Friends of MUSIC....

l

Music Keeps us moving, lets you remember you’re alive. It’s the friend that is ALWAYS there for you no matter the circumstance, the friend who can help you acquire the inspiration you need at the precise moment you need it. It’s a part of me, and it’s become an important part of my girl is too.

I encourage people when they find something they truly enjoy. Anything that can inspire creativity and help promote a sense of worth… I’m all for it! My daughter has been sketching out dresses since she was little. So when our favorite “new” band started a dress designing contest… oh she was all over that! If you are so inclined, please visit http://www.halestormrocks.com/ to sign up for an account (it only take about 45 seconds & I’ve never gotten any junk mail from this) then go to http://www.halestormrocks.com/photo/classy-crasher/

...And vote for Sarah’s dress “Classy Crasher” (for “Prom crashing”) by clicking the last star all the way to the right of the 5 stars. She’s been watching the numbers and ecstatic that there are people out there actually seeing her design. If you leave a comment for her, she’d be so very tickled & overjoyed! This has been a great self esteem booster!

For those of you rockers out there, you WILL love this band, and be glad you signed up.

Halestorm is a newish band, fronted by Lzzy Hale a female vocalist with a strong enthralling voice. They are a playful, good-natured yet mischievous bunch, that produce music for those that want to be put on a loud fast train to… somewhere and softer sides that hug you when you need a friend to understand.

I’d be grateful if you’d help me encourage self esteem, and you’ll find a fantastic musical crew to boot!

Taste of the STORM....

Halestorm that is!!

This song goes well with the TWILIGHT movie clips.....

Rockin that on that fast train…..

Gotta have more cowbell

“It’s Not You”!

Clouded

I’m not too sure where my head is at these days. I think I’m stuck in the clouds somewhere. I’ve been on a sort of a “living spree”, just crossing the line of irresponsibility. Not in a self destructive way, just living life doing little things. Fun things. Shelving daily responsibilities and trading them in for the spur-of-the-moment. I’ve been in control and responsible for too much too long, I’m tired. I’m enjoying being spontaneous (with restrictions of course, yet somewhat impulsive). Even little things add up. They also subtract, from the pocket book. A few realties are starting to hit and bring me out of the clouds ever so slightly. Damn. That actually didn’t last very long. I still haven’t found that new balance.

I’m in the midst of usual rounds with doctor visits, and added new ones. I’ve found that Gerd / Acid Reflux is something to not be ignored. I’ve let mine go for so long. My regular doctor never mentioned any serious consequences of AR. In fact, My doctors always told me I just have a “nervous stomach”, a little Acid Reflux. Well a little DOES go a long way… It has gotten so bad, that it has severely corroded my esophagus, vocal chords (so that’s why I can’t hit the high notes like I used to), ear canals (an excuse for the hearing loss and frequent slight ear aches), and my sinus (which have felt stuffy non stop for over a year)… My LES (the opening to the stomach from so with the severity of AR/Gerd) doesn’t close much of the time, allowing everything to ‘come back up’. While lying down, it can come up and just sit in the esophagus. NASTY. So I will be having surgery at U of C to have part of my stomach wrapped around that LES opening to help it close. Hopefully my esophagus will then have a chance to heal…. AR / Gerd is a pretty common problem, and most don’t get this severe. Sometimes there aren’t any symptoms. At least, not that you think is out of the ordinary for you...

While this is going on, I’ve had the “same old” sharp pains I had when I suspected something serious was about to happen, before cancer was confirmed. They’ve been getting more frequent. On my last visit to the oncologist, he found a new “mass” and suggested I have it check out immediately. This is where the chain on my leg starts weighing me down, begins tugging and pulling me out of the clouds where I was enjoying merriment. I begin to wonder, if this is happening all over again… What will I do? I reason in my mind, I need the put the esophagus/stomach at the highest priority. Surly more chemo will make that problem worse as it did the first time. I have an appointment Thursday at U of C and will check that mass out. Am I getting ahead of myself? Maybe. Maybe not. I’m not normally the type to freak out at every diagnosis or every little lump, bump, or minor surgeries… When I do get excited, I’m usually right. Best to start preparing.

As I write this, I realize, I’m not coming out of the clouds slightly. I think I’m on the express crash. I’m not digging reality tugging at me. It starts to remind me, that like it or not, I do still have responsibilities. Bills to pay, some kind of insurance to find, appointments to keep, trying to keep the house and everyone in it running more smoothly… It reminds me I’ve not done all the things I thought I wanted to accomplish. New things are continuously cropping up, and I start those, instead of finishing other projects I started… My writing has become sloppy. But I’m spending time with my daughter. Making memories. That’s more important to me then any other responsibility or project.

