36th Annual Great American Smokeout

Wow I've been slacking on these, my apologizes (life is just INCREDIBLY hectic).

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From the American Cancer Society

36 year's ago the American Cancer Society began a campaign to educate Americans on the hazards of smoking and encourage Americans to become smoke free, and the Great American Smokeout was born.  The official day is November 17th however it has become a month wide effort to end smoking in America.  The American Cancer Society encourages every smoker to quits smoking on November 17, 2011 in the hopes that they wont pick up the habit back up the next day.  The American Cancer Society recognizing that quitting smoking is by far one of the hardest things people can do so the American Cancer Society provides both the information on how to quit and the support to make it happen.   Not only should Americans quit smoking cigarettes but also they should quit using chewing tobacco, "dip", and all other tobacco products.

Here are some of the reasons you or a loved one should quit smoking (information from the American Cancer Society):

-When you quit smoking your heart rate and blood pressure will begin to drop in the first 20 minutes

-"Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in half. Cervical cancer risk falls to that of a non-smoker. Stroke risk can fall to that of a non-smoker after 2-5 years" will begin to decrease after 5 years of your last cigarette

-If you smoke 2 packs of cigarettes every day for 365 days you will smoke over 14600 cigarettes and spend an average of $3,650 in one year on ciagarettes!

-You will live longer and be able to spend more time with your families.

More information can be found here: http://www.cancer.org/Healthy/StayAwayfromTobacco/GreatAmericanSmokeout/

So how else is the American Cancer Society trying to make America smoke free, through the efforts of the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network's (ACS CAN) Smoke Free Campaigns. These campaigns occur both on the local and state levels to get towns, cities, counties and states smoke free.  ACS CAN has helped create 100% smoke free workplaces, restaurants and bars in the following states:

Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Main, Maryland (my home state!), Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.  AND the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico! That means that almost HALF of the United States Population is protected!!

There are 12 other states that have at least one of those three places as designated as 100% smoke free.  Virginia (my new state of residency) is working towards having restaurants and bars 100% smoke free by taking the step towards creating more spaces within the location smoke free (e.g smoking in rooms only with separate ventilation or outdoors), but hopefully with the help of "Smoke Free Virginia Now!" and ACS CAN this can be achieved in the coming years.

Want to get your state smoke free? Support ACS CAN and reach out to your local legislators about how you want a smoke free environment for everyone!!

 

Look what the students at Oklahoma State University are doing to ensure that their campus continues to stay tobacco free:

We could all take a lesson from them!

Why am I so passionate about getting more Americans to quit smoking?  I lost my a grandfather in 2001 to lung cancer, and because of that I believe no one should lose a family member to a preventable disease.  Also, I have asthma and I am allergic to tobacco which means that every time I breath in second hand smoke I run the risk of being hospitalized with a severe asthma attack.  It's not fair to myself and others who have asthma that we have to avoid certain places and people to for our own safety - this doesn't just happen when walking down the street, I have had to avoid rides at amusement parks because they don't have a no smoking policy on their grounds. I hope that by the time I have children they don't have to worry about where they go just so they can breath clean air.

I apologize if I offended anyone with this post, since it is by far one of the most personal ones I have written lately, but for me this is a very personal issue.  Yes I completely understand how difficult is in to stop smoking, I may not have been around my grandfather often but I am completely aware of how difficult it was for him to try to quit smoking even while he was undergoing cancer treatment (unfortunately he was not able to quit).  I by no means think that you can just wake up tomorrow and not be a smoker anymore, I just believe that with help from friends, family and resources like the American Cancer Society you can live a healthier life and quit smoking.  So join me in talking to friends and family about the benefits of kicking the habit this month and start their New Year's resolutions early!

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Until We Find a Cure

2011 South Atlantic Relay For Life Leadership Summit

What happens when over 900 Relayers meet for a two day Summit? Purple happens!

I got to meet people from all over the South Atlantic division, which runs from Maryland to Georgia, who all share the same Relay passion I do.  Probably one of the neatest people I got the opportunity to meet was the chair for a 2nd year Relay (1st year as a full Relay) from a Native American reservation in North Carolina...her event is the first on a reservation! There were committee members from community and college events, and from small community/college events to the #1 community and collegiate events in the USA.  Basically the event was incredible and unlike anything I've ever been to before.

The event consisted of basically 4 parts:
-Relay Store, where we all spent tons of money on really awesome Relay gear
-Relay Expo full of booths about how fundraising, advocacy, Bark For Life, Relay Recess,
survivor and caregiver recognition and places to tell your Relay story.
-State rallies and small group breakouts: In the state rallies we got to hear about how awesome our individual states (with Virginia being the best of course) and awards for per-capita and reaching $100K+.  While in the small group breakouts we discussed ways to raise more money and over come fundraising obstacles, refresh our Relays and learn how to better prepare when needing to ask someone a very important question (e.g. joining a committee, making a corporate donation, etc...).
-General Session: These were awesome! This is where 900+ Relays joined in one ballroom for some of the most amazing/emotional/uplifting speeches I've ever heard about Relay. We had a Purple Passion Party on Friday night where I saw some of the craziest purple outfits ever! A fashion show of the 2012 incentives that turned into a flash mob of college Relayers and their staff partners. And some of the best speakers I have ever heard!  You can check them out at www.relaybuzz.org.

During the Virginia state Rally my communities brought home:
-Bedford: Per Cap Award for $0.99 per cap
-Salem: Per Cap Banner for $5.33 per cap and a banner for raising over $100,000
-Vinton: Per Cap Banner for $11.04 per cap and a banner for having the #1 Per Cap in the state!!

