Hello Everyone,
I realize my last post was before our fundraiser on May 5, yikes! There is much to share with you. First off, our Cinco de Mayo fundraiser was a huge success! We plated over 270 dinners, rolling over 800 enchiladas, fresh salsa galore and too many pounds of rice and beans to count- all made by family and friends with endless love. Thank you everyone who participated. We brought in over $2,100, making a nice dent in the $5,000 that we need to raise for the Waltz Warrior Ribbon.
Speaking of ribbons…. My dear Isabella and Hailey have been busy with their fundraising efforts for their ribbon, Butterfly Kisses. They participated in Friendswood’s Art in the Park where they passed out educational materials on breast cancer awareness and took donations. They learned how to look people in the eyes with confidence and speak on breast cancer and their ribbon. I was so proud of them and in the end they raised $178. A photo below shows how their ribbon is coming along. Save the date for their next fundraiser on June 17th at Pearland Chickfila. They will be having a pink lemonade stand!
If you have not been able to participate in any of our fundraisers, but would like to donate towards our collaborative goal of $10,000, there are several ways to give. You can mail a check to me payable to The Rose or pay online through the Waltz Warrior PayPal account http://www.goicd.com/waltzwarrior.htm
If you are a movie buff, hopefully you have seen Forks and Knives. This documentary which I have been talking about for some time opened this month. In Houston, it will show through May 25th at the Edwards Cinema Greenway Plaza. A group of us will be seeing it tomorrow (Monday) at 11:45, join us if you can!
On to laughter. Last week I attended an educational luncheon hosted by Pink Ribbons Project. The guest speaker was a chaplain from MD Anderson who is certified in laughter yoga. He discussed the benefits of laughter on health. Bottom line, belly laughing is good for your hormones, blood, lungs and immunity. I admit that I felt awkward looking at strangers in the eye laughing at, to and with them. But in the end, I was belly laughing alongside with a great group of women. Ho, Ho, Ha, Ha, Ha!
Lastly, I saw a new oncologist at MD Anderson last week. If you remember, my dear oncologist Dr. Rivera is moving his practice to Phoenix as part of the MDA system. I have gone round and round in my head on whether to fly to Phoenix twice a year or find someone in Houston. If you are a patient with a chronic issue of any kind, you know how precious a good doctor is! They become part of your family. Long story short, I connected with the doctor I saw and plan to see her again. She made the first round! Despite my approval of the doc, I was shocked at my physical response to the mass of cancer patients at MDA. Coming from Methodist, I was used to seeing what I thought of as healthy looking patients. Well, MDA is a different tune. Yes, there is an abundance of hope in the air and it is organized as The Container Store. But the cancer, Oh the cancer, it was too much. I became dizzy, thought I was going to faint. I was flooded with those stomach butterflies that I had before. I took some deep breaths (lots of them) and reminded myself over and over again that I was well! Had a pep talk with Me and end the end Anticancer Amy was okay. Oh, the day in the life of a cancer patient...
Laugh and Be Well,
