LIVESTRONG Blog

Obama’s Commitment to Seek a Cure for Cancer Mary Harney, Ireland’s Minister for Health, shows her support for the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit Posted: 25 Feb 2009 08:50 AM PST Last night was a monumental night for our country, LIVESTRONG and the 12 million cancer survivors living in the United States. President Obama made a commitment in his first address to Congress to seek a cure for cancer in our lifetime. Congratulations to all of you. From our grassroots advocates to our non-profit partners to our for-profit friends – we owe you all a huge debt of gratitude. Your efforts have made a historic impact in the fight against cancer. There is much work still to do. We must make sure that the new administration and Congress follow through with this commitment. Celebrate this moment and thank you for your hard work that made this possible.

Our New Irish Friends and the Global Fight Against Cancer Posted: 25 Feb 2009 08:00 AM PST This year alone, nearly 8 million people will die of cancer worldwide. Cancer is projected to become the leading cause of death worldwide in the year 2010. It is because of these sobering statistics that the Lance Armstrong Foundation has announced the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit in Ireland. Ireland, a country of just over 4 million people, is projected to have more that 40,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed by 2020. The leaders of the cancer movement in Ireland include the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Ministery for Health. Irish Cancer Society CEO John McCormack said, “We can and must act to reduce the rate of preventable cancer and this summit gives us the opportunity to increase cancer awareness and take actions which will save lives.” Our very own Chief of Staff, Morgan Binswanger, visited the Emerald Isle recently to discuss the details of the upcoming summit. He describes our partners as “remarkably warm and friendly, the Irish have been helping lead in taking progressive steps forward on cancer control especially in anti-tobacco over the last five years. We are eager to work with other organizations in country, like the Irish Cancer Society to support continuing advances on the Isle. The Irish are very serious about new prevention measures and getting good information to everyone. There is great enthusiasm for the Summit, Lance racing here and LIVESTRONG.” We are looking forward to working more with our Irish friends and our other global partners to secure solid commitments in the fight against cancer.

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I just realized I have never talked about my life’s biggest mission, the Prayer Quilt (c). I hold the copyright on this item. [ I came up with the idea from a dream. I believe that God sent me this dream and this project, which I have carried out for eleven years. It has been adopted by the NC Baptist Convention as a ministry.]

The “A Promise to Pray” Story

My good friend Libby was diagnosed with lung cancer. We knew it was very serious and I wanted to do something very special for Libby, to let her know how much she meant to me. Although Libby was a wonderful person, an RN–certainly a caring profession–and the mother of two great kids, and a wife, she was not a Christian.

I live in NC, Libby in Marietta, Georgia. I was going down to visit for the first time since her diagnosis. I was stressed because I had nothing important to take her as a symbol of our friendship over many years. I went to bed one evening but was up again very early, sewing. I was making a special quilt, one that could be signed by all Libby’s friends and family, letting her know how much we cared for her and her current sitution.

We all wrote that we were praying for Libby, which was true. We knew prayer was going to be her strength and ours. Truly I thought the quilt was a good idea, but never could I have imagined how much it meant to Libby and all of us that loved Libby. From the prayers coming as a result of this Promise to Pray, Libby became a Christian, as did her husband, Blake. The quilt did sustain Libby, to be able to see and feel the love we had for her was a huge help as she endured 20 months of treatment for lung cancer.

Libby lived and loved her A Promise to Pray quilt and was buried with it too. It brings me great joy to say Libby’s quilt started a movement. Many people asked me to make a quilt for someone they loved,  whether it was cancer, divorce, burns, premature infant, almost everyone has a need for prayers. I started a company Quilts R Love to produce these quilts and they are sold through Maddox Oncology Products, Inc. Just type Prayer Quilt into google and see how many hits you get. So many support groups have adopted the idea.

The only thing I ask is that the groups not make money from the sale of the quilt. Give them or sell them for the cost of materials if you cannot get donations. (Should you have quilting material to donate, please share it with us)  More than that, consider honoring a loved one with A Promise to Pray Prayer Quilt. It is the most important thing you can do for those you love when they are going through a difficult time–offer them emotional support.

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The following is by a dear friend, Diana, whom I met at the LAF Summit in July 2008.

Hello Everyone !!!

I am fortunate to be with a team of doctors who believe it takes a body, mind, spirit approach and all the love & support truly does make a difference.

Evidently, the tumor looked like a mushroom and after they removed it, they implanted 17 radiation seeds.  I had a few nickle size plates, mesh and screws put in & they left a tiny hole. I guess I can let off steam that way now.  I woke up from surgery feeling so refreshed and happy and more clearheaded (even with all the drugs) that I knew it was a success. evidently, they think so, too. After 2 days they had to let me go home.

I am part of an International study and evidently the dramatic overnight mental change has astounded them. I have not been able to process my thoughts into spoken or written words the way I once was & it was very frustrating, debilitating & demeaning for me. My daughters say I had begun to talk gibberish; my doctors termed it incoherent. The doctors themselves are so totally amazed of my change & how I just got off the table and have been going since.  I am grateful to be given a new lease on life.

I am not all bruised and beat up looking, he says, and my mind can catch up processing, I am to be one of their Stories Of Hope and will work with them to reach others, just as I do for the LiveStrong Fnd. They are in the planning stages of a post-operative wing that will incorporate the body, mind, spirit in order to help the patient recover better and faster. The doctors are proud that they have been recently recognized as to be ranked internationally for the outstanding work that they do. And, everyone sincerely cares who works there. Isn’t that novel?

So, once again, I thank you all.

