Knottie Cancer Fundraising/Help

SBmini

A lot of our members are fighting very serious diseases right now, or have family members who are. I know we all want to help in any way possible. I'm not sure what is the best way to do this. I've done a local cancer walk before, and I intend to do it again next year in honor for everyone here fighting. Does anyone have any thoughts on how we can all help out?

JCbride2015

Haha SBmini I think we were posting at the same time.  I have exactly the same thoughts.

daria24

You could join your local Team in Training, which raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. There are other cancer charities that have a similar program. LLS also does a "Light the Night" event that's similar to Relay for Life.

JaniV123

I would be in for doing this if its an international charity that does walks here. Med schools usually participate and I would sign up to support all the awesome gladiators here on The Knot

Jells2dot0

daria24 said:

You could join your local Team in Training, which raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. There are other cancer charities that have a similar program. LLS also does a "Light the Night" event that's similar to Relay for Life.

I have an acquaintance that is a very active part of her Team in Training. She just did a race and they raised over $3M.

September is National Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. I am trying to decide how I am going to participate, especially since I'll still be in treatment. I will be making my "big reveal" on Facebook to bring awareness to the Society, though. Since not many in my social circle know I'm sick, it is also a way to share my journey.

CMGragain

SBmini said:

A lot of our members are fighting very serious diseases right now, or have family members who are. I know we all want to help in any way possible. I'm not sure what is the best way to do this. I've done a local cancer walk before, and I intend to do it again next year in honor for everyone here fighting. Does anyone have any thoughts on how we can all help out?

Yes!  When your doctor tells you that it is time for you to get your mammogram - DO IT!  Don't put it off!  And while I'm lecturing you, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS!

JCbride2015

kimches said:

I am a huge fan of Be The Match because they saved FI's life. He wouldn't have received a transplant without them (and he is 10 days away from his 2nd "birthday"!!!). You can go here to see when/where they have run/walks and other events: http://bethematch.org/Support-the-Cause/Participate/Attend-an-event/

Also, prayers, (((hugs))), and good vibes to everyone out there who is fighting cancer. It seems like a lot of people have recently posted on here about it. I pray you all win your fights!

I am a donor with Be The Match and keep hoping every time I get their newsletter that I have matched with somebody.  I'm Caucasian though, so I don't think my bone marrow is in high demand.

But please if you are not already registered, you really should.  The cheek swab is so easy.  Especially if you are mixed race or some kind of rare heritage, you could save a life.

jdluvr06

JCbride2015 said:

kimches said:

I am a huge fan of Be The Match because they saved FI's life. He wouldn't have received a transplant without them (and he is 10 days away from his 2nd "birthday"!!!). You can go here to see when/where they have run/walks and other events: http://bethematch.org/Support-the-Cause/Participate/Attend-an-event/

Also, prayers, (((hugs))), and good vibes to everyone out there who is fighting cancer. It seems like a lot of people have recently posted on here about it. I pray you all win your fights!

I am a donor with Be The Match and keep hoping every time I get their newsletter that I have matched with somebody.  I'm Caucasian though, so I don't think my bone marrow is in high demand.

But please if you are not already registered, you really should.  The cheek swab is so easy.  Especially if you are mixed race or some kind of rare heritage, you could save a life.

I'm on the list for that. I don't think my bone marrow is in high demand either.

SBmini

kimches said:

I am a huge fan of Be The Match because they saved FI's life. He wouldn't have received a transplant without them (and he is 10 days away from his 2nd "birthday"!!!). You can go here to see when/where they have run/walks and other events: http://bethematch.org/Support-the-Cause/Participate/Attend-an-event/

Also, prayers, (((hugs))), and good vibes to everyone out there who is fighting cancer. It seems like a lot of people have recently posted on here about it. I pray you all win your fights!

Great call! I've been on the list for a number of years now. It's so easy to sign up and you may end up saving a life.

chibiyui

CMGragain said:

SBmini said:

A lot of our members are fighting very serious diseases right now, or have family members who are. I know we all want to help in any way possible. I'm not sure what is the best way to do this. I've done a local cancer walk before, and I intend to do it again next year in honor for everyone here fighting. Does anyone have any thoughts on how we can all help out?

Yes!  When your doctor tells you that it is time for you to get your mammogram - DO IT!  Don't put it off!  And while I'm lecturing you, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS!

...And now I'm crying.

