Wine Tasting for the Cure

WINE TASTING FOR THE CURE

Come share great company, wine, and music for a great cause! The Lost Leaf is generously hosting an evening of wine and song to benefit the Breast Cancer 3-Day fund-raising efforts of a downtown team walking 60 miles in 3 days. 100% of the proceeds will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

This will be a relaxed, informal tasting of the fabulous wines on the Lost Leaf menu (all donated by the venue). Subterranean Jazz is providing the music for the evening in support of the cause. We will also have a small art and music auction, with work by Jason Hill and others.

Sunday, October 28
Tasting 7-9:00 pm
$20 donation

Tickets can be 'purchased' in advance by making a donation here (your name will be on a list at the door) or the night of the event. (You will receive a receipt directly from Komen for the Cure for tax purposes.)

As Father's Day Approaches...

An email today from the Komen Foundation reminds that men are affected by breast cancer too. Please click on one of the links and write your Congressman in support of a funding increase for the National Cancer Institute. It takes less than a minute.



Dear Sharon:

Six years ago, I discovered a lump in my chest. My doctors ordered a mammogram, and then a mastectomy to get rid of the cancer they found. It's an experience many women have had...but I'm a man.

My name is Guy Jones, and I'm a breast cancer survivor. After my mastectomy, doctors discovered that I had genetically-linked cancers of the breast and prostate. New tests showed that I was a carrier of a genetic mutation that increases breast cancer risk. Because I knew that, my two daughters and two sons were able to get tested. Those genetic tests - combined with a cutting-edge detection study at the National Institute of Health and the National Cancer Institute - saved my daughter Marty from early-stage breast cancer.

Marty and I are living proof of the critical need for cancer research dollars. As Congress considers its 2008 budget, please take a moment to tell your legislators not to cut funding for the National Cancer Institute.

Send a message to Congress today - increase cancer research funding, don't decrease it.

Scientists today are on the verge of amazing breakthroughs. They're finding new ways to treat and detect cancer, so people like Marty and me have a chance to beat the odds. But if the National Cancer Institute doesn't get enough funding, these potentially life-saving breakthroughs will never reach doctors or patients. This year, 178,000 women and 2,000 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer. This is no time to cut funding and delay research breakthroughs. A lack of funds for the NCI will have a direct impact on cancer patients: fewer clinical trials, fewer studies, and less progress.

Tell Congress to increase funding for the NCI, so cancer researchers can bring us closer to a cure.

I was lucky. Today I'm 78 and going strong. (As Marty tells everyone, we're a tough bunch.) My daughter and I beat breast cancer together, but we couldn't have done it without medical research advances and the National Cancer Institute.

Please remind Congress that this funding really does save lives.

Not many dads can say they went through breast cancer with their daughter. This Father's Day, my wish is that all cancer patients - even those with rare diagnoses, like mine - will have access to life-saving treatments, like Marty and I did. With proper funding for the NCI, we'll come closer to making that happen.

Thanks for listening to my story, and thanks for speaking up for cancer funding.

Sincerely,

Guy B. Jones
Breast Cancer Survivor

Another Good Reason to Walk

The 24-week training program for the 3-Day includes crosstraining 2x/week. Food for thought for everyone: Researchers at USC found that women who did high-intensity sessions such as swimming or running for at least five hours per week had a 20-30 percent lower risk of breast cancer than women who did moderate activities for less than 30 minutes a week. "Strenuous exercise can lower production of estrogen and progesterone. Increased levels of these hormones have been associated with a higher risk of breast cancer," according to lead researcher Dr. Leslie Bernstein. But even a small amount of physical activity has an impact on reducing risk according to the study. Amen for the pool at my place.

miles walked = 25 | miles to go = 620 | days till 3-day = 150

Miles Walked: 6 :: Miles to Go: 639

My "official" 24 weeks of training started this past Monday. When the week is over, I'll have walked 12 miles, with a bit of cross-training in between. I've actually had to slow down my pace to 3 mph, aiming for endurance, which is sometimes challenging when the clown on the treadmill next to you is walking at warp-speed to get their workout over with in the least amount of time. Overall, not really a tough week, except for ironing out my shoe issues and accepting that I'm going to be droppin' some dough on professionally fitted shoes for a change...my littlest toes are protesting. Thorlo sent me a free pair of uber-distance socks (pink-trimmed, of course); if I wear those, I'll be needed a full size larger shoe. But, man, are they comfy. As an official sponsor of the 3-Day, they are offering to donate $6 for every 6-pack anyone buys. They are pricey, but if you need cushy socks and can afford it, buy them here. I also hit CVS and stocked up on band-aids, moleskin, and Advil. :-) I'll be walking the canals here in Phoenix tomorrow and Sunday, really early as it's in the triple digits here now. Starting tomorrow and for the next week, the challenge will be to keep up with my training schedule in light of my Mom's arrival and our all-kitsch Vegas/LA/Pacific Coast road trip next week.

