Give Cancer the Bird!

I hate cancer. I think it's stupid, mean and useless. I mean what do you gain from having cancer? Headaches, stress and hair loss. It's not fun! I know there are people out there who say cancer is a blessing. I am not one of them.

I asked our facebook fans how many of them have been affected by this disease. Though I wasn't surprised by the number of responses, it still made me take pause.

Hare are a few of the responses we got:

"I lost my Mother in law April 15.2010 to Breast Cancer .. My Mom also had Bladder cancer and it's been in remission for 6 years now..."

"lost my mum nearly a year ago to pancreatic cancer"

"i lost my mom to lung cancer"

"I lost my dad 4 years ago at age 62 to kidney cancer that spread to his brain"

"I lost two aunts one to cervical cancer the other to breast cancer...."

"Lost sister to Ovarian cancer, Aunt to lung, husband living with Prostate cancer..."

"my dad pass away with liver cancer. my daughter robyn has ovaian cancer its bad also she has 2 spots on her left breast. ... i had curvical, aslo had lung cancer, i'm cancer free... my daughter amanda had ovarian cancer she is cancer free"

"my mom has breast cancer for the second time"

"My dad is currently fighting lymphoma. Fortunately it is going really well and is expected to be done with chemo after two more rounds. My wife's aunt died this week due to cancer in the liver and bone... My wife had skin cancer on her nose...Fortunately all of her check-ups have been clear since."

And as for me? I lost both my grandfathers and my mother. My cousin is in recovery for Breast Cancer and doing well. Recently a very good friend of Jack's (my boyfriend) was diagnosed with the disease, so she's now in our thoughts and prayers.

What You Can Do has teamed up with The Lung Cancer Alliance, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, SHARE, TheBreastCancerSite.com, The Colon Cancer Alliance, and The Skin Cancer Foundation. All of these organizations offer great programs and support for people and families struggling with this disease.

When I took on this 46 day challenge, I knew that I would have to address cancer, but how? I wanted to get people talking so we that we could get motivated and do something about this issue. It seems that there is no one that cancer doesn't touch. It doesn't discriminate by age, gender, race or religion. There is no one target. So I'm really not sure what to do about it. I guess I wanted to get our community talking. To share stories, to offer support and guidance on where to turn for help. I knew I wanted to take time to reflect on this disease, so that's what I'm going to do with my minute today.

Hopefully in the future people's posts will be different. They'll say, "I'm cured!" but for now, all of those affected are in my thoughts - especially today.

Thanks
Alicia

Our Interview with the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Part 2

Below is Part 2 of our interview with Dan Zenka, Vice President of Communications at the Prostate Cancer Foundation

If someone wants to get involved and help - what would you suggest?
• One way to become involved is to become an Athlete for a Cure (www.athletesforacure.org) to fundraise and participate in sporting events.
• Make a donation online to advance research at www.pcf.org and click Take Action/General Donation.
• Support annual events such as PCF’s Home Run Challenge, every June, and Movember, each November. (Home Run Challenge: http://www.pcf.org/site/c.leJRIROrEpH/b.5822011/k.BB01/Home_Run_Challenge.htm. Movember: http://www.pcf.org/site/c.leJRIROrEpH/b.5822021/k.D891/Movember.htm).
• Stay tuned for Community for a Cure – a PCF program that allows any individual or group to fundraise on behalf of the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

In your experience, what have you found to be a major misconception about Prostate Cancer?
• Prostate cancer is not just an old man’s disease—men in their 30s and 40 are diagnosed with the disease. Early detection and treatment are crucial and can provide a 5-year survival rate of more than 95%
• There are 24 known types of prostate cancer; some are very aggressive, others are not. Not all prostate cancer patients require aggressive treatment. Some are viable candidates for active surveillance.

Is there anything else that you feel people should know about PCF and prostate cancer?
• PCF’s model of venture philanthropy has changed the landscape for funding scientific research; cash in, cash out rapidly to support research (no endowment)
• Programs such as Young Investigators and Creativity Awards support groundbreaking, out of the box ideas and help accelerate discovery
• Review grant applications and make award decisions within 60 days—fund them in no more than 90 days.
• Require sharing of findings with scientific community to “fast forward” collaboration and further discovery (PCF Annual Scientific Retreat).
• More breakthroughs have been made in PCa research in the past year than in the last decade.

