Thankful

I hope that you and your families all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I spent the few days before the holiday at the cancer center having a battery of tests as part of my regular monitoring. I am happy to report that all is well. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Shop Well with You

Wow, I apologize for not updating sooner. The days just got away from me.

I attended an event last night by one of the community programs supported by the LAF, Shop Well with You. This is a non-profit founded by a young woman named Emily Spivak that assists women (people?) going through cancer treatment by improving their self-image through fashion. Last night was their holiday fundraiser. I am so impressed with Emily and what she has accomplished. She is only in her early twenties, and I already find myself coming to her for advice about running a non-profit, etc. A very nice event for a great cause.

Congrats on a job well-done, Emily.

2005 Fundraising goal: $30,000
Raised to date: $770

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE LANCE ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION

Elizabeth Edwards Update

I received this message today (well, me and probably 10 million others) from Elizabeth Edwards. Wishing her well in her treatment and recovery...

Dear Jodi,

First, I want to thank each of you for the support you have given to John Kerry and John Edwards. You gave it in a thousand ways: coming to our events, volunteering to set up and clean up, working the phone banks, knocking on doors, contributing, blogging, standing on corners with signs, whatever it took. Your strength carried us through.

You may have heard that I have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Your strength is carrying my family through too in this latest struggle, and this is a fight we will win. We have (and I say we because John has been with me every minute) started chemotherapy with tremendous confidence, confidence in our doctors, in our ability to face obstacles, and in our friends far and near who we know give us their thoughts and prayers and support today and will continue to do so in the months ahead.

So many of you have tried to reach me recently with your support, and I know that the Senate office and the Wade Edwards Learning Lab have been flooded with calls and e-mails. No complaints there, but in order to take a little pressure off of them, I have resurrected my old e-mail address at elizabeth@oneamericacommittee.com, where you can reach me. I will e-mail periodic updates to you about my progress from there, if you would be interested in getting those. Treatment should last until about next June with follow-ups every three months or so.

I hope you understand how much your support has meant to us. This thank you is to our new and expanded family.

Elizabeth Edwards

Town Hall Meeting

It's late and I'm very tired, but I just wanted to post a quick update. Tonight was the Network for Oncology Communication and Research's town hall meeting at which I got to speak as "token cancer survivor." The meeting was great and very informative. I actually learned a lot from the doctors who spoke. Plus NOCR has pledged to donate $500 to LAF on my behalf. So nice!

I have to confess that sometimes while writing this blog I feel like my posts are so uninteresting that nobody could find this even remotely worth reading. But then I look back to when I started the blog in July and see how my fundraising grew, and it is really nice to have documentation of the whole journey.

So, I will continue to blog. And thank you for being my audience.

2005 Fundraising goal: $30,000
Raised to date: $670

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE LANCE ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION

It Was Two Years Ago Today...

On November 9, 2002 I was checked into the hospital complaining of an agonizing pain in my abdomen and so little energy I could barely move. On my way to the hospital, I vividly remember calling my mother and telling her "I don't want to die." I didn't know what was wrong with me at the time. That was just some weird premonition. Having never been seriously ill in my life, I thought the fact that there actually could be something "really wrong" was the most remote of possibilities. I arrived at the hospital and the admissions people said "good luck." I found that odd and unsettling, as if they knew something I didn't.

The next few days were a blur of drugs, tests and doctors. The next thing I knew my family was at the hospital and I was being told I had cancer that at the time they believed was inoperable and probably terminal. And so I began this journey...

Here I am, two years later. Healthy. Very Grateful to be here. Tomorrow I will speak before a few hundred people as a cancer survivor and advocate. The timing didn't occur to me when I signed on to speak, but it is quite perfect. And I will have a lot to share.

Big Thank Yous today to my special friend Ron for his generous contribution and to Lee for her kind words of support.

2005 Fundraising goal: $30,000
Raised to date: $420

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE LANCE ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION

Well, My Mother Loves Me

The hate mail over the election commentary has died down, but I still feel a pit in my stomach. My mom did write to me today to tell me how proud she was that I stood up for what I believe in. That made me happy. Thanks, Ma. :)

I have been invited by the American Cancer Society to speak at a town hall meeting on colon cancer this Wednesday. At this point it is all kind of mysterious to me, but I will have more details soon, hopefully before Wednesday. Oh, and the group that is putting it on has graciously agreed to give me a nice donation for LAF. Thank you NOCR!

Finally, a big woo-hoo goes out to my oncologist, Howard, for running in the NYC marathon (and running every day in the park, even in winter!). Yay Howard!

This is Very Upsetting to Me

The following was posted anonymously as a comment in my blog today:

Jodi, I look up to you alot and I totally agree that you should voice your choice on who to vote for; however, since you are fundraising, you should definately keep your political opinions to yourself, since donating is giving it has nothing to do with what political party one stands with. So what I am trying to say is, if ya want to help raise money for a cause, than do it for the cause and not to gain prestige as a democrat. I am sure you are doing this for the sake of a human being. I admire you alot and appreciate your whole persona, please do not get offended, I just want to point out that this world is too sensitive to be mixing good deeds with dirty politics. Therefore, I believe that those who sent you hate mail probably misunderstood you and saw your fund raising efforts as a democratic propaganda. Nevertheless, I wish you the best and God Bless US All!

Since I am fundraising I should keep my political opinions to myself? How can I keep my opinions to myself when one candidate in this election (and the unfortunate victor) has agendas completely antithetical to most things that are important to me, as well as that directly affect the objective of my fundraising. I don't voice my opinions here to "raise prestige as a democrat." What I say here relates to raising awareness as a human being.

"God bless us all?" God help us all is more like it....
-Jodi
(making people mad online since 1997)

2005 Fundraising goal: $30,000
Raised to date: $320

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE LANCE ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION

A Battle after the Battle

It has just been reported that Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, was diagnosed with breast cancer the day her husband and Sen. John Kerry conceded the presidential race.

Apparently Edwards discovered a lump in her right breast while on a campaign trip last week. She put off going to the doctor until Wednesday so as not to miss campaign time. The Edwards family went straight to Massachusetts General Hospital from Boston's Faneuil Hall after Kerry and Edwards conceded on Wednesday, where Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed as invasive ductal breast cancer.

Our thoughts are with you, Elizabeth.

I Don't Believe It...

Well, I'm not going to say too much about the election, other than that I'm sad and disappointed. The main reason I'm keeping my big trap shut is because I've gotten hate mail from people asking if they could have their LAF donations refunded after I spoke out for Kerry. Now *that* makes me really sad and disappointed.

But in really, really great news, I received my first official (i.e., other than by me) donation for 2005 fundraising today! Thank you so much, Emily. I am very touched.

2005 Fundraising goal: $30,000
Raised to date: $120

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE LANCE ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION

Please Remember to Vote Today

The future of this country depends on it!

::VOTE KERRY::

That was a subliminal message.:)