Choose to Laugh Blog

Laughter Is the Breast Medicine

This note is posted courtesy of Daily Candy, New York Edition, Sep. 26, 2006.  Actually, we haven't really asked for permission, but sometimes its easier to beg for forgiveness.  Hopefully, they won't mind because the relevance is fantastic.  Enjoy and congrats to Marisa Acocella Marchetto in her battle and her eagerness to spread the laughter, love and hope.

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From: http://www.dailycandy.com/article.jsp?ArticleId=27243&city=1

Let’s say you live the fabulous only in New York (and the movies) version of life, publishing cartoons in The New Yorker.

And let’s say that after years of being single, you’re about to marry an adoring Italian who happens to be the city’s It restaurateur.

And let’s say that three weeks before your wedding, you’re diagnosed with breast cancer.

What do you do?

If you’re Marisa Acocella Marchetto, you do what you’re best at and create a gorgeous, hilarious graphic memoir about getting sick, getting mad, getting married, and kicking cancer’s ass.

Cancer Vixen documents Marchetto’s adventures in chemo, kabbalah, and recovery, which she does with the help of her fiancé, several BFFs, and her magnificently bossy diva mom.

This is no gloomy autobiography. Marchetto is witty, self-aware, and totally free of self-pity. Though Cancer Vixen has its tear-jerking moments, more often than not it’ll have you crying with laughter.

And for every copy sold, Marchetto will donate a percentage of her royalties to provide care for underprivileged women at the Comprehensive Cancer Center, affiliated with Saint Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan, and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Because when it comes to healthy breasts, there’s nothing like good support.

Available online at amazon.com.  Thanks for the forward laurenbn.

How can we make curing cancer a global priority? By Cindy Crawford

How can we make curing cancer a global priority? By Cindy Crawford**

When I was ten years old, my younger brother Jeff died of leukemia.

Cancer kills 7 million people worldwide each year. Yet it is a treatable disease that—in time—is beatable. However, in today’s troubled global environment, valuable resources that would otherwise go to cancer research are frequently re-directed by the crisis du jour.

What can we, as individuals and as a global community, do to focus & mobilize our governments to find the cures that will make cancer a fear of the past?

Click here to watch a video of Cindy explaining more you can do to help:

Connect with others on this issue on Yahoo! Groups:

(** Thank you to Yahoo Answers for giving Cindy Crawford the time and space to address this issue in the Yahoo Answers format)

More of Cindy Crawford's Q&A
Courtesy of Yahoo Answers

I grew up in the midwest, learning a lot about life in my early years. My brother Jeff died of leukemia when he was only 4, and I was 10. By the time I was a teenager, my mother was raising my sisters and me as a single mom. Part of my values stem from the fact that I learned early on life can be difficult, and how important family is. I also learned the value of hard work, which I brought with me to my modeling. I worked hard and fortunately “made it”.

As a business woman, I’m very involved in both the creation and marketing of fashion, beauty & health/fitness products. I try to give back by supporting charities like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Their work is making a real difference in the fight against cancer, a fight that I’m strongly committed to—not only because I lost my brother, but because that kind of loss is devastating so many people today. It’s a fight we can win & I want to do whatever I can to make that happen. Learn more at http://www.lightthenight.org/

Introducing "wideawake"

Inspired by a friend's cancer diagnosis and the LIVESTRONG campaign, Scott Leger of wideawake wrote Maybe Tonight, Maybe Tomorrow to honor cancer survivors across the world.

"Maybe Tonight, Maybe Tomorrow is dedicated to the millions of people affected by cancer. Those who we've lost and those who survive, fight, volunteer, support, research, raise awareness, give and inspire."

The song debuted on May 19 at the LIVESTRONG Gala and is now available through iTunes.  100% of the proceeds from the sales of this song benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Click here to download "maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow" from iTunes.

Wideawake is an award-winning band from Austin, Texas that brings to it fans a blend of rock and pop music infused with high-energy sound and emotional, honest lyrics. Wideawake has won "Best Pop Band" for three years running at the Austin Music Awards (2004, 2005 & 2006). Additionally, at last years SXSW Music Festival, the band won "Best Rock Band", "Best Songwriting", and "Best Male Vocalist."