JCbride2015

CMGragain said:

SBmini said:

A lot of our members are fighting very serious diseases right now, or have family members who are. I know we all want to help in any way possible. I'm not sure what is the best way to do this. I've done a local cancer walk before, and I intend to do it again next year in honor for everyone here fighting. Does anyone have any thoughts on how we can all help out?

Yes!  When your doctor tells you that it is time for you to get your mammogram - DO IT!  Don't put it off!  And while I'm lecturing you, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS!

@CMGragain I swear, you are the helpful nagging mom a lot of us don't have.  

EverAfer

Any way you can help raise money for research or toward a cancer treatment center would affect someone's life. Don't forget the smaller local centers who don't have the big name/money but are still skilled and compassionate. They tend to get forgotten. But there's always something they could use, whether it's extra money for xxx or books and magazines for patients to read while getting chemo. Or even a beverage station for patients and families to help ease the hours long hospital visits.

mrsmagicgeek

I'm also on the Be the Match list, but I'm also Caucasian and not in demand either. My whole family signed up when my sister had leukemia. Another charity we got into because of my sister is caringbridge.org. They were an amazing help in keeping our whole family (spanning two countries) up to date, which took a lot of pressure off of us.

PrettyGirlLost

CMGragain said:

SBmini said:

A lot of our members are fighting very serious diseases right now, or have family members who are. I know we all want to help in any way possible. I'm not sure what is the best way to do this. I've done a local cancer walk before, and I intend to do it again next year in honor for everyone here fighting. Does anyone have any thoughts on how we can all help out?

Yes!  When your doctor tells you that it is time for you to get your mammogram - DO IT!  Don't put it off!  And while I'm lecturing you, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS!

I'm also going to add- WEAR SUNSCREEN AND REAPPLY IT!  Stop fake and baking and stop burning.

I have been working on 3 extensive Melanoma projects for the past three years, and it's been very sad and sobering.

LadyMillil

PrettyGirlLost said:

CMGragain said:

SBmini said:

A lot of our members are fighting very serious diseases right now, or have family members who are. I know we all want to help in any way possible. I'm not sure what is the best way to do this. I've done a local cancer walk before, and I intend to do it again next year in honor for everyone here fighting. Does anyone have any thoughts on how we can all help out?

Yes!  When your doctor tells you that it is time for you to get your mammogram - DO IT!  Don't put it off!  And while I'm lecturing you, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS!

I'm also going to add- WEAR SUNSCREEN AND REAPPLY IT!  Stop fake and baking and stop burning.

I have been working on 3 extensive Melanoma projects for the past three years, and it's been very sad and sobering.

And get Pap smears. And nag your partner to get things checked out regularly.

LadyMillil

foundmymagicgeek said:

I'm also on the Be the Match list, but I'm also Caucasian and not in demand either. My whole family signed up when my sister had leukemia. Another charity we got into because of my sister is caringbridge.org. They were an amazing help in keeping our whole family (spanning two countries) up to date, which took a lot of pressure off of us.

What about donating blood? A girl I used to babysit was diagnosed with lymphoma last year and she needed several blood transfusions. Her family organized a blood donor drive and a lot of people started donating regularly after that. This reminds me, DH and I are due to donate blood.

PrettyGirlLost

LadyMillil said:

foundmymagicgeek said:

I'm also on the Be the Match list, but I'm also Caucasian and not in demand either. My whole family signed up when my sister had leukemia. Another charity we got into because of my sister is caringbridge.org. They were an amazing help in keeping our whole family (spanning two countries) up to date, which took a lot of pressure off of us.

What about donating blood? A girl I used to babysit was diagnosed with lymphoma last year and she needed several blood transfusions. Her family organized a blood donor drive and a lot of people started donating regularly after that. This reminds me, DH and I are due to donate blood.

I can't donate blood anymore.  Not only was I tired of being harassed via the phone every 28 days by the damn centers, but I got fed up with the phlebotomists who somehow managed to miss my extremely large and easily accessible veins and would just tear up and bruise the ever living shit out of me.

LadyMillil

PrettyGirlLost said:

LadyMillil said:

foundmymagicgeek said:

I'm also on the Be the Match list, but I'm also Caucasian and not in demand either. My whole family signed up when my sister had leukemia. Another charity we got into because of my sister is caringbridge.org. They were an amazing help in keeping our whole family (spanning two countries) up to date, which took a lot of pressure off of us.

What about donating blood? A girl I used to babysit was diagnosed with lymphoma last year and she needed several blood transfusions. Her family organized a blood donor drive and a lot of people started donating regularly after that. This reminds me, DH and I are due to donate blood.