Virginia Tech received tons of awards for their success in 2011 to include a top team fundraising total for the 2011 Relay Exec

and awards for top online fundraising amount and most money raised by a collegiate event!!

 

Current and alumni VTRelayers with Reuel Johnson, National VP for Relay For Life

My favorite part though were all of the guest speakers.  We had survivors speak about how the efforts of Relay For Life have saved their lives, caregivers talk about how they fight back in their loved ones name, and American Cancer Society staff talk about the where the American Cancer Society and Relay For Life have been and where it is going.  Dr. Otis Brawely, our Chief Medical Officer, put it best when it said "we are doing a half assed job screening for colon cancer" because it's true we have to get the preventative care to all Americans if we want to save 1000 lives a day!  The South Atlantic Division is the #1 in the nation for Relay For Life for a reason, because we are determined to save 1000 lives a day and put an end to the words "you have cancer".

Of course we knew there were going to be speakers and videos that would bring most of us to tears, as evident by the fact that tissues were waiting at each seat when we arrived for the 1st General Session, but none brought more tears to my eyes than the 2012 RFL Caregiver Video.  Do not watch this video without tissues in hand.  It always hits home for me, especially the poster that says "I purchased a luminaria in your memory"

The 2011 South Atlantic Relay For Life Leadership Summit was incredible, inspiring, fun, and PURPLE! I loved every minute of it and I hope my volunteers and I can bring home the excitement we got from Relay Summit and have the most successful Relay Season yet!

We will save 1000 lives a day because We Save Lives.

from www.relaybuzz.org

You can help reach 1000 lives saved a day by donating at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/JulieTerrell2012 today! 

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Until We Find a Cure

Look Good...Feel Better

When women go through chemotherapy and radiation they deal with many different side effects of the medication but sometimes the hardest is not the nausea or lack of appetite, but instead not looking like themselves.

A side of effect of chemotherapy that is visible every day is hair loss.  For women their hair is a large part of who they are, so when it falls out or becomes very thin they don't feel like themselves anymore.  The American Cancer Society offers free wigs, turbans and hats for any women who wish to receive one. You can find them at your local American Cancer Society office.

Another a side of effect of chemo and radiation is skin discoloration and texture change, especially on the face.  Look Good...Feel Better is a programed designed to help women and teens (male and female) apply make-up and use skin care products to help the patients feel better about themselves and boost their self-esteem.  The program is a non-medical program designed with the idea that if one feels better about how they look they will start to feel better overall.  When a woman arrives at the session she is presented with a never before opened skincare bag that is tailored to their skin ton (light to dark) filled with donated cosmetics and skin care products.  The session is then led by a trained facilitator (who must be a licensed cosmetologist) who demonstrates how to apply the makeup, properly wear a wig (if needed) and begin to feel better.  The sessions typically run for about 2 hours and are held typically held at the local American Cancer Society office, Discovery Shop, or hospital.  They are a wonderful free program the American Cancer Society offers because it allows cancer patients the opportunity to feel beautiful again even when they are feeling their worst. For more information check out http://lookgoodfeelbetter.org.

These are a great videos done by the Harrisonburg American Cancer Society office about Look Good...Feel Better and other products/support at your local office:





The American Cancer Society also offers free bras and prostheses to women who have undergone mastectomies.  There are trained staff and volunteers at local offices to help properly fit a patient so she can feel beautiful and like her old self again.

As always if you would like more information about this Patient Services Program, any of our other programs or to find out any information related to cancer you can visit cancer.org or call toll-free to 1-800-227-2345 at any time of the day or night.

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Until We Find a Cure

Reach to Recovery

(I apologize for this post being late, so as a comprise I'll do posts this week!)

When women (or men) are diagnosed with breast cancer there are immediately faced with many questions: "Will I lose my hair?" "Will I have to have a mastectomy?" "How am I going to get through this?" "Where do I got for help and guidance?" or "Who can I talk to?"
Luckily there is a patient services program designed specifically for women and men who are diagnosed with breast cancer and it is called Reach to Recovery.  And in case you didn't know, yes men can be diagnosed with breast cancer.

Reach to Recovery has been provided by the American Cancer Society for over 40 years. The program is designed to help both men and women who are facing a range of breast cancer experiences from just diagnosed to entering remission.  What Reach to Recovery does, is it pairs a current breast cancer patient with a Reach volunteer, who meet a set of criteria, to discuss any questions or concerns the patient has and to help guide them through the journey of cancer treatment.  The Reach volunteers are not every day volunteers, they are breast cancer survivors who have been in remission for at least 1 year and are thoroughly trained to work with the patients. The volunteers come from varying backgrounds of breast cancer experience as well, some have had mastectomies, double mastectomies, had lymphedema, or breast reconstruction.  By carefully pairing patients and volunteers, the patients can receive the best information and support about exactly what they are going through.

For some breast cancer patients, their Reach to Recovery volunteer is the only person in their life who understands exactly what they are going through and can talk to them on a level that they understand.  All of the volunteers are trained on what medical terms mean and how to explain them in more basic terms so the patient doesn't feel overwhelmed or confused.  But aside from all of that the Reach volunteers are there simply as way for the patient to see that there is hope of survival because the Reach volunteer has been there before, they have survived.

I think this program is remarkable and I wish my Grandmother had had the opportunity to speak with a Reach to Recovery volunteer during her battle with breast cancer.  I believe all women and men who are diagnosed with breast cancer, regardless of the stage, need to seek out the Reach to Recovery program because it will give them the hope, support and understanding they need to get through their diagnosis, treatment and recovery.


And as always more information about patient services program, cancer facts & statistics, or cancer information can be found at cancer.org or by calling 1-800-227-2345 at any hour of the day or night. 
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Until We Find a Cure