Wednesday, May 17, is LIVESTRONG Day!

On Wednesday May 17th, The Lance Armstrong Foundation will lead a group of advocates from each state to raise awareness on Capitol Hill about the issues faced by the 10 million Americans affected by cancer.

Volunteers across the country will also host LIVESTRONG Day activities in their local communities in support of people affected by cancer.

Wherever you are, you can make a difference in the fight against cancer. Here are several ways to participate on LIVESTRONG Day:

1. Wear yellow and encourage your family, friends, neighbors and colleagues to do the same. Official LIVESTRONG clothing and merchandise may be purchased online in the LIVESTRONG Store.
2. Participate in a LIVESTRONG Day event or activity near you.
3. Send an e-card to your family, friends, neighbors or colleagues and encourage them to join the team in the fight against cancer.
4. Take part in a virtual LIVESTRONG Day activity - Blog Against Cancer.
5. Send a message to your members of Congress and encourage them to make cancer a national priority.

Together, we can affect positive change in the fight against cancer. 

- Your Friends at Choose to Laugh

Many Cancer Survivors Stop Mammographies

More than a third of breast cancer survivors gradually stop getting annual mammographies, according to a new study.   The results may indicate women grow complacent about medical screening once they get past the medical scare, said the study's lead author, Dr. Chyke Doubeni of the University of Massachusetts.  Others said it's more likely survivors avoid screenings because they dread a recurrence of the cancer and additional treatment.

"They're fearful something's going to be found," said Dr. Kathryn Edmiston, a Worcester, Mass., oncologist who specializes in breast cancer patients.  The reality is that 2.3 million U.S. women that have been treated for breast cancer, and they are considered to be at three times the risk for tumors in the other, unaffected breast than women with no such medical history.

The facts are what they are, but these findings are disconcerting.  If a recurrence is detected, survival rates will often depend on how soon the patient seeks medical attention.  As we are trying to help the world realize -- survival can depend not on if you see a doctor but rather when.  How do you minimize "the fear" that is preventing patients from being proactive about their health?  It is not easy, but recognizing that you are not alone and that 10 million other Americans are dealing with this, and surviving, will help.  Survivors must be proactive -- make your scheduled follow-up appointments, be self-aware of your symptoms and your condition.  Be courageous.  If you are fearful, fight hard to be stong... you can be the change we want to see in others...

Educate yourself:

For more information on breast cancer please visit:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast

To connect with millions of other cancer survivors please visit:
The Lance Armstrong Foundation

To share your story with others please visit:
http://shareyourstory.livestrong.org - "Share your story, unity is strength"

Nanoparticles May Be Future of Cancer Care

Extremely small, custom-designed nanoparticles show promise in improving cancer diagnosis and treatment, researchers report.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina said the nanoparticles may enable a more targeted and effective delivery of anticancer drugs than current treatments and have the potential to reduce side effects associated with chemotherapy. The nanoparticles are designed at the molecular level to attack specific kinds of cancer without harming healthy cells.

"I think this will transform the way one detects and treats cancer," study leader Joseph DeSimone, UNC chemistry professor and director of the school's Institute for Advanced Materials, Nanoscience and Technology, said in a prepared statement.

The new custom nanoparticles are the most uniform, shape-specific drug delivery particles developed to date, the researchers said. In cell studies, they were able to attach to specific cell targets, release chemotherapy drugs inside cells, and also hold MRI contrast agents.

Nanotechnology and nanoparticles continue to be an evolving area of opportunity in cancer care.  Nanotechnology deals with the creation and use of materials or devices at the level of molecules and atoms that are 1/1000th the width of a human hair--too small to be seen with a conventional laboratory microscope. 

(Click the picture below to see a mite next to a gear set produced using MEMS,the precursor to nanotechnology.  NUTS MAN!!!)

Nanotechnology is changing the way materials and devices will be made in the future. With the ability to build products and devices atom-by-atom and molecule-by-molecule, according to the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)--a federal research and development program--scientists will create new classes of structural materials that are expected to bring about lighter, stronger, smarter, cheaper, cleaner, and more precise products.

