day +802

Tomorrow is the 40th Annual ING New York City Marathon.

For the past two years, I've been cheering the runners along 138th Street in the Bronx. Last year, I stood on the northern pedestrian walkway of the Madison Avenue Bridge photographing the runners as they passed by crossing into Harlem. I plan to do the same this year.

It should be fun.

BTW, Happy Halloween everyone!

cycle for survival

Founded in 2007 by cancer survivor and MSKCC patient, Jennifer Goodman Linn, Cycle for Survival is the indoor cycling fundraiser that has raised more than $2 million in support of research on rare cancers, such as pancreatic, brain, cervical, uterine, and Hodgkin's Lymphoma, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Click here to learn more about rare cancers and the challenge to find cures.

Team up with friends, family, and coworkers to ride at one of two NYC Equinox locations or the new Chicago Equinox in the Loop. Or you can just register your satellite team and ride anytime you like, anywhere in the world.

Please visit Cycle For Survival to find out more and see how you may be able to help.

go yanks!

I'm really looking forward to the start of the World Series on Wednesday. I think it has the potential of being a titanic clash between two great teams.

Go Yanks!

the creative center

For survivors living in the the NYC-area who are interested in expressing themselves artistically, check out the Creative Center. Located in lower Manhattan, the Creative Center is a unique community where artists and patients/survivors participate in free workshops on a variety of artistic mediums.

Art can, of course, be a wonderful vehicle of self-exploration and healing. Workshops at the Creative Center are open to professionals and non-professionals alike. Come as you are.

cancer news

Scott Hamilton and Dorothy Hamill Return to the Ice in Premier Fox Television Thanksgiving Day Event: "Kaleidoscope"

an escape of possibility

We need sometimes to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment no matter what.

- George Santayana, "The Philosophy of Travel"

the dream endures

A lot of us first aspired to far-ranging travel and exotic adventure early in our teens; these ambitions are, in fact, adolescent in nature, which I find an inspiring idea. . . . Thus, when we allow ourselves to imagine as we once did, we know, with a sudden jarring clarity, that if we don't go right now, we're never going to do it. And we'll be haunted by our unrealized dreams and know that we have sinned against ourselves gravely.

-Tim Cahill, "Exotic Places Made Me Do It"

more on h1n1

Here are some more articles of interest about the H1N1 virus:

Should You be Concerned about the H1N1 Virus?

As Flu Vaccine Arrives for the Season, Some Questions and Answers

pushing for a survivorship plan

Below is just one of many interesting articles found recently at CureToday.com:

Pushing your Doctor for a Survivorship Care Plan

lymphoma news

A Lifesaver Out of Reach, for Want of a Profit is a very informative article about the financial challenges of stem cell collection and storage.

meeting the challenges of cGVHD

A recording of the National Bone Marrow Transplant Link (nbmtLINK)'s recent live teleconference "Meeting the Challenges of cGVHD in Children and Adolescents" is available online now.

Part I: The Medical Aspects and Management of cGVHD

Part II: Families Coping with Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease (cGVHD) in Children and Adolescents

in the news

Flu, Me? Public Remains Wary of H1N1 Vaccine

Swine Flu Characteristics Becoming More Evident

day +783

Where did the weekend go?

After not doing much but thinking and preparing for the week ahead since teaching, this time around the weekend was quite different. I volunteered, socialized with friends, photographed the Harlem River, hung out with my sister, and enjoyed watching both football and playoff baseball. Yet, there is still so much that I didn't get around to and I'm rushing around now trying to get some last minute things done (such as this post).

In addition to tutoring at an adult literacy center on Mondays, I'm also a volunteer at a local food rescue organization. I joined it about two months ago, but hadn't been able to volunteer until this weekend. It offers a number of ways for people to participate. One of them being a bi-monthly mobile market, where volunteers distribute salvaged fresh produce to people in need. It so happens that the Bronx mobile market is a stone's throw from where I live and it was here that I spent Saturday morning.

