Zebra-legged Cheerleader Truly Inspirational

And she's always been pretty awesome to boot, it seems. Read the story here:

When she was six months old, Patience Beard was diagnosed with Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD), a disease that affects bone growth. Put simply, her left leg would always be shorter than her right. And over the course of years, that would create all kinds of structural problems. So when she was nine months old, Beard's parents allowed doctors to amputate their daughter's left foot and ankle. She would be able to walk, but not without a prosthetic. 

Beard's mom and dad worried about their girl falling down. Patience, however, didn't seem to have those concerns. When she was 3, her dad made her a bike with training wheels and a special sleeve that could accommodate her prosthetic leg. Patience demanded the training wheels be removed. Mom said no, but Dad relented. And off Patience went, riding along without training wheels.

Minor League Baseball Coach with Cancer Fights On

Brian Rose coaches the Wichita Wingnuts in Kansas and lives in Austin, Texas in the offseason. He was diagnosed with cancer in the spring of 2010 and thought he was screwed, as he didn't have health insurance at the time.

But the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Patient Advocate Foundation stepped up and helped him out, even assisting him in his efforts to get coverage through the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, a federally funded insurance program.

Still, when Rose tried to get into a clinical trial earlier this year he was out of luck and neither foundation was able to see him through. That's when he turned to You Tube and pled for help from the community.

Philanthropist Milton Verret saw the video and pledged half the $70,000 necessary to get into the trial and then called on the community to donate the other half. The insurance company seemed to take that as sign and agreed to pay for the treatment. 

Says Rose now: "I wake up with gratitude because I wake up," he said. "I go to sleep with gratitude because I get another chance the next day."

The Neighbor Kid is Just Great

Wow. I don't even know what to say about this kid. He's great.

8 year-old Wyatt Erber heard that his neighbor, just two years old, has leukemia, and so he entered a scavenger hunt that had $1,000 prize. He won it and gave all the money to his neighbors.

Fantastic!

Judy Blume Opens Up about Her Breast Cancer

Who doesn't love Judy Blume? If you don't, I don't want to hear about it, because she's absolutely great. And she's always been absolutely great. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing, and Forever are all awesome.

Well, it seems Miss Blume is still absolutely great. She had a post yesterday about her breast cancer diagnosis earlier this summer and her surgery and recovery afterward. It's smart and moving, just as you'd expect.

Setting a Guinness Record to Fight Cancer

KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather


Here's another story of a family and a community joining together in a fight against cancer. You really can't hear too many of these stories.  They are so great and so necessary.

No one can do this alone.

Paul Newman's Camp for Sick Kids

Do you guys ever watch CBS Sunday Morning? If you're up early on a Sunday morning and not at church yet, I recommend it. It's a great show. Last weekend they had a long segment on the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp that Paul Newman started years and years ago to get kids who are sick a chance to get out into nature and, as he said, "raise a little hell."

It's a pretty amazing thing. I recommend it whole heartedly.

Illinois City Rallying Around Man with NHL

It's never easy, having to battle cancer, but Kevin Huyser is facing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for the third time now, and it's especially tough for him. Both he and his wife aren't working while he undergoes chemotherapy this time.

But his town and his neighbors are doing what they can for him. An optician at Sam's paid for his eye exam when she learned of his situation and helped to set up benefits for him soon after. The CEO of Culver's restaurant even showed up at one recently.

I hope you all will send your thoughts and prayers Kevin's way.

Chicago Cubs Record Message for Kid Battling Cancer

That's it. I've got a new favorite baseball player.

Anthony Rizzo was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins' lymphoma at the age of 19. Now he's playing 1st base for the Chicago Cubs and was named rookie of the month for July. That's amazing! Rizzo and teammate Tony Campana, also a cancer survior, recorded this video message for Luke Strotman, who's enduring his third fight with cancer.

Good stuff.

Fighting Cancer with Cookies

About 10 years ago, Laura Stachler's husband and daughter were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease, more or less back to back. It had to be devastating. To put her mind on something else -- and to give her family something they could keep down while undergoing chemo -- Susan put her skills as a caterer and baker to good use.

She developed a really good ginger snap recipe. "I had heard in passing that ginger is a stomach soother," Stachler said.

A decade later, husband and daughter have both recovered, and Susansnaps -- the company started by Stachler and named for both her sister, who died of cancer at age 28, and her daughter, who had been named for her aunt -- is a business that makes up to 10,000 cookies daily and ships nationwide.

It's true. You can order your own right here.

Good for them.

Cleaning for a Reason

Here's something I've just heard of for the first time. It's a group of house cleaning companies that will volunteer their services for women battling cancer and undergoing therapies that leaves them too wiped out to get their normal chores done.

How great is that?

It's called Cleaning for a Reason, and the group has more than 1,000 companies affiliated with it, and they've helped out 11,000 people fighting cancer! That's a great story, I think.

NHL Patient Goes to the Olympics

Abbie Seeliger has gotten to go the Olympics because the Make a Wish Foundation flew her to London, where she's seeing LeBron James and the men's basketball team as well as the women's volleyball matches.

I love to hear stories like that!

Seeliger was a sophomore in high school and a volleyball player herself when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. She underwent a year of chemotherapy treatments and it's in remission now, which is great news obviously. She's also back in training to try out for her volleyball team again, and in London for the Olympics.

Good for her!

Congressman Diagnosed with NHL

It's an easy thing to forget sometimes, but it's important to remember. Cancer doesn't care who you are or what your job is. No matter how powerful or wealthy you are, it can still come to find you.