Ronnie James Dio

Ronnie James Dio, passed away early in the morning on May 16^th, 2010. He was a true icon of my musical growth. One that was there near the beginning. One that helped push me toward heavy rock / metal… One that I share the cancer demon with… So he’s not just a part of my growth, but a piece of my transience as well.

http://www.ronniejamesdio.com/




We are sunlight
We can sparkle and shine
And our dreams are what we're made of
So just hold on
You can make it happen for you
Reach for the stars and you will fly

Hook ‘em to the heavens ♫ \m/ \m/ ♫

A CURE for CANCER?!!!!!

Oh my God. I just saw something that gave me chills down my spine and I went weak in the knees. I had tears of joy quietly squeezing out. This is the most promising thing I've ever seen!! I have a sense, this one just might work!!!! And go figure, the idea was sparked by a 16 year old!....

You can see the video here: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/husband-searches-cancer-cure-wifes-death/story?id=9212102&page=1

or you can read the below from ABC:

Did a Devoted Husband Find a Cancer Breakthrough?
After His Wife Died From Breast Cancer, Husband Turned to Cancer Research
By CLAIRE SHIPMAN
Dec. 1, 2009
Throughout his years of groundbreaking research, endocrinologist Dr. David Vesely never gave curing cancer a lot of thought.
But then it became personal.

"We started to work on cancer when my wife died of breast cancer seven years ago," Vesely said.

His wife, Clo, died in 2002, leaving Vesely and their five children behind. Vesely said he directed his sorrow into his work at the James A. Haley Hospital in Tampa, Fla., and seven years later he may have a breakthrough.

An Idea From the Heart

Vesely said it was originally his son's idea to conduct research. Brian, who was 16 when his mother died, was looking for a way to channel his grief a month after his mother's death.
In the late 1980s, Vesely, focusing on heart disease, discovered three hormones made by the heart that prevented normal heart cells from getting bigger and multiplying. He wondered if they could also control cancer cell growth.

Vesely and Brian set up an experiment and left cancer cells and heart hormones alone in a Petri dish. The cancer cells were blown apart by the body's own hormones.

"Well, the cells blew apart. So we thought, 'maybe we did something wrong,'" Vesely said. "Because you never know ... but the second time, we knew it was real."

Vesely began studying the effect on mice that had been injected with human cancer cells, by pumping the hormones under their skin.

"Usually after a month, they eliminate up to 80 percent of human pancreatic cancers growing in the mice," Vesely said.

Since then Vesely said he has eliminated other deadly forms of human cancers in mice, including 67 percent of breast cancers and 86 percent of small cell lung cancers, all with almost no side effects.

Although Vesely, 66, said he wouldn't go as far as to call it a cure for cancer, he is hopeful.

"But if it does cure one cancer in human, it will cure almost all of them, or eliminate them," Vesely said.
Human Clinical Trials to Begin

Kalos Therapeutics is raising money for the first human clinical trials for Vesely's findings. But as Vesely waits, he said he is feeling the urgency from hundreds of e-mails from people dying of cancer asking when his treatment will be ready.

"It's mostly funding. They need money to move ahead," Vesely said.

"If we can make some dent in cancer ... it will be spectacular," Vesely added.
Vesely's Finding Met With Hope and Caution

Vesely published his work, and although the medical world is intrigued, it is also cautious.

"I think that there's potentially promise here, but I think the real question is whether these very potent hormones will be tolerable at the doses required," said Dr. Mark Ratain from the University of Chicago.

Vesely said he is also cautious about raising expectations "because you don't want to get too far ahead of yourself."

I HAVE A NAME! I HAVE A FACE!!

I worry every day if I will continue to survive this disease. This morning, I’m beside myself with fear and worry. My head is spinning and I’m in tears. What about my daughter? What about YOUR DAUGHTER? YOUR NIECE? YOUR GRANDDAUGHTER?

The new “guidelines” for Breast Cancer Screening has been changed by our government. Welcome to the new National Health Care system. (we’ll wait till you’re good and festered with cancer so treatment just won’t be effective therefore withheld…. or with luck, you'll be dead before then and we won't have to worry about spending money on you over burdensome creatures.)

I saw this coming. Many of us saw this coming.

So many did not. Well here ya go. The first MAJOR DAGGER to our health…….

((they based this new guideline on bogus, outdated information))

I HAVE A NAME! I HAVE A FACE!!

Please Please PLEASE READ THIS in it's entirety. Our children are at stake!!

(((I will also be working toward stopping this action and hope you will stand with me!)))

November 16, 2009

"The recommendation to change screening is a huge step backwards," says Dr. Marisa Weiss.

To the Breastcancer.org community:

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently recommended dramatic changes to current breast cancer screening guidelines. Breastcancer.org is strongly opposed to these recommendations.