I'm looking forward to doing it again next month. About 400-550 people came for food, I was told. Though the types of food can vary from month to month, on this day people received apples, onions, white potatoes, and plantains. The clients made their way to the potato station, where I and about 4 others greeted them. Each came to the table with a small slip identifying how many pounds of each food they were permitted (based on family size, I assume) to receive. We then asked each person if he or she would like to fill the bag themselves or needed any help. After filling the bag, we'd weigh it on a nearby scale checking to make sure it wasn't over. And if all was good, we checked their blank for potatoes on their slip and wished them a wonderful day as they walked to the next station.

It was scheduled for 9:00 am to 12 noon, but we finished at about 11:30.

About 20 volunteers were there. Some have been doing this for 4 or 5 years.

One has to make sure the process is orderly and that clients don't cut in front of others, but by far it was a fun, exhilarating experience. Seeing the smiles of the people as they received the food felt great.

Late yesterday afternoon, I explored the newest expansion of Harlem River Park in East Harlem. Access to the latest part of this park opened several weeks ago. It's wonderful. A great deal of thought clearly went into its creation. Bursting in my mind now are a number of new vantage points from which to capture the Madison Avenue, 145th Street , and Park Avenue Bridges.

Finally, I was back at Sloan early this morning with an appointment with Dr. C-M. It went very well. I did most of the talking, which is always a good sign. My counts remain strong. I was hoping that some of my meds would be reduced or eliminated all together, but they weren't. At least for another 6 months, he told me.

I'm not due to see him til early January.

While there, I also received the seasonal flu vaccine. The H1N1 vaccine should be available in 1-2 weeks, he said.

jasmina's leukemia returns

After having just typed such a hopeful post, I feel like the air has been knocked out of me. My mom just updated me on Jasmina. The six-year old's leukemia has come back and it's aggressive.

Read the article.

There has been a string of tragic news recently: from Eric to Adrienne and now to Jasmina.

In light of this, we must continue to be hopeful. Without the dream, what else is there?

a cheer to friendships and life

After work yesterday, I had an appointment with my therapist, Dr. R, whom I hadn't seen for at least a month. Normally I see him every other week, but with the start of a new job and a calendar full of commitments after work recently, it has been difficult scheduling. So, it was really wonderful to catch up with a familiar face.

Walking south along Second Avenue, I picked up a couple of lovely sunflowers to give to the three special women whom I was on my way to see next. I met up with my mom and EFG at a cafe nearby Sloan-Kettering, where together we joined Clare at the hospital's 14th annual Celebration for Stem Cell Transplant Survivors. This was my second year there. The place was packed. Dozens and dozens of SCT survivors were in attendance with friends and family. Doctors and nurses celebrated too. It was a very festive occasion. To an outsider, no one would ever suspect that these jovial, beautiful individuals had been through so much. Life - stubborn, beautiful, bright - filled the room.

I caught up with a couple of my SCT buddies and had the chance to meet a few new folks as well. One of the people whom I befriended is an impressive, young woman, who had a SCT for Hodgkin's at Sloan a little over a year ago. It so happpened that it was her sister, who had accompanied her along with some friends, that noticed me in the animated crowd. I guess it was the name tag on my blazer. Not expecting anything of the sort, I was completely surprised when she told me how helpful my blog had been to her and her sister through their transplant journey. Humbled, I thanked her. I was really at a loss for words.

So, here's a cheer to friendships - old and new - and to life - stubborn, beautiful, and bright!

a tribute to adrienne

Adrienne's father put together this lovely, touching video tribute to Adrienne.

Memorial services will be held today.

The family is asking that any donations be made in her memory to the Silicon Valley and Monterery Bay Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or the Alese Coco Fight 2 Win Foundation. Learn more here.

adrienne has passed away

Read more here.

I'm unable to say much right now.