To learn more about nanotechnology visit: National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) or Wikipedia's Nanotechnology Page.

Sheryl Crow Has Surgery for Breast Cancer

"Approximately one in seven American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime and more than 2 million Americans are living with breast cancer today," Crow said. "I am joining the more than 200,000 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year."   

Crow underwent "minimally invasive" surgery and said she will be undergoing radiation treatment as a precaution. She said she benefited from early detection, and urged other women to have themselves checked.

"More than 10 million Americans are living with cancer, and they demonstrate the ever-increasing possibility of living beyond cancer," Crow said. "I am inspired by the brave women who have faced this battle before me and grateful for the support of family and friends."

In our opinion, Sheryl Crow is the face of the new cancer survivor.  Inspired by the strength of those who came before her and proactive about her medical prognosis and raising awareness.  Sheryl we wish you the best of health and speedy recovery. 

On her Web site she urged people with questions about cancer to contact the LIVESTRONG Survivor Care group that her former fiance Lance Armstrong founded.

Cancer Deaths Fall, Ending 70-Year Trend

The war on cancer may have reached a dramatic turning point: For the first time in more than 70 years, annual cancer deaths in the United States have fallen.  The number of cancer deaths dropped to 556,902 in 2003, down from 557,271 the year before, according to a recently completed review of U.S. death certificates by the National Center for Health Statistics.

It's the first annual decrease in total cancer deaths since 1930, when nationwide data began to be compiled.  Experts are attributing the success to declines in smoking, and the earlier detection and more effective treatment of tumors. Death rates have fallen for lung, breast, prostate and colorectal cancer, according American Cancer Society officials, who analyzed the federal death data.

We wonder are the number of cancer diagnoses and cases also declining?  If not, this would mean more survivors - placing greater emphasis on cancer survivorship programs like Choose to Laugh, the Wellness Community, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and things like the Laugh Library.  Thoughts?

Goodbye to a Legend

"I had some great things and I had some bad things. The best and the worst...In other words, I had a life." - Richard Pryor.

Pathbreaking Comedian Richard Pryor whose profanely personal insights into race relations and modern life made him one of Hollywood's biggest black stars, died of a heart attack Saturday. He was 65. Pryor lived dangerously close to the edge both on stage and off and was regarded early in his career as one of the most foul-mouthed comics in the business, but he gained a wide following for his universal and frequently personal routines. But, even in poor health, his comedy was vital. At a 1992 performance, he asked the room, "Is there a doctor in the audience?" All he got was nervous laughter. "No, I'm serious. I want to know if there's a doctor here."  hand finally went up. "Doctor," Pryor said, "I need to know one thing. What the (blank) is MS?"

Pryor was married six times. His children include sons Richard and Steven, and daughters Elizabeth, Rain and Renee.

Daughter Rain became an actress. In an interview in 2005, she told the Philadelphia Inquirer that her father always "put his life right out there for you to look at. I took that approach because I saw how well audiences respond to it. I try to make you laugh at life."  Thanks for always choosing to laugh, to Richard, his entire family and all his fans...

Women May Enjoy Humor More, if It's Funny

The difference between the sexes has long been a rich source of humor. Now it turns out, humor is one of the differences.  Take a look at this article published about a recent study performed by the National Academy of Sciences ... The team studied the response of 10 women and 10 men to 70 black-and-while cartoons, asking them to rate the jokes for how funny they were. While the volunteers were looking at the cartoons their brains were being studied with an MRI to determine what parts of the brains were responding.  In large part, men and women had similar responses to humor, using parts of the brain responsible for the structure and context of language and for understanding juxtaposition.  In women, however, some areas were more active than in men. These included the left prefrontal cortex, which the researchers said suggests a greater emphasis on language and executive processing, and the nucleus accumbens, or NAcc, which is part of the reward center.  Interesting, isn't it?  the old NAcc... no wonder Gleib's Wednesday's night show at the Improv is jizzam packed with the best girl-guy ratio in town ...