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."

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.

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!

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.

School kids are playing in toxic waste!

In Alaska, old government programs left toxic waste on site 50 years ago. Now, these areas are saturated with polychloriated biphenyls (PCBs), and some of them are being used as school buildings! Kids are literally playing with abandoned drums of hazardous materials. Check out this video to hear more of this outrageous story:

Cancer and PCBs are in love

Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, have been linked to cancer, specifically non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Check out this video where The Non-Hodgkin's Project explains this magical relationship between this poisonous group of chemicals and NHL:



The Non-Hodgkin's Project is all about exposing this link, as well as forcing Monsanto to acknowledge responsibility for this issue. According to The Non-Hodgkin's site, Monsanto "the controversial biotechnology company, manufactured 99 percent of all the PCBs produced in the United States." If you would like to sign a petition telling Monsanto just this, click here.

The Calendar Girls Bare All for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

In the 1998, Angela Baker's husband battled non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The British woman and her friends spent enough time in the hospital that they began dreaming up ways to fund blood cancer research. The result of their brainstorming was a modestly naughty calendar featuring women posed nude while performing daily, domestic activities.

The calendar took off and the women quickly became known as the Calendar Girls. "By December of 1999, just nine months after its launch, the calendar had sold 88,000 copies, and raised some $550,000 for leukemia research. That number has grown significantly since then, especially after Workman Publishing released an American version of the calendar" (www.chasingthefrog.com). The story of these unsuspecting models caught on, and in 2003, a highly acclaimed film adaptation was released. In 2008, a theatrical version also debuted in the form of a stage play.

Angela lost her husband to NHL just five months after his diagnosis, but she has gone on to be a tremendously passionate spokesperson and activist for NHL funding. According to the official Calendar Girls website,

Angela sums up the extraordinary story of the Calendar Girls: “I think that we’ve all coped really well with what has happened. We’ve done the most amazing things but we’ve kept our feet on the ground and we’ve never forgotten why we did what we did. We didn’t do the calendar because we wanted to be famous but because we wanted to raise money in John’s memory. It has been the most marvellous experience.”

Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips

Kris Carr, the star of the documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer, also wrote a book titled Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips. Today, I want to feature a short video where Kris spotlights her personal tips for recovering from cancer:

Crazy Sexy Cancer

Crazy Sexy Cancer  is an irreverent and uplifting documentary about a young woman looking for a cure and finding her life.

In 2003, 31-year-old actress/photographer Kris Carr was diagnosed with a rare and incurable cancer. Weeks later she began filming her story. Taking a seemingly tragic situation and turning it into a creative expression, Kris shared her inspirational story of survival with courage, strength, and lots of humor.

With experimental treatment as her only option, Kris became determined to find answers where there were none. She traveled throughout the country interviewing experts in alternative medicine as she tenaciously dove head first into a fascinating and often hilarious holistic world. Along the way, she met other vivacious young women determined to become survivors. Their stories are as poignant and exciting as the women who tell them. As Kris's amazing journey unfolds, she realizes that healing is about truly living rather than fighting.

-- www.crazysexycancer.com



This woman is my new hero. Her story is a testimony to the power of positive attitude and healthy living. Click here to buy her DVD and click here to check out the blog.

Protect Yourself From PCBs

Here's a short video on PCBs:



I find it pretty crazy that PCBs have been found great distances from their original source. Although they haven't been manufactured for over 30 years, they've contaminated the entire globe. Some damage is impossible to reverse, which is all the more reason for strict safety regulation to prevent such destruction before it's too late.

Brave Kid with NHL gets a Lift

In May, 2009, 8-year-old Jonathan Volpe was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He's been slowly battling the cancer with chemo and radiation ever since. This past month, a few great organizations decided to lift Jonathan's spirits in their own way.

MetLife and the Believe in Tomorrow Children’s Foundation sponsored Jonathan's ride in a blimp ride over Readington, New Jersey. Check out the video of this brave little guy!

Willy Wonka and NHL

How cool is this? Lucy and I love the old movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Gene Wilder, the actor who played Willy Wonka, was diagnosed with NHL and beat it! In this video, he talks about his recovery process:

This kid isn't going to let NHL beat him either

Here is an awesome video about a kid named Austin, in Ohio, who is determined to kick this disease's butt also!