What You Can Do Presents: Join the Fight Against Prostate Cancer

Join the Fight Against Prostate Cancer

Action Link: http://www.pcf.org

Starring: Alicia Arinella and Jack Halaby
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics Provided by: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, http://www.pcf.org

Special Thanks:
Sean Grimes, Cara A. Lasala and everyone at the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Dennis Arinella

What You Can Do Presents: Prostate Cancer Support

Prostate Cancer Support

Action Link: http://www.mybridge4life.org/pcf

Starring: R. Ernie Silva
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics provided by: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, http://www.pcf.org

Special Thanks:
Sean Grimes, Cara A. Lasala and everyone at the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Dennis Arinella

What You Can Do Presents: Athletes for a Cure

Athletes for a Cure

Prostate Cancer Foundation:
http://www.pcf.org/site/c.leJRIROrEpH/b.5822029/k.FD5D/Athletes_for_a_Cure.htm

Starring: Josh Zitomer
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission


Statistics Provided by: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, http://www.pcf.org

Special Thanks:
Sean Grimes, Cara A. Lasala and everyone at the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Dennis Arinella

What You Can Do Presents: Family History Prostate Cancer

Family History
Prostate Cancer Foundation: http://www.pcf.org

Starring: Stephen Jagde
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information provided by: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, http://www.pcf.org

Special Thanks:
Sean Grimes, Cara A. Lasala and everyone at the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Dennis Arinella

What You Can Do Presents: Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer Foundation: http://www.pcf.org

Starring: Desmond Dutcher
Written by: Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Consulting Producer: Mary Micari
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics Provided by: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, http://www.pcf.org


Special Thanks:
Sean Grimes, Cara A. Lasala and everyone at the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Dennis Arinella

Our interview with the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Part 1

PART 1
We couldn’t have done this week without our friends at the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
In addition to being an invaluable resource Dan Zenka, Vice President of Communications, took the time to share some illuminating facts and statistics with us.


From Vice President of Communications Dan Zenka

Please tell us a little bit about the Prostate Cancer Foundation and what it does.
• The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is the world’s largest philanthropic source of support for accelerating the world’s most promoting research for discovering better treatments and cures for prostate cancer.
• PCF was founded in 1993 and has raised nearly $400 million and provided funded to more than 1,500 researchers at nearly 200 institutions worldwide.
• PCF advocates for greater awareness of prostate cancer and more efficient investments of governmental research funds for transformational cancer research. Our efforts have helped produce a 20-fold increase in government funding for prostate cancer.

Could you give us an idea of who Prostate Cancer affects? How widespread is Prostate Cancer?
• Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America, affecting 1 in 6 men.
• In 2010, more than 218,000 new prostate cancer diagnoses will be made and more than 32,000 men will die. That’s a new diagnosis every 2.4 minutes, and a death every 16.4 minutes.
• The older you are, the more likely you are to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Although only 1 in 10,000 men under age 40 will be diagnosed, the rate shoots up to 1 in 38 for ages 40 to 59, and 1 in 15 for ages 60 to 69.
• Approximately 65% of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65; 35% are diagnosed in men younger than 65.
• African American men are 60% more likely to develop prostate cancer compared with Caucasian men and are nearly 2.5 times as likely to die from the disease.
• A man with a father or brother who developed prostate cancer is twice as likely to develop the disease. This risk is further increased if the cancer was diagnosed in family members at a younger age (less than 55 years of age) or if it affected three or more family members.
• For men in the U.S., the risk of developing prostate cancer is 17%.

If someone is diagnosed with this illness what support can the Prostate Cancer Foundation offer?
The Prostate Cancer Foundation is committed to advancing research to discover better treatments and cures for prostate cancer. PCF provides information regarding the disease, facts and statistics, treatment options, side effects, recent discoveries, advances in the field and more for patients and their families. For more information, visit www.pcf.org.

Think there's nothing you can do to help fight Prostate Cancer?

Think there's nothing you can do to prevent Prostate Cancer in 1 Minute? Watch this.

Starring: Desmond Dutcher
Written by: Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Consulting Producer: Mary Micari
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group
Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical information provided by: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, www.pcf.org

Special Thanks:
Sean Grimes and everyone at the Prostate Cancer Foundation, www.pcf.org
Dennis Arinella and everyone at WLIW