathlon.com/donations/?kwoAdvocateId=72OSHP2  I'll also have the donation form on this page on the sidebar and in the advocacy section of this blog.  Thank you!

Score for Humanity

The supreme court today announced that you cannot by law patent DNA!  Well color me happy!  We are well on our way to making the BRCA genetic mutation test available to everyone!

Score one for humanity, Myriad= 0

Read all about it here: Court says human genes cannot be patented

New Challenges

To this point, I have felt very pleased with my decision regarding my surgery and I have been extremely open about it.  However, I find myself in a new challenging position.  In this situation, I feel embarrassed, uncomfortable and modest. 

The locker room.  I am now coaching swimming at the local YMCA and with that employment, I get a family membership.  I decided Friday that I was going to take a mid-day class and shower there to be ready for a formal celebration afterwards.  Everything was all fine and dandy until I had to shower in a large room with a bunch of naked women.  As a former swimmer, this would not phase me in the least; until now.  Sans areolas (funny, spell check doesn't recognize this as a word), I clearly look different.  I get noticeable stares.  I find myself rushing and covering and cowering to hide my scars.  I find myself embarrassed.  Not ashamed, but definitely uncomfortable and not open to discussing my surgery with strangers while naked. 

For the first time in 2 year, the 2 years since my surgery, this situation has me baffled.  How do you deal with this?  The obvious answer is getting nipple tattoos.  But I don't want that.  I want a mastectomy tattoo, and I have one scheduled, but in the meantime.  How would you feel if you saw someone without nipples in a locker room?

Money Talks; Cancer Research Suffers

Susan G. Komen announced today that they are cutting the 3-Day Walk event in seven cities!  7 Cities!  That's nearly a million dollars worth of money to cancer research and countless amounts of awareness lost.

This article relates the decline in participation and lack of fundraising potentially to the controversy last year with SGK and Planned Parenthood: Komen breast cancer charity cancels walks in seven U.S. cities

I urge anyone reading this blog, or others, to put aside political opinions, religious "laws" and personal reactions to SGK and Planned Parenthood to see the "real" loser in this battle.  The real loser is cancer patients and survivors.  People are reluctant to donate to SGK and SGK events because SGK supports Planned Parenthood and on the other side are reluctant to support SGK because they broke partnership with Planned Parenthood.  It's a lose lose for SGK.  But again, who is the real loser?  All the women that SGK supports and touches with their power, reach and funding. 

As a former 3-Day walk participant, 3 times over, and raising nearly $10,000 single handedly, I can say that I have done my research.  SGK gives around 80% of funds raised to research and advocacy.  80%!  They aren't paying secretaries, or breaking even on event costs.  They are putting money where it needs to be. 

I urge you to find other ways to express your political/religious opinions that doesn't include punishing cancer patients and women.  I know that is a lot to ask.  I hate to say it, but not funding programs from SGK because of Planned Parenthood (whether for or against) is misguided.  It's not having the intended impact desired, and instead is harming women across the country and the world.  Think about it.  Cancer doesn't discriminate.  It strikes all races, religions, political party members and genders alike.  Fighting cancer with politics and religion is ineffective.  Cancer, I assure you, doesn't care. 

Memorial Day

My Yiayia (Greek for Gandmother) used to tell me that she visited my Pappoús (Greek for Grandfather) every Memorial Day.  He was a WWII vet who was given a letter of commendation for saving his captain's life.  He died shortly after I was born, so I don't know him, but everyone just loved him. They said he was funny and kind. 

For the last four years, my Yiayia and my mother are barried next to my Pappoús.  So visiting this Memorial Day was an emotional ball.  I hate driving there, but I love being there.  It's like writing an e-mail or text.  You can't see the other side of the conversation, but you know they are there; if that makes sense.  I just feel whole, like a family again.

My aunt plants flowers every Memorial Day around the family headstone.  This year my children and their cousins (my brother's children) were there to help.  I remember planting flowers every spring with my mother.  I remember my grandmother's affinity to the rose bushes we had on the side of our house.  She was come in bloody from the thorns, but she loved to prune and trim and clip bouquets. 

It was a nice few hours to spend with everyone talking and laughing and just being together again.

Relay for Life 2013- Luminarias

These brave women who lost their fights with cancer paved a path for me and others to become empowered to make better choices and gain knowledge of our own risks.  These involuntary martyrs saved so many lives.