The proposed new guidelines recommend starting regular screening mammograms at age 50, rather than at age 40 as current guidelines recommend. They recommend screening before age 50 only for women with a much-higher-than-average risk of breast cancer. The proposed new guidelines also call for mammograms to be done every other year instead of every year, as recommended by current guidelines.

The proposed new guidelines are based on research that looks at the effect of breast cancer screening on society from a public health perspective. This means the researchers were looking at how changing breast cancer screening guidelines would affect the overall public, rather than individual women. In proposing the changes, the task force members said that starting mammograms later in life and doing mammograms less often would save a large amount of money. It also means that about 3% more women would die from breast cancer each year. The task force members felt that the amount of money saved (from fewer mammograms and side effects of extra biopsies and treatment) was greater than the value of more lives saved (3% fewer women surviving breast cancer).

At Breastcancer.org, we are deeply troubled by both the analysis that led to these proposed guideline changes and the effect these proposed changes would have on the health and lives of women. Our specific concerns:

• The analysis was based on older mammography techniques, meaning the researchers mostly looked at results from film mammograms instead of digital mammograms.
• The analysis was based on some inaccurate assumptions about optimal treatment after breast cancer is diagnosed. For example, it assumed that women diagnosed with hormone-receptor-positive, early-stage breast cancer would receive and benefit from hormonal therapy but not chemotherapy, even though we know that many of these women do receive and benefit from chemotherapy after surgery. Inaccurate assumptions like this may have caused the researchers to underestimate the number of lives that would be lost should the proposed changes in screening be adopted.
• The analysis did not adequately consider the combined benefit of early detection (with current screening guidelines) and new treatments that have resulted in steadily improving survival rates in recent years. Screening cannot be looked at in isolation as a snapshot. Screening happens as we continue to improve both diagnosis and treatment. But we can’t treat what isn’t diagnosed.
• The proposed guideline changes would mean that many breast cancers would be diagnosed at a later stage, making it harder to become cancer-free. Later-stage diagnoses result in more women with metastatic disease (that has spread to other parts of the body) and more women with large or multiple cancers requiring mastectomy (too late for breast-conserving treatments).
• The proposed guideline changes would mean that younger women would be diagnosed later. Breast cancer in younger women tends to be more aggressive, so early diagnosis and treatment is more critical for them. It is the lives and futures of younger women that would be lost if the proposed changes are adopted.

Expressed as nameless, faceless numbers, the 3% decrease in breast cancer survival might seem like an acceptable trade-off when compared to the economic benefits of changing breast cancer screening policies. But breast cancer affects a very large number of women, so 3% of that number is not insignificant. The reality is that more women -- mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, and aunts -- will die each year from breast cancer, which is neither reasonable nor acceptable.

We at Breastcancer.org encourage medical professionals and everyone affected in any way by breast cancer to raise their voices against these surprising and dramatic proposed changes in the guidelines for breast cancer screening. Our belief is that lives should be saved, not lost, and our commitment to you is that we will continue to strongly advocate for policies that support this fundamental mission.

Marisa C. Weiss, M.D.
President and Founder, Breastcancer.org
Director of Breast Radiation Oncology, Director of Breast Health Outreach
Lankenau Hospital

Maxine Jochelson, M.D.
Director of Radiology
Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Professional Advisory Board, Breastcancer.org

Emily F. Conant, M.D.
Professor of Radiology, Chief of Breast Imaging
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Professional Advisory Board, Breastcancer.org

http://www.breastcancer.org/opinion/mammography_guidelines.jsp

I will be working toward organizing some kind of something to fight this!

Please stand stand with me!

Please if you know ANYONE affected by Breast Cancer, have them join and sign AGAINST new Mammography Guidlines.... http://community.breastcancer.org/

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/110/topic/744011?page=8#post_1601243

I HAVE A FACE - I HAVE A NAME !!!! continued...

Write your representatives senators & congressmen/woman....
Tell them you are opposed to this new shut up and die "guideline" which is merely a prelude of what's to come in our health care. TELL THEM YOU ARE WATCHING & PAYING ATTENTION. If we don't voice, they think we don't care. Please, don't let this opportunity slip through your fingers.


Representatives: http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml
Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

You can copy and paste the below, be sure to READ IT BEFORE SENDING, it requires your changes.

I am opposed to the New Guidelines set forth by Preventive Services Task Force on changing the age of Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations to 50.

I have breast cancer.... (supply your story)
OR
I know someone who at 40 was diagnosed by mammography, when a doctor ignored her findings of lumps in her armpit, that was then diagnosed with advanced/metastatic/carcinoma of the breast. She would be dead by now if she waited till 50 for a mammogram.

The age for mammography should be at minimum one at age 30.


Thanks everybody!