Another Adrenal Cancer Raffle in the works

The ideas for another raffle keep pouring in. Within the last week my friends have offered amazing contributions such as a beautiful cabin retreat in Big Bear for the weekend, a signed music cd and photo by Chris Isaak (Dawna), Disneyland tickets (Jen), and original jewelry designs (Katherine).

Adrenal Cancer Raffle raised $1,150!!!

The Norah Jones concert tickets raffle was a success. A special thank you to all who joined and contributed to an amazing cause: CURE ADRENAL CANCER! Congratulations to Diane of Chino for being the lucky winner of the coveted Norah Jones concert tickets. Runner up winners had the opportunity of winning a Norah Jones dvd along with cd's by a variety of artists. Thank you to Star 98.7 FM for contributing these items. $1,150 was raised for the ADRENAL CORTICAL CANCER RESEARCH FUND at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. It was a day of feasting (b.b.s. style) and singing-along with the always entertaining karaoke machine. Thank you to Tita Sonya and Carli for passing the petition around. It was great to see friends I hadn't seen in several years. Thanks to everyone for making the party a success.

Affect Public Policy

Please sign a petition to beg President Bush and other legislators to fund adrenal cancer research. It only takes a few seconds. Help spread the word by forwarding to friends.

Peace to you Anita

What inspires you?

I called my former kumu, Maile, and asked her if I could join her hula halau and she said yes! I started in her halau when she still had a dance studio. My old class still meets every Thursday nights at her home. I can't wait to see everyone. I've put off a lot of things during the past year, having no motivation to do anything. I decided that if my one year CT scan was clear then I would pick up where I left off. I have this list of things to do in life. Hula is on that list. I haven't danced in over a year and I miss it terribly. I am so excited!

Norah Jones Website

Thank you to www.norahjones.info for posting my raffle on their site! Check out their amazing site (no, I am not biased) on the latest information on the soulful Miss Norah Jones. Her music and voice inspire me.

Test Results

Day two in Minnesota: Met with my wonderful oncologist and discussed results. All good news. Future CT scans will now include pre-medication the night prior and day of the scan. Seems I've developed a new allergy to iodine/contrast. Instead of every three months, CT scans are now to be done every 6 months or sooner depending on how I feel.

Return to Mayo

Flew to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, for routine blood work, CT, and oncology consult. Back at home, I visit the doctor every three months. I flew to Rochester to get reassurance that everything is okay from the same medical team that performed my liver resection a year ago. I finished the tests early so my sister and I drove about 2 hours to the Effigy Mounds Park in Iowa. We drove alongside an Amish woman riding her horse and carriage. The sun setting behind the prairies along Laura Ingalls Wilder highway provided us with an amazing drive back to Minnesota. Thanks to my sister who took time off from work to be by my side in Minnesota.

Peace to you Kenneth

Peace to you Steve

Dear Lisa

I lost a friend to ADRENAL CANCER today, one day after mother's day. She was a wonderful mother. She left behind a great husband and beautiful kids. I never expected her to leave so soon. I hadn't talked to her for a few months. I wish now I would have greeted her on Mother's Day. I'm sorry Lisa. May you rest in peace. I will keep you and your family in my prayers.


Nightingale
Sing us a song
Of a love that once belonged
Nightingale
Tell me your tale
Was your journey far too long?

Does it seem like I'm looking for an answer
To a question I can't ask
I don't know which way the feather falls
Or if I should blow it to the left

All the voices that are spinnin' around me
Trying to tell me what to say
Can I fly right behind you
And you can take me away

~Norah Jones

Peace to you Jorah

We lost another member from my Adrenal Cancer support group. I didn't know Jorah too well and I am so very sorry I did not have the opportunity to do so. Peace be with you and your family, dear Jorah.

Sign my guest book!

The guestbook is now up. Please sign my guest book! I emailed my support group about my page. They immediately wrote back with praise and support. Their opinions mean everything and this really made my day.

Business Cards

Thank you Tita Sonya for your creative work on my business card logo and layout. As always you are there to support me with your fabulous ideas.

Locks of Love

I donated 10 inches of my hair to locksoflove.org. Not all hair salons donate hair so I made an appointment with Doreen at Jojo's in Whittier who cut my hair for free. Ask your hair stylist if they participate in the Locks of Love program. It's simple for the hair salon to join the network. Most importantly, it helps children under 18 who are in need of hair pieces.

On the third day he rose

Happy Easter! Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed. Do I hear an AMEN?!

Buy a kidney bean

Mary Kiernan, a jeweler from beautiful New York has decided to contribute her sterling silver kidney bean pendants to support the cure for adrenal cancer. A $25 donation to the Adrenal Cancer Research Fund gets you this beautiful pendant and chain. Order them while supplies last.

Thank you thank you thank you Mary!

Norah Jones Raffle

Michelle Findlay of Norah Jones' management team is kindly donating an autographed cd and sultry photo of the one and only Norah Jones to the CURE ADRENAL CANCER RAFFLE. Thank you Ms. Findlay! Enter the raffle today. All money is donated to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, ranked #1 cancer hospital by US News and World Report.

Web Page Update

I forwarded this web page to my dear friends and family asking for their support in passing the word on adrenal cancer. I was amazed at the responses. I received email from people I had never met offering their prayers. Another response came from my cousin who has a kidney illness I never knew about but decided to tell me because he had read my page. More than once I got mail saying it helped someone they knew going through a similar situation. Thank you to everyone who took the time to write and also to those who passed the page on.

Yo soy vegetariano

I became a vegetarian after my last surgery last year. Although not a true vegan since I still eat eggs. Giving up meat today for Ash Wedesday is not much of a sacrifice so I will be giving up coffee and chocolate, for 40 days. I used to work with someone who fasted every Monday for health and religious reasons. She would sit with us while we ate and she would sip her tea. I read from one of Dr. Andrew Weil's books that it's actually healthy to fast each week. It cleanses the body. I don't know if I could do that but it would be great to cleanse my innards. Since last year I've been reading a lot of cancer books and found out that meat makes the liver work harder than it has to. Since I had a part of my liver removed I hope to lighten the work load down there. They say the liver regenerates and it sure did. The right side (the side they carved out) is now bigger than the left side!