We Walk for Her

Almost six months to the day (March 24th) that Tita Emer went home to the Lord, we walked in her honor.

Sunday, September 14 was the annual Ovarian Cancer Run/Walk, which was held at CBS Studios, and was organized by the Ovarian Cancer Coalition of Greater California. Steve, Kuya, Cindi, and I participated in the 3K/5K Walk portion. It was a very festive atmosphere. You could tell families make this an annual ritual. Many teams even had their own personalized t-shirts with the pictures and names of their loved ones. I also saw many people with a sheet of paper pinned to their back with the words- "I run in honor of my Mom (name)" and a picture of their Mom with her years printed below.

I was especially touched when I saw a family wearing a t-shirt with the image of a young girl in what looked like a prom or homecoming photo. When I looked at the date range below her image, I calculated 16 years old!!! Cancer knows no boundaries, folks.

Steve & I had volunteered to give away caps, but for some reason, the caps never came. So, instead, we wandered the booths -picking up Awareness & health brochures and sampling health foods from Whole Foods.

I didn't have time this year to organize a team, but I hope to next year. By then, the babies (Alexandria & Evan) will be a little older; and can perhaps participate in a walk to honor their wonderful Grand Aunt Emer.

Here are some photos on the CBS Studio Lot, as well as the Run/Walk route:

I got teary-eyed when the DJ started playing John Mayer's "Say What You Need to Say." I love that song for its haunting melody and beautiful lyrics. This is my favorite part. So true.

Have no fear For giving in
Have no fear For giving over
You better know
that in the end
It's better to say too much
Then never to say what you
need to say again

Even if your hands are shaking
And your faith is
broken
Even as the eyes are closing
Do it with a heart wide open...
wide....

We love and miss you, Tita Emer!

Another PSA

Had another OCC meeting today, which is our last one before the Big Run/Walk on Sunday, September 14.

For more information on the Run/Walk or if you'd like to volunteer for this event (or any other OCC event), click here or here.

I'll leave you with the ubiquitous (at least in my blog), "Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer," notecard:

Please take a moment to read it. It could save a life (no exaggeration).


p.s.
Tita Emer, you are never far from our thoughts. We miss you terribly.

Worthy Way to Spend Weekend

I attended another Ovarian Cancer Coalition meeting on Saturday. It went a little better than the last meeting. This time, I didn't have to share why or for whose memory I was there; so I didn't cry.

For those of you who didn't know, after Tita Emer was diagnosed in December '06 with Ovarian Cancer, she and I promised that once she went into remission, we would both volunteer for a Cancer cause to help spread awareness and to give back to the Community.

Well, as we're all very aware, happy endings are not guaranteed to any of us. Tita Emer never went into remission and she left us way too early.

At first, I struggled with whether I could continue going to the OCC meetings; because each time I go, I am reminded of why I am there, why I am going alone, and questioning whether there was more that could have been done to save Tita Emer.

But I am also determined not to let her passing be in vain. My philosophy is- If I couldn't save my Aunt's life, I can at least try to help save someone else's Aunt's life.

I was flattered that most of the other volunteers (many of whom are OvCa survivors) thought I displayed an impressive knowledge of OvCa and its course of treatment; so as to sound effective during Health Fairs or Roundtable discussions with the medical community.

I also volunteered to help them with their Treasury/Finance/Bookkeeping activities, since their current Treasurer quit.

Enough about my piddly contributions, I just want to get the word out there that there will be a Walk/Run on September 14 to benefit Ovarian Cancer research:

September 14, 2008 - 10th annual walk and run

The 3K/5K Walk/Run, 10K Run, and Kiddie K

Will be held at

CBS Studio Center4024 Radford
Ave., Studio City, CA.

Registration starts at 7 a.m., Event starts at 8
a.m.Health Fair Opens at 7:30 a.m.
To Register with www.Active.com

You can also click on the following flyer for more information:

The group has extended an invitation to Angelina Jolie (her beloved Mom passed from OvCa), and to Barrack Obama (his Mom passed from OvCa, plus he'll be in L.A during that weekend); and to local politicians (many of whom have already accepted). I'm also going to suggest to our group President that she contact Eva Longoria, since Eva's an OvCa Campaign Ambassador.

And finally, I want to put it out there again. Here are the symptoms of Ovarian Cancer:

Public Service Announcement

Hi everybody,

Just wanted to pass along this bit of information regarding upcoming opportunities to help raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer.