Michigan congressman Dave Camp, who is the chairman of the important House Ways and Means Committee, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma last month. Fortunately for Camp, he says that his prognosis is good, and there's a very good chance that he'll beat the disease:

Thankfully my health is otherwise excellent and my doctors and I expect a full recovery and cure. My family and I appreciate the support, good wishes and understanding we have received.

 Let's hope so!

Cancer Doctor and Cancer Patient at the Same Time

Wow, guys, this is pretty amazing. There's a cancer doctor at Washington University who has been battling leukemia since when he was in med school. It's been a back and forth effort, with it in remission a couple of times only to keep coming back.

Well, it turns out that working in a research hospital gives you the chance to met a lot of impressive and helpful people. His colleagues have joined together to help him out and he's been in genome studies there at his university hospital.

It's a great story, you should watch the report on CBS This Morning.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition-Lymphoma story.

Two mothers each striving to keep their family safe and intact in neighboring counties in northeast Iowa. One woman, Audrey, is a mother of six widow who lost 1/4 of her brain and most of her eyesight following five massive aneurysms. The other woman, Sue, is in the middle of a divorce and caretaker for two of her three adult children, all of whom use wheelchairs because of spinal muscular atrophy. Audrey was chosen by the ABC tv series "Extreme Makeover:Home Edition" as a recipient of a new house. Audrey's late husband had passed away from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She ignored her own blackouts around the chaos and sorrow of her husband's death. The next year she ended up with brain surgery.

Sue did not receive a home makeover due to the show being cancelled. Once Audrey heard Sue's story she decided to launch various fundraiser events to have a "mini-extreme" makeover for her. She claims that if she won the lottery she would launch a local permanent version of Extreme Home-makeover to provide fully assessable housing to disabled Iowans.

This is a perfect example of paying it forward in life!

To read more on this story:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120129/NEWS/301290058/0/BUSINESS/?odyssey=nav%7Chead

A Father and Son's battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

In 2008, a young man named James DeMasi was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma , the same disease that his father later passed away from. After watching his father die of cancer, and battling the disease himself to remission, he decided he was going to take on cancer head on. He started a team in the Philadelphia Walk for Lymphoma and raised the most money with almost $30,000 to go toward blood cancer research and patient support. James claims that "I do everything in my dad's memory....losing him had an even greater impact on me than my own battle with cancer did".

For more information on this story, read here:

http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/towns/index.ssf/2012/01/light_the_night_walk_team_head.html

Dreams do come true...even at the Super Bowl

Non-Hodgkins can affect anyone...even someone playing in the superbowl. Odessa High School graduate Marcus Cannon is a member of the New England Patriots team that will play Feb. 5 against the New York giants at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Cannon was diagnosed with non0hodkin's lymphoma before the 2011 NFL Draft. His friends and family are very proud stating that "For the things he was able to accomplish, and to overcome the adversity with his health, it's a credit to him and his family. It's a true measure of his faith". This goes to show anything is possible and that having non-hodgkin's lymphoma does not always have to stop you from achieving your dreams!

To read more on this story before the Super Bowl read here:

http://www.oaoa.com/articles/cannon-80005-new-super.html

Children Beauty Pageants Giving Back

A beauty pageant not only crowned some children but also showcased it's ability to give back. Kim Dawson started Beauty and Beaus Pageants as a way to help out St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, an organization she feels connected too. At 19, Dawson's husband passed away from non-Hogkin's lymphoma. Recently, her mother was also diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Leukemia as well. All of the kids involved in the pageants, prepared actual Valentine's Day cards to send with Kim for the kids at St. Jude's. The pageant hopes their message is clear to all involved and makes a difference in everyone's lives. All of the parents should be happy their children are healthy and that every little bit of giving back can make a difference in someone's life.

To read more on this story:
http://www.wboy.com/story/16626806/2012/01/29/beauty-pageant-giving-back

Turning 50 with a Facebook Contest

A woman celebrated her 50th birthday raising money for a Cancer Charity. Di Gosney started a Facebook photo contest in which all the money will go to a Cancer research charity close to her heart. Her late cousin and mother have both endured battles with non-Hodgkin's and breast cancer. The challenge is to take at least 500 photos of people and post them on Facebook. everyone will either be holding her challenge poster, wearing a pink baseball cap, or a pink bra, or all three.

To find out more on this challenge and to help Di out, more information can be found here:

http://www.romseyadvertiser.co.uk/news/9484000.Get_in_the_pink_with_Di/

New Drug for 2012-Zevalin shows promising results

Lymphoma drug Zevalin may be an important drug for 2012! It did really well in a recent study of patients undergoing bone marrow transplant to treat an aggressive form of the blood cancer. Patients who took a Zevalin combination had a higher two year survival rate of 91%! Patients with an "intermediate level of the disease" lived significantly longer without seeing the cancer worsen. Zevalin will be studied further in larger clinical trials because of these promising results. It is already approved in the U.S. for certain forms on non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

If interested in reading more on this story:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57363789/spectrum-touts-lymphoma-drug-study-results/

Out with Malibu Barbie, In with Bald Barbie

Mattel's iconic barbie doll has had alot of transformations and hairstyles over the years...enough to make lady gaga and Madonna seem like amateurs! But barbie has never been bald....at least not yet!

A group of women recently launched a Facebook page called "Beautiful and Bald Barbie"
They are advocating for there to be a bald barbie to help young girls with the traumatic process of loosing their hair in cancer treatment.

This seems like a great idea to me! Unfortunately, so far Mattel has not responded.

Interested in hearing more on this story look here:

http://sfluxe.com/2012/01/13/campaign-to-create-beautiful-and-bald-barbie-heats-up-on-social-networking-sites-fox-news/