miles walked = 6 | miles to go = 639 | days till 3-day = 161

Why I'm Walking

Barmy adj.
1. marked by spirited enjoyment
2. eccentric; daft

It's hard for me to believe that a decade has passed since my family lost the gentlest member of our lot, Carlyn. She lost her recurring battle with breast cancer in 1997 at the age of 37. In kin terms, Carlyn was my aunt, although she was just two years older than me (that's us in the pool at the top of this page). Her death was a rude introduction to this disease; I had my first mammogram done that fall, at 35. Since 1997, my screenings have become increasingly difficult to read given the nature of my anatomy and physiology (multiple kinds of annual screenings and weeks of waiting for definitive results). Since 1997, too many other people I know have been affected by breast cancer. I wish none of them had endured this horrible disease, but happily they are survivors.*

In light of this experience with cancer, I decided several weeks ago to walk the Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day (November 2-4, Phoenix) to raise awareness about early detection and to personally raise $3000+ to help a fabulous organization support essential research for a cure and improve services for those affected by the disease. Over the 3 day, 60 mile course, I will spend time remembering Carlyn. Remembering some of the daft things we did: our infamous room painting episode; stalking the lead high school stage band trumpet player in Ocean Grove; taking three little kids hiking in the Shenandoah's; seeing Graham Parker at the Stone Pony (ok, not so daft); other barmy escapades that will come to me later. I'll spend time thinking about the survivors I know; remembering that if they can beat cancer, I can easily survive 60 miles with the support of a few thousand other people who really believe individuals can make a difference.

*More about the survivors I know when I get their okay to write about them.

Eight Ways You Can Make a Difference

60 miles? 3 days? Barmy, you say? This is perhaps daft, but it will be an adventure marked by spirited enjoyment. That's one reason you should get involved. You should get involved for all the people you know affected by cancer. You should get involved because it'll be more fun for me to share a tent with someone I know, who is willing to bandage my blisters and coat my feet in Vaseline (I would do the same for you). If that's too weird for you, there are other ways you can get involved. Follow the links below, read, watch, take up the cause...

1. Register to walk with me (watch the '06 Phoenix video).
2. Register to be part of the Crew.
3. Subscribe to this blog, follow my training and fundraising progress, and respond with some good things now and again (see the subscription options in the left column).
4. Become my friend on MySpace, make me a top friend so all your friends see this, and forward my bulletins to all of your friends.
5. Read my list of creative ways for individuals to give, then donate generously.
6. Read my list of creative ways for businesses to give, then donate generously.
7. Come out during the week of November 2-4 and sit at a cheering station or come sweep me up at the end (details later).
8. Most importantly, feel yourself (or someone else) up. Early detection saves lives.

Six Creative Ways for Individuals to Give

$5...$10...every dollar makes a dent in my $3000+ fundraising commitment. Please consider giving anything you can afford. Following is a list of ways to increase your gift at no cost to you, ease the burden of giving all at once, and some creative ways to honor people you know affected by cancer.

1. Before you give, check with your employer; many companies have Matching Gift programs that will double your contribution! If your employer offers this, I will guide you through the process.
2. Give over time - the Komen donation system allows you to set up four equal installments. $10 or $25 per month (the cost of one dinner out) over four months really makes a difference!
3. Donate $1 for every mile (60) I will walk and I'll add your name or the name of someone you want to remember to my shirt, shoes, pink tutu, pink wig, wherever you choose (safety considered) during the 3-Day.
4. Donate $2 for every mile (60) I will walk and I'll add the picture of someone you wish to remember to an article of clothing or in the form of a temporary tattoo someplace (visible!) on my person during the walk.
5. Donate $10 or $20 per day I will walk (3) in honor of someone you know who has been affected by cancer.
6. If you are an artist or a musician, donate your work or time for a fundraiser I'm planning for October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month). Email me for details.

If you have other creative ideas for individual giving, please add a comment here or email me. If you want to make a contribution by check instead of online, contact me (checks must be received before October 2nd in order to be applied to my $3,000 goal).

Who benefits?
Read here if you want all the nitty gritty on donating.