Stand Up To Cancer

Emily Zimmerman

Just a few months after completing chemotherapy for leukemia, Emily Zimmerman, 12, is helping to organize a fundraiser to give back to two charities that helped during her treatment, The Jeremy Foundation and the Casey Cares Foundation. Emily and her friends will stuff baskets to be used as prizes in a charity bingo game and are hoping to raise $5,000. And the experience has also helped her figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. "I want to be child life specialist," she says. "They're the people who work in the playroom at the hospital. They kept me busy. Then I want to be a nurse."
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1717116

Janis Tacy

Janis shared her cancer story with us in a recent blog comment. At 61, she's survived both melanoma and breast cancer. She writes, "Early detection is the key . . . My melanoma was small and had developed on my back in the six months between visits to my dermatologist. It was in the early stage and completely removed. My breast cancer was caught on a screening mammogram and finally diagnosed June 1, 2009. Fortunately, it was less than 1 cm and a slow grower. I had a lumpectomy on June 9 and am in the process of healing . . . I feel blessed that both times my cancers were caught early. Please get your mammogram and see your dermatologist. Early detection takes the fear out of a cancer diagnosis."

Alison Rubin

Alison got through her chemotherapy using techniques she'd learned as a yoga teacher of over 25 years. "Be still," she would tell herself during three-hour stretches of treatment. "Be open to the moment." Now she's starting a series of yoga classes in Spokane designed for women with breast cancer. The eight-week series will teach students to gently stretch and strengthen their bodies while learning to relax. "Knowing that you have cancer can be scary," Rubin says. "Yoga has made the difference between me getting well with ease and the possibility of struggling through the cancer."
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/14/an-escape-from-cancer/

Deborah Lewis

In this article for the LA Times, cancer survivor Deborah Lewis describes living - "well" or not - as the best revenge. She addresses an issue familiar to many with cancer, the implication from those around them that they got sick because of lifestyle choices. "They must have done something wrong, their diet must be flawed or they are overweight or drink too much or don't drink enough," she writes. Lewis, who had always maintained a healthy lifestyle, asks that we suspend judgment against those who get cancer. "We know too much, and it is perfectly understandable that we are greedy for every bit of life and health we can grab," she says. "But there should also be room to grab onto the things that make life joyful and fun. Perhaps the trick is to acknowledge that there is no magic formula for keeping our bodies going. We're all guessing here."
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-cancerfirstperson6-2009jul06,0,2407853.story

As always, we invite you to share your stories with us in the comments below.