I can't donate blood anymore.  Not only was I tired of being harassed via the phone every 28 days by the damn centers, but I got fed up with the phlebotomists who somehow managed to miss my extremely large and easily accessible veins and would just tear up and bruise the ever living shit out of me.

I have difficult veins and I've never had any problems .  . . except for the first time when I broke out in hives after because I'm evidently allergic to the normal disinfectant, so I ask for iodine now. I get an automated call every 6 weeks that I'm eligible to donate but DH doesn't. It's weird that they call me because his blood type is rarer and in higher demand than mine.

PrettyGirlLost

LadyMillil said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

LadyMillil said:

foundmymagicgeek said:

I'm also on the Be the Match list, but I'm also Caucasian and not in demand either. My whole family signed up when my sister had leukemia. Another charity we got into because of my sister is caringbridge.org. They were an amazing help in keeping our whole family (spanning two countries) up to date, which took a lot of pressure off of us.

What about donating blood? A girl I used to babysit was diagnosed with lymphoma last year and she needed several blood transfusions. Her family organized a blood donor drive and a lot of people started donating regularly after that. This reminds me, DH and I are due to donate blood.

I can't donate blood anymore.  Not only was I tired of being harassed via the phone every 28 days by the damn centers, but I got fed up with the phlebotomists who somehow managed to miss my extremely large and easily accessible veins and would just tear up and bruise the ever living shit out of me.

I have difficult veins and I've never had any problems .  . . except for the first time when I broke out in hives after because I'm evidently allergic to the normal disinfectant, so I ask for iodine now. I get an automated call every 6 weeks that I'm eligible to donate but DH doesn't. It's weird that they call me because his blood type is rarer and in higher demand than mine.

If you are O+ or O- they will be hounding you, because you can, in theory, donate to anyone with a positive Rh factor as O+ and anyone at all with a negative Rh factor.

Aray82

Check out what's needed at your local American Cancer Society chapter. When I checked into mine for resources like the Look Good Feel Better program, I was led on a scavenger hunt of five different people and I still didn't reach the current volunteers. Everything on that site was out of date and I was the one who had to alert the cancer center social workers to this since they'd been referring all their patients with this info. If you have time, volunteering for even small things like updating websites can make a huge difference. I will also be running for the fundraiser for my local cancer center in October. Maybe we could start a running/training/motivating group for other knotties around the country also doing fall races? ETA: Apparently I'm not allowed (or just can't figure out) how to make paragraphs on an iPad. Sorry, and I'll post from my real computer from here on out... When all this crap settles down, I'd also like to do a care package supply drive with my church now that I know what patients could really use during chemo. On my first day of chemo, a church had left gift baskets containing pillows and blankets made of Disney movie sheets (it's an adult treatment center, the center already provides free sterilized warm blankets, and it's not the best idea to wrap yourself in a blanket made by a stranger when your immune system is weak) and a composition book with instructions to "Write down 5 things your grateful for every day and you'll feel much better!" Yeah...not what someone with a potentially life-threatening diagnosis feels like doing while an IV of poison is getting shoved up her arm... I will post a list of the supplies and info I'll be giving out in case anyone wants to do something at their local treatment center. In general, figure out what your local center needs and see if you can help with that in some way.

Aray82

LadyMillil said:

PrettyGirlLost said:

CMGragain said:

SBmini said:

A lot of our members are fighting very serious diseases right now, or have family members who are. I know we all want to help in any way possible. I'm not sure what is the best way to do this. I've done a local cancer walk before, and I intend to do it again next year in honor for everyone here fighting. Does anyone have any thoughts on how we can all help out?

Yes!  When your doctor tells you that it is time for you to get your mammogram - DO IT!  Don't put it off!  And while I'm lecturing you, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS!

I'm also going to add- WEAR SUNSCREEN AND REAPPLY IT!  Stop fake and baking and stop burning.

I have been working on 3 extensive Melanoma projects for the past three years, and it's been very sad and sobering.

And get Pap smears. And nag your partner to get things checked out regularly.

A to the Men! My thyroid cancer was found during a routine Pap smear/birth control renewal appointment. And that surgery led to finding my stage I Hodgkin's, which could have gone completely unnoticed until stage IV. If anyone wants to get me a present for my birthday in August, get yourself a physical and a gyno exam even if you don't "need" one. And ffs, please get some health insurance if you don't have it already!

