So, remember last year, when I went Pink for October? You can click the box below for more info on Pink for October.
Well, I was visiting aquababie again, & remembered it’s that time again. But I’ve already been pink for the last 2 months now, so I’m just gonna change my linkage colors to pink-friendly shades.
Well, I know I’m supposed to post on the OSU commencement ceremony that I went to, but there are no words to really describe it. I may post in detail about it (most likely) in a couple of weeks when it all sinks in. It was such an exciting day. Our fam’s “best girl” graduated & it was just very, very exciting.
We got there hours in advance so that we would get good seats. There were 7 of us, & we ended up in 5th row seats to see Bill Clinton speak. We would’ve been closer if there weren’t as many of us. But it was just perfect. I can’t tell you how awesome it was to see former Prez. Clinton speak. He’s just an amazing man. You can actually see the entire commencement ceremony streaming online (isn’t the internet GREAT!). You can fast forward to his speech, or watch the whole sha-bang. Whatev. No pressure. I will post on the ceremony itself & Clinton in the coming weeks, I promise.
We were in the sun for about 7 hours & I ended up sunburnt (along with my dad). I had put on sunscreen, but my nose sweats, & so the sunscreen on my nosey-nose sweated off, & now I look kinda like Rudolph. The tops of my cheeks are a lil pink too. Mr. T has been teasing me about it since he saw me Sunday night, but it’s all good.
So, I’m gonna leave you with a real conversation b/t me & my pops:
me: Pappa, here, put on some sunscreen before we go. We have to leave now. C’mon.
my dad: What?! No, we’re Indian. Indian ppl don’t need to wear that stuff, we don’t get sunburnt. You guys are such drama queens. [he does love calling us drama queens; I think he got that from my mom]
me: No, I’m serious. Do you want to get skin cancer? HUH? Is that what you want!?
my dad: Whatever. [he got that from me]
my sister: No, dad, she’s serious. We may not get sunburned in the traditional sense, or as much b/c we have more melanin. But we should still be careful.
my dad: Whatever. [again]
Fast forward about 8 hours, we come back to my sister’s apt. My nose is bright red & burnt, my cheeks are just slightly so. My DAD, on the other hand, is really burnt. Like, to a crisp. No, I’m not exaggerating. Do you think he’ll wear sunscreen next time? Eh.
UPDATE: Oh, & I forgot to mention that I “called-in sunburned” on Monday b/c of this. It’s just like calling-in sick; only you’re sunburnt instead.
Ok, this is going to be a serious post. Cancer is this huge growing monster that seems to want to do whatever it wants. You hope & pray & follow whatever you’re supposed to do, but in the end, it does whatever it wants. I know it’s affected each & everyone of us; unfortunately by attaching itself to someone we love.
So, w/ all that in mind, I’m offering up linkage to refer to if you need questions answered, or just various information.
First up, is the button I’ve attached to my sidebar. It will take you to a place on the website of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). The button takes you to info for donating cord blood if you’re pregnant. I thought this was important b/c I know so many pregnant women who say that they were never told of this as an option.
If someone is diagnosed w/ leukemia, then a bone marrow or cord blood transplant would be a likely option for treatment. It’s the NMDP registry that they check for a potential match to save that person’s life. If you’re not pregnant, you can still sign up to join the NMDP registry as a potential donor.
In the days that I joined, it was $25 (tax-deductible; waived for minorities) & you gave 8 mL of yo blood to tissue-type. (It’s not blood type, it’s tissue-typing to find a match). Now-a-days, there’s no blood involved; they give you a swab, & you swab the inside of your mouth, put the swabs in an envelope & give it back. You can also contact your local NMDP donor center for more info. Once you join, you’re in it for life; which I think is a super-cool thing. That means that I do this one lil thing once, & I can live the rest of my life knowing that if there is anyone out there that I can help, the NMDP will contact me to let me know. Of course, you can also update your current contact info w/ the NMDP online, once you’re in the registry. As far as I know this happens to just be a US thing.
The NMDP site has plenty of info for those diagnosed, those just supporting, and for physicians. It’s a great resource site, & I’ve learned so much from it.
The button on my sidebar (also above left) specifically takes you to the section on their site where they mention cord blood donation. If you know anyone who’s expecting a baby, please email them that link. PLEASE. Seriously, it could save a life if you do so.
Cord blood donation is:
-completely safe (umbilical cord & placenta is typically discarded after birth; cord blood is collected after the baby is born)
-free
-confidential
-painless (bone marrow donors go through local anesthesia)
-easier to match (cord blood from an unrelated donor doesn’t require the precise tissue-type matching of bone marrow transplants; & rejection of placental cells is less severe).
Of course, the button on the bottom of my sidebar (to the left of this paragraph) is for the American Cancer Society (ACS). There, you can find info on Relay for Life and guides to quit smoking. There’s a cancer survivors network, stories of hope, info on early detection, and statistics. It’s also got the most awesome site for the Great American Smokeout. You can be an advocate, donate your time, participate in events that they have. We all want change to happen, but it’s necessary for us to be active in making it occur. We all need to do something.
