Category: ADVOCACY

Its #LCAM

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Please excuse the late post! I was truly hoping to have this post up earlier, much earlier infact, but today was one of those crazy days where life goes topsy turvy. Now before I get to that, I wanted to share a few Halloween pictures since this was our first in our new home. After prepaing for a barrage of kiddos, we ended up only getting about 20, so leftovers abound as evidenced by some of the pictures.

These aren’t the droids you are looking for.
Lacey’s costume wearing lasted long enough for pictures.
Barkners in crime…complete with phtttt tongues.
Lacey’s guilty derp face

Okay now back to the crazy day! It was November 1st yesterday marking the beginning of Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Usually I am busy attending or participating in Lung Cancer Canada’s press conference where they present our Faces of Lung Cancer Report that details the current status of lung cancer in Canada, however this year it was held in our Nation’s Capitol, Ottawa. I made the choice to stay home in Toronto as I had a project of my own that I wanted to launch. Since I hadn’t gotten a good sleep the night before (hello 7am sleepy time) I was just getting up, when I got a call to see if I was available to do an interview. Of course I said yes! Anything to help raise awareness!!

So up I got and scrambled to get my self and the house ready incase they came here. Needless to say, I just had enough time to shower and meet with the interviewer. The topic of the interview was the rising incedence of lung cancer in women and lung cancer as a women’s health issue. Now far be it from me to tell the media that they missed the ball on that one (It was one of the main topics of the first Faces of Lung Cancer Report), but I answered as best as I could. It went well and I went home and set the PVR. Here is the link. If I had a wee bit more time, I know I could have avoided all the ums and ahs.

When all was said and done, I got to work on my #LCAM project. Some may or may not have noticed a new menu button on my home page, but one has been added and it links to my new storefront (Hope Happens). If you click it, you will find handmade jewelry made by yours truly. It is symbolic of the hope I have for myself and for others who have been diagnosed. All the jewelry features pearls as pearl is the colour for lung cancer. It is my hope that I can raise $21,000 by next year at this time for the almost 21000 Canadians who will die from this disease in 2016. So please take a look and help me to support research and programs for patients and their families.

AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope is Here!!

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One of the greatest joys since being diagnosed has been volunteering with Lung Cancer Canada as a sitting board member and co-chair of their programs committee. I know too well how overwhelming and isolating it is having cancer and more over lung cancer so being able to connect and learn with others like me is a Godsend. The work LCC does is amazing and I am so proud to be a part of their organization.

For the first time, LCC is hosting a patient summit in conjunction with their annual Toronto Evening of Hope gala, it will be a wonderful opportunity to connect and learn with others with lung cancer.

Please consider attending or sharing this with a loved one.

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If you are free on Novemver 17th or 24th* from 6-9pm consider kicking up your heels with us at our annual Evening of Hope. Tickets are $100 and proceeds go to support our programs. For mor information please go to http://www.lungcancercanada.ca

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Please join us. *this event is in Ottawa Ontario

AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acting on Awareness

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Fall is coming

There’s a crispness to the air that signals Summer’s end. Days are getting shorter and the season of awareness is upon us.

I’m tired of awareness. I mean great, we are aware. So what! I’ve learned that being aware of something doesn’t mean one will act. Now there’s where change happens whether it’s research, funding for research, support locally/provincially or federally for programs, better diagnostics, less invasive procedures, whatever, change takes action!

I think it’s safe to say we are all aware cancer exists, and depending on what day or week or month it is which one or ones we are supposed to be aware of or we’d be living under a rock. But what of it? Are we actually doing something about it? Do we call a local cancer center to volunteer? Do we check on our neighbour who’s I’ll? Do we sacrifice our precious time for a cause that has touched us? Or are we simply aware that something exists?!
Action doesn’t require a lot. We can do in small ways. After all, the only way to eat a cake (mmm cake) is one bite at a time. So why is it that acting is so hard?

Often I think people shy away from action because they think it will take too much time. Or they thing that the problem is too big and that one small act of kindness won’t really make a difference. They are wrong.

How long does it take to say hello? How long does it take cook a meal? How long does it take to check in on a friend?

Oh look you have acted.
Change happens with small acts. Before you know it drops in a bucket turn into floods of action.

Ways you can act*

  • Yard work/house work for friends/neighbors
  • Driving friends/family/neighbors to appointments/to get groceries/whatever
  • Babysitting/ driving kids to school/sports/daycare
  • Volunteering
  • Lobbying for change
  • Donation money/goods/time
  • Being supportive by listening and being a friend

*These don’t have to be cancer related either.

So in this season of awareness, act!

If you really can’t act and want to use your wallet (also good) try to support causes/organizations who use a majority of their funds to actually do what they say. So many big organizations (I won’t mention names) have a great warm and fuzzy cause and are very visible but use a lot of their funds to cover their over head costs which means those they are there to serve don’t see a lot of those donations. Sometimes small causes/organizations can and will do more. Sure you have to look for them but if you really want to make a change sometimes small and grassroots is where to go. You can if you are savvy see where the money goes.

AM

ASCO Overview Day 1 & 2

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IMG_3825Well I made it! By the time I got to my hotel after taking the “L” into the city, I wasn’t able to attend any of the sessions presented on Friday June 3rd, so I did what any keener would do and went to the McCormack Center to pick up my registration package and scope out the place. The place was HUGE!!! Still undaunted I found my way to registration and afterwards went to check out the Advocates lounge. It was here I found some of my tribe.

There is a truly amazing phenomenon that happens when you meet others like you. There is an immediate kinship and bond forged through mutual experience that immediately makes friends out of strangers. Mind you it helps that many of these individuals are my online heroes and I follow them on Twitter, chat, or through their blog. Who ever said you shouldn’t meet your heroes was dead wrong! I was immediately swept into their kindness and invited to dinner. How could I not love these people, when we have both cancer and food in common?!

Exhibition Hall
Lung Session
The ASCO Madness, just you and 40000 friends

Day 2 was in earnest my first day at the conference. As my first time here at ASCO, I can honestly say I was overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of not only the facility, but with the number of participants, presenters and exhibitions. To give you an idea, I walked 10km yesterday and that was only in the McCormack Center. I was most interested in the lung cancer track, for obvious reasons, so it was a busy day. Poster sessions began at 8am and ended at 11, followed by oral sessions at 1 and at 3. In between, the advocacy lounge generously provided lunch. Because ASCO is so huge, many sessions overlapped and besides being in two places at once, I decided to view some of the sessions at a later time (thank goodness all sessions are recorded). At 5, I attended Lucy Kalnithi’s “book club” session where she discussed her late husband Paul’s book When Breath Becomes Air. It was a beautiful insight into their lives as patient/supporter and as clinicians. From there, I ran up to the official ASCO Tweet-up where I got to meet a few more individuals I know from the web. All in all, it was an eventful and full day at the conference.

Before falling into bed, I looked over all the handouts I had collected and planned my day for tomorrow.