With You, We Stand - 1/19/10
Michael C. Hall
The star of "Dexter," who recently won a Golden Globe for his role, also recently revealed that he has finished treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma and is doing "fine." At the Golden Globes, he joked about having a good excuse to wear a hat but didn't mention his illness in his acceptance speech. Later, he said, "When it's a matter of health, it is very much a personal matter," he said. "It was also nice to assure people that I was really on the road to recovery."
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/01/18/2010-01-18_michael_c_hall_globes_winner_for_dexter_doing_fine_in_his_battle_with_cancer.html
Tatyana Abrams
While being treated for Acute Mylogenous Leukemia at the age of 11, Abrams made a video about her experiences in the hospital for her friends so they could see what she was going through. The 13-year-old is now facing a recurrence of the disease and will probably need a bone marrow transplant. Of her experiences with cancer so far, she said, "I wore a hat because I didn't want anybody to see my baldness. I was very worried that my friends were going to treat me different. Then, once I took the hat off, I realized that they were fine with it. They didn't really care and so . . . if they didn't care, why should I?"
http://www.wickedlocal.com/avon/fun/entertainment/x532579831/Avon-youth-shares-cancer-story-with-Nick-News
Jen Bickel
Bickel was 36 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in December of 2008. In a column in the Centre Daily Times out of Pennsylvania, the former oncology nurse writes about her experiences facing the disease. "When I was diagnosed, sheer panic consumed me," she writes. "Questions flooded my mind. 'What am I going to do?' 'Am I going to die?' 'What about my family?' 'Do I carry the breast cancer gene?' 'Where would I seek treatment?' . . . I knew my treatment would be a long and sometimes painful journey, but a journey nonetheless."
http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/1733774.html
Teddy Pendergrass
R&B legend Teddy Pendergrass passed away this past week from colon cancer at the age of 59. Pendergrass' long career began when he rose to fame in the seventies as the lead singer for Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes and continued even after a car accident in 1982 left him paralyzed from the chest down. "Mr. Pendergrass's romantic approach was a touchstone for younger generations of R&B Romeos," writes the NYT. "Ahmir Thompson, from the hip-hop group the Roots, responded to news of Mr. Pendergrass's death on Twitter declaring, "Soul will never be the same."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/arts/music/15pendergrass.html?pagewanted=2
As always, we encourage you to share your stories with us in the comments below.

Posted by Helen Hollis | February 11, 2010 6:51 PM
back in 2002 i found out i had breast cancer i am ok. been cancer free for 7years then january of 2008 my Doughter found out she had cervic cancer she took 4 and half months kmo and they had to stop that cause they found cancer in her brain she suffered so bad it is hard to watch your children suffer God called her home june20 2009 i miss her verry much but i would not bring her back if she had to suffer that way she is with God she walking the street of heaven