Tag Archive for Yoga Bear

Every step makes a difference!

A few weeks ago, in an effort to improve my blogs I joined www.problogger.com. I know that the tips and tricks I’ve picked up so far are improving my blogging – who knows, maybe someday I’ll even move my blog(s) to their own domains!

One of the things I really enjoy about the blogging community is that I’m always finding opportunities where my blogging can make a difference. I’ve blogged here to support Yoga Bear and tweeted to support Cancer and Careers – two organizations who give direct, real-time support to cancer survivors, support which makes their days easier. The most recent opportunity was a call for bloggers to help compile an ebook designed to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation and raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research and support.

Yeah – I know. I don’t have breast cancer; I have rectal cancer…and we have our own awareness and funding issues. But at the end of the day, I’m a woman. I have breasts. I have cousins and an aunt who’ve had breast cancer, and one of my cousins died of recurrent BC. I work in pre-clinical research, helping to make cancer drugs – and in the vivarium, drugs don’t wear single-color awarenss ribbons. Drugs that work on some kinds of cancer often become candidates for treatment regimens in other types – and every step forward makes a difference for all types of cancers.

I submitted one of my favorite posts, “The (reluctant) cancer warrior,” — and I’m proud to announce that it was accepted and appears in the Blog4Cause ebook produced by Lance Ekum (@lance02) and Joanna Sutter (@joannasutter), authors of the Journey of Life and Fitness & Spice blogs, respectively.

Every donation, large and small, to the Komen Foundation from the targeted Blog4Cause page gives the donor a download key to the ebook Ekum and Sutter compiled. Even more important, the ebook puts survivors’ perspectives in the hands of even more people. Through this effort, awareness about and understanding of living with cancer will reach a new audience. I’m very proud to have been accepted in Blog4Cause’s effort – and very happy that by doing something I enjoy, I can do a little good.

Ekum and Sutter’s effort also stirred up some sleeping marketing and PR skills, has me thinking that there’s ebook potential out here to raise year-round awareness about colorectal cancer.

Bloggers and friends – would you be up for a similar effort targeted as a colorectal cancer awareness/fund-raising effort? Take a look at your best posts (or write up a new one) and let me know!

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Comments to 'Brace Yourself for Pink Overload'

pink ribbon boutique
Image by mtsofan via Flickr

I wrote this comment to Halle Tecco’s guest blog “Brace Yourself for Pink Overload” which appeared yesterday on Huffington Post. Halle’s original post is here:

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Halle is the force behind Yoga Bear, which makes yoga available to cancer survivors through several programs — a cause which actually makes a difference in the lives of the survivors it touches. When you give to any charitable organization, make sure your donation is really going to make a difference, and not just give visible (but no financial) support to your cause!

My comment:

“Thanks, Halle, for bringing these intentional giving resources to everyone’s attention. Having cancer is horrible and life-changing, but ‘giving’ and ‘supporting’ a cause based on color of product and legend on the box is NOT the way to help cancer survivors live better and move forward with their lives! Too many people are afraid to say out loud what you’ve said here — think before you pink (or any other awareness color, for that matter!)”

Know where your contribution dollars go, folks — just because the item has an awareness ribbon or is the awareness color of a cancer charity you support does NOT mean that all or even a significant portion or any of your purchase price will ultimately go toward research about the disease or, even more important, support of actual cancer patients.

Think before you give, and give intentionally!

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