PrincessOfHavoc

I am AB- and donate whenever possible. Granted, it's never through Red Cross because I refuse to support their idiotic, outdated homophobic practices. One of my local burn units is my usual because my plasma is universal.

Please support Planned Parenthood! It's the only complete well woman check I was able to get for years, vs an OB/GYN who did substandard care. I'm far from the only one in that position.

LondonLisa

Another good donation is cord blood. If you decide to have children, see if the hospital where you deliver has a cord blood donation programme. It is absolutely painless (just donating the stem cells in the umbilical cord and placenta) and has one of the best effects to help people battle cancer as well as with organ transplants. Cord blood stem cells are really revolutionising how diseases and organ transplants are treated. There is an especially urgent need if you/ the child are from a minority group or mixed race heritage.

The umbilical cord and placenta are normally thrown away unless you make other plans, so it is really win win. 

Jells2dot0

PrettyGirlLost said:

CMGragain said:

SBmini said:

A lot of our members are fighting very serious diseases right now, or have family members who are. I know we all want to help in any way possible. I'm not sure what is the best way to do this. I've done a local cancer walk before, and I intend to do it again next year in honor for everyone here fighting. Does anyone have any thoughts on how we can all help out?

Yes!  When your doctor tells you that it is time for you to get your mammogram - DO IT!  Don't put it off!  And while I'm lecturing you, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS!

I'm also going to add- WEAR SUNSCREEN AND REAPPLY IT!  Stop fake and baking and stop burning.

I have been working on 3 extensive Melanoma projects for the past three years, and it's been very sad and sobering.


THIS!! Believe it or not, I've also had skin cancer. I used to fake and bake all of the time. I had basal cell and a very early stage melanoma. So, when I told the doctors about my melanoma when they found my mass, there was a brief look of panic.

SBmini

Here's an idea- since we're all over the place, how about we design a Knottie fuck cancer shirt. We can put it up on Cafe Press or Zazzle and all purchases can be donated to the American Cancer Society. Then, we can all wear the shirts are our local cancer walks. We'll be a national/international team!

Do we have any graphic designers around here?

wandajune6

I'm O+ and have worked in healthcare for years. I basically donate every time I visit any hospital client- which probably means that I donate a bit too much.

I can't agree more with the PPs reminding you of sunscreen. In our family, everyone of my parent's generation has had a melanoma. My generation has done better but we all get checked annually- and it's scary every time.

It would be great if we had a fund that people could send money to and others could request funds from. There have been a few situations lately where I just want to send money...

sarahufl

SBmini said:

Here's an idea- since we're all over the place, how about we design a Knottie fuck cancer shirt. We can put it up on Cafe Press or Zazzle and all purchases can be donated to the American Cancer Society. Then, we can all wear the shirts are our local cancer walks. We'll be a national/international team!

Do we have any graphic designers around here?

I like the idea of a t-shirt! But I really hate the idea of wearing anything that says the word fuck on it.

SBmini

The "F Cancer Foundation"? It is a little bit more PC.

@Wandajune6- when I worked at Starbucks we had a thing called the cup fund. Basically, employees could donate a portion of their income to the fund that was there to help coworkers in need. If a fellow barista got ill, in an accident, etc, they could withdraw from the cup fund to help them out. I thought it was a really good example of a community coming together to help one another. 

I'm O+ too and donate about every six weeks. I got my 1 gallon pin a few donations ago, working towards #2!

beethery

@SBmini I'll get cracking on a shirt this afternoon if we can get a consensus on what it should say. 

wandajune6

SBmini said:

The "F Cancer Foundation"? It is a little bit more PC.

@Wandajune6- when I worked at Starbucks we had a thing called the cup fund. Basically, employees could donate a portion of their income to the fund that was there to help coworkers in need. If a fellow barista got ill, in an accident, etc, they could withdraw from the cup fund to help them out. I thought it was a really good example of a community coming together to help one another. 

I'm O+ too and donate about every six weeks. I got my 1 gallon pin a few donations ago, working towards #2!

Congrats on your pin! I'm so promiscuous about where I donate that it will be a long time before I get mine. In college, I just donated platelets for money. It wasn't until I was working with hospitals that I realized how valuable my blood was!

I love how you handled that at Starbucks. I've never worked at a place that has that formal approach but love it!

PrettyGirlLost

beethery said:

@SBmini I'll get cracking on a shirt this afternoon if we can get a consensus on what it should say. 

I like Eff Cancer, better.