Diana

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I loved this book!!! Read it in less than 24 hours because it was so interesting. It is the story of a teenager dealing with bone cancer, and is written by many people in Alex’s life and therefore has various perspectives on her diagnosis and treatment. I left a complete review of the book on Barnes & Noble, “Wonderful Parents”.

Although Alex does not ultimately beat her cancer, it is not a sad story. It shows how well she coped with each hurdle, how wonderfully her family supported her, all the lives she touched, and all the things that continue to happen due to Alex. For instance, a very large group ride bikes in a Make a Wish fundraiser each year–Alex’s Team. Her wheelchair ended up in Ghana with a man that had polio as a child and now helps find used wheelchairs and walkers for others.

Alex was granted a wish by the Make a Wish Foundation, and it was to make a public service announcement about kids with cancer. She and several other kids with cancer are in it.  You can go to the website www.alexswish.com to see the public service announcement and learn much more about the book and Alex. The proceeds from the sale of this book support The Make a Wish Foundation.

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Saturday I will participate in the second Free to Breathe fundraiser for lung cancer. Actually I will be working behind the scenes, but in spirit I will be walking/running. I am dedicating this effort to my dear friend Libby Traylor, who lost her battle with lung cancer several years ago. She was the kind of person the world needed more of and longer of it. She did not have a mean bone in her body. If anything, she was too kind.

Lung cancer has to be stopped. The only way I know is to increase funding for medical research. While the federal government has not increased funding, two states have increased cancer funding–NC and Texas.  NC has pledged 50M per year and Texas 3Billion over five years.  I would like to challenge the other 48 states to step up and be counted. If it is to be, it’s up to me!

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Friday was our quarterly Cancer Control meeting. This is a group appointed by the legislature in NC to advise on cancer issues. Our main presentation was on lung cancer. Surprisingly, about 25-30% of lung cancer is in non-smokers. One of our speakers was a 22-year old lung cancer survivor that had never smoked a single cigarette! She was a lovely young girl and hopefully she will be one of the lucky ones.The speakers talked about how often we ignore fund raising for lung cancer–even though it is the #1 cancer killer of men and women–because we feel they brought it on themselves by smoking.

I once read an article by Ray Charles, the wonderfully talented blind musician. He talked about being addicted to many things during his life. Heroine, alcohol, and cigarettes. Hands down, he said, cigarettes was the hardest to kick and the pull lasted the longest time. He spoke of going years without smoking, just to be “compelled” to smoke just one, years later. We all know where that leads…

Personally I have a problem with chocolate. If it is in my house, it is in my mouth. The stores are full and it is always waiting to ensnare you when you are waiting in line. You never have to search for chocolate. If you have half a yearning, it will be in your buggy before you leave the store. Cigarettes are similarly placed to play into our weak moments.

For me, cigarettes and other tobacco products being for sale in drug stores is just plain wrong. How can they call themselves a health care facility and sell the most deadly item in our society? If we made it just a bit more difficult for cigarette “addicts” to find their fix, would it save lives?

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Sandy,

I am soooo sorry to hear of this tragic turn of events. Of course I will be praying.

I suggest we all work very hard to insist on increased funding for cancer research from our government and also to all raise money. Money/research is the only way we can stop this mass slaughter of our population. 1500 people die every day from cancer, just in the US. Worldwide? But we have to do it now so that there won’t be any more Kristis.

Many hugs,
Suzan

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Friends,

I just received the following message and would ask you to please pray for Kristi and her entire family and network of friends.   Prayer does make a difference!

Suzan

———–

Hello everyone,

It is with a heavy heart that I ask you for prayer for a friend from church whose name is Kristi Walker.  She is 29 years old and has two little boys, Cade and Mason, ages 2 and 4.  She was expecting another baby boy in a few weeks and was on bedrest for the past few weeks or so due to severe joint and back pain.   Last Friday 10/17, they admitted her and the doctors determined quickly that she needed an emergency C section putting the baby about a month early.  The baby, Zane, does have a problem with one of his  kidneys and will need a surgery at some point in the future but otherwise is doing well.   They had known about the kidney issue before his birth.  The reason for the emergency C-section was that Kristi’s health was in danger as she had a high heart rate, liver issues and low platelets.  They thought that this was a result of a syndrome and having the baby would be the cure.  When these issues were not resolved after the C section, she was transferred to ICU (still had not seen the baby yet as they didn’t want the baby going into ICU area due to RSV risks) and spent a couple of nights there.  Then, on Sunday, when her liver enzymes were still up and her platelets were still low after having transfusions, they decided to transfer her to UNC (she was at Wake Med- Cary) by ambulance to be evaluated by some specialists there.  The baby stayed at Western Wake and was released to go home with Kristi’s parents on Monday.  They ran numerous tests and by Wednesday a team of doctors came in to tell her that she has Stage 4 cancer in the bones, primarily spine and hip, and the liver.  She also has a hematoma between the small and large intestines.  They transferred her to the Cancer Ward at UNC and she was to start chemotherapy this weekend.  They recently determined that the origin of the cancer was breast cancer which had metastasized to the bones and liver.
Please pray for a miracle for Kristi and also for strength for her and her husband, Chuck, as you can imagine how difficult this situation is for them.  Kristi’s parents are caring for the new baby and her boys while trying to be with Kristi at UNC as much as possible.  If your church has a prayer list and you wouldn’t mind to add this young mom to that list, that would be greatly appreciated. Kristi is a very vibrant young woman with great enthusiasm and zeal for life. So we know, with the Lord as her strength, she will fight this as hard as she can against the odds stacked very high against her.   Chuck sent a message to our Sunday School class that there is hope, and we are holding onto that hope right now.  Your prayers are greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much,
Sandy

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