You may also want to check out this link to the National Cancer Institute. This is an informative US governmental site that has comprehensive information on cancer. You can get info on any cancer, A-Z, here. Seriously, any question about cancer the disease itself, you can prob find an answer to here. The site is very clinical, but thorough & informative.
For more information on Blood Cancers, you can go to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The have a ton of info on treatments & clinical trials. They also have a live chat thingie, so you can chat online with someone about your questions or concerns. It seems to be a site that offers a lot of support. They have a question & answer section, discussion boards, & informational materials.
Lastly, here’s the link to the Pink for October ppl. As you may recall, I didn’t like any of the buttons they had, so I used their design elements & created one from what they had to offer. I guess over 1500 sites went pink last month; sites by men & women everywhere. I thought that was quite impressive & am linking it so that anyone who wants more info on them can go to the site. It really doesn’t have any real info on cancer itself; but I have read a couple of posts by survivors through the site.
One day, I hope to delete this post entirely, as there will come a day when there is no need for it.
If you actually read this far down, I know you’re deeply touched & you have known the sorrow & seen the bravery of someone of someone suffering from this horrible monster. I’ll take this moment to say that my cousin is running a half-marathon on December 3, 2006 for our nephew who’s amazing life was cut short at the age of 7. Next week, it will have been 1 year since he has passed. She is collecting donations (checks made out to: “The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society”) to raise funds for the research & great things they do. If you’d like to contribute, please send me an email (yllwdaisies [at] gmail.com), & I will get the mailing info for the check & details to you.
If anyone has any other links you think I should add, please just leave it in the comments, & I’ll update the post w/ the new linkage. Also, all pics are hyperlinked to the corresponding site.
So, I saw this over at aquababie’s site. And I want in on this too. Spread the word, y’all. I think it’d be really cool if every single site we all went to for the whole month of October was PINK!!!
Click on the pic to link to the “Pink for October” site. WOW! Say that 5 times fast!
Also, I created my own button using the image & font type from their site so to keep the integrity & consitency of their design elements. I’m so proud of myself.
I’ve posted it at the top of my sidebar. If you like the button I put together & want it for your blog’s sidebar, I’d be happy to email the code so that you can copy/paste it into your template. Just trying to spread the love. And awareness. Peace out, yo.
This is fantabulous news! If there’s a new method that would keep the commie-conservatives all happy-like, then there’s no longer a reason to block all the cha-ching-age!
If you don’t want to read the article, it’s about how the super-smart, good-guy biologists have figured out a way to get isolate & get a stem cell at only 2 days! Thereby keeping all the other healthy cells (actually called blastomeres, at this stage) so that the embryo doesn’t die. Before they couldn’t extract until later on, when there were 150 stem cells present, & so the embryo became a dead-bryo.
What this means to me is that we may have a cure to cancer in my lifetime! Yes, I’m a “glass half full” type of a gal. Don’t try to burst my bubbly.
Bring on the research grants. Ain’t no one vetoing this; there’s no longer a reason to.
Related articles:
NY Times | BBC News | UK’s Daily Mail | Reuters
or, “He will not be silenced”.
I don’t want to start something, or talk about something, & then just drop it. So, I just wanted to write out a quick note to y’all that Pavarotti has finally been able to return home. Well, I really shouldn’t say ‘finally’ like that; it’s not like he’s been in the hospital forever. I do know that even 4 days in the hospital seems like forever when all you want is to go home. But I also know that many cancer patients spend months & months in the hospital. And we all know that you can’t
really rest there. There’s always someone who needs to check your vitals or take blood or something. Not that there’s anything wrong w/ that. Most nurses & doctors are just very caring individuals; you have to be to go into a field like that.
Anyway, I just wanted to update you ppls on Pavarotti’s condition. He’s home & says that he’s planning on finishing up his farewell tour next year.
The photo I’ve posted is from the Student Championship in Modena (1954). Betcha didn’t know that our boy Luciano used to be a fabulous football playa (um, football-soccer, not American football). He chose to pursue a career in opera, for which we are all grateful, but know that he has many talents.
Luciano Pavarotti had surgery for pancreatic cancer this past week in an undisclosed hospital in NY. I just read the story about it, & it seems like they were able to remove the entire mass. They say he’s recovering well.
Here’s the thing about pancreatic cancer. It’s the most lethal. Most patients die w/in a year, & less than 4% make it a full 5 years. FOUR PERCENT!! That’s really scary.
It seems like a death sentence. Like you’re just waiting for the clock to stop ticking, cause you know the odds are against you. I really feel for him & his fam (he’s got 4 kids). I wish him the best; & anyone dealing w/ cancer the best as well.
Sweet Sunshower 