The meeting will be:

Saturday, May 3rd from 10am-11:30am.

The event is sponsored by the Ovarian Cancer Coalition

and will be covering topics such as the annual Walk/Run fundraiser and community outreach.

If you'd like to attend or if you'd like more information, feel free to drop me an email.

Always hopeful for a cure~

Chop, Chop, Chop

I finally lopped off most of my mop last night. As I had posted back in December, I was planning on doing it soon for the sole purpose of donating the hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which partners with HairUWear to make wigs specifically for cancer patients.

Since I hadn’t had short hair in almost 10 years, I was a bit nervous about cutting it- even if it is just to my shoulders. In preparation, I clipped out several photos of hair styles I liked, all of which belong to Jennifer Aniston and all of which are only slightly layered (few layers = more hair to give). Here’s the style that I asked my hairdresser, Rosa, to imitate.

And here’s how I looked after Rosa took shears to shag and chopped off 9 inches:

I must say, it’s definitely a different look. Good different, I think. I instantly got compliments for it – from Rosa (of course!) and my Mom (of course!). hehehe

I plan to donate my hair on a regular basis- as long as I’ve got a healthy (minimum) eight inches to give. I have been so touched by my Aunt’s fight against ovarian cancer – hers and the 20,180 other women diagnosed annually with this horrendous disease. I have seen firsthand the effect that hair loss has on a woman’s self esteem. What I've learned and observed is that when a woman faces the prospect of losing her hair, it becomes not only a matter of vanity, but an extension of herself.

My Aunt was fortunate that her friends had given her several beautiful wigs to have. However, not all women are that fortunate; or have the means to purchase a wig, many of which are very costly (easily $500 and up).

I hope my small gesture will eventually help another woman in need of comfort during the worst time of her life. I encourage anyone – man or woman- to consider donating their hair to this very worthy cause.

Donating Hair to a Good Cause

In honor of my Aunt who has been valiantly fighting Ovarian Cancer for one year now, I've decided to donate my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. I first heard about this concept from a friend of mine, Lyn, who lost her dear Aunt to Ovarian Cancer recently after a four and a half year battle.

It's amazing how I used to take for granted my "little" everyday grooming regimens. Wash & condition hair, comb hair, blow dry hair, and go! I've always had very thick, unruly hair; and up until this year, I never gave thought to the prospect of not having any hair. That is until my Aunt started losing her beautiful, lustrous, black hair as a result of her chemotherapy treatments. It was heartbreaking hearing her speak of chunks of hair falling off, hair being left on the pillow, or hair coming off in the shower. While she did not mourn her hair loss for very long, I do know that she looks forward to the day when she can once again go out in her own hair. Morever, she is not alone in her sentiment.

Here is a short blurb from the Pantene website:

Hair loss can strike an especially crippling blow to women fighting cancer. In fact, a study revealed that nearly 60 per cent of women consider hair loss the worst side effect when undergoing chemotherapy. Eight per cent of these women are at risk of avoiding potentially life-saving treatment. Real-hair wigs can cost as much as $1200 and are often only partially covered by health insurance. To fill this need and help people transform their healthy-looking hair into a heartfelt gift, Pantene partnered with the Canadian Cancer Society to launch Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a campaign that encourages people to grow, cut and donate their hair to create free, real-hair wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment.

I considered donating my hair to other organizations; but I really wanted to make sure that the wigs were going to go toward cancer patients- and more importantly, were free-of-charge. Coincidentally, while I was waiting in the hospital for my Aunt while she was having a CT Scan done, I watched the Oprah episode where Oprah lopped off Hillary Swank's hair in order to donate it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

After googling this organization, here is what I found out with regards to any hair donation:

• Donated hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long (measure hair from just above the elastic band of the ponytail to the ends).
  
• Wavy/curly hair texture is fine—you may straighten hair to measure.
  Hair should be freshly washed and completely dry, without any styling products.
  
• Hair may be coloured with vegetable dyes, rinses and semi-permanent dyes. It cannot be bleached, permanently coloured or chemically treated.
  
• Hair may not be more than 5 percent grey. In order to make the most beautiful, realistic and durable wigs, donated hair must meet the requirements below.
  

I'm still growing out my hair. I estimate another two months until I have a good ponytail to send off. I will update this post with Before and After shots once I make the cut.

If you have hair that you're contemplating cutting or are in need of a coif change, please consider donating your hair to a wonderful cause.