------Original Message------
From: elisa.garcia-rey@marketingdrive.com
To: wifiscanning@gmail.com
Subject: Running On Hope Contest
Sent: Apr 29, 2009 3:42 PM
Hello,
How are you? My name is Elisa Garcia-Rey and I work with New Balance on
their breast cancer awareness campaigns. I wanted to share a description of
our current campaign in the hopes that you might find it relevant to
yourself or your loyal readers. New Balance is currently celebrating their
20-year partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure with a special
documentary that will feature the real life story of a participant in the
Komen Race for the Cure. To select the featured runner/survivor, we are
asking for people to share their story with us as part of our "Running on
Hope" contest. The person who is selected will be invited to Washington,
D.C. for the Global Race for the Cure® on June 6, 2009 where they will be
featured in New Balance's documentary about our history of supporting the
cause. Entrants can share what running in the Race for the Cure® means to
them in a 1-minute video that they can upload at
www.newbalance.com/runningonhope. One winner will be chosen from among
these entries. We hope that this contest will allow people the chance to
inspire others in the same way that they inspire us, and that you'll be
able to share this with others in your extended community. Thanks so much
for your time and consideration.
Regards,
Elisa
--
Sent via a FeedFlare link from a FeedBurner feed.
http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/publishers/feedflare
Go to my most recent blog post
Short attention span? Show photos only
My scary chemo drug schedule
My diagnosis
My clinical trial for a new type of chemo drug
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Running On Hope Contest
Friday, April 17, 2009
Pirate Bay defendants found guilty, sentenced to jail
The four defendants in the Swedish trial of The Pirate Bay have been found guilty and sentenced to a year in prison and $3.6m fine. I don't know much about Swedish copyright law -- and the defense rested on the technical boundaries what constitutes an infringement -- so I have no idea if this is the kind of judgment that is likely to survive the inevitable appeal.A more interesting question is whether The Pirate Bay will disappear now. After the illegal seizure of its servers in 2006, The Pirate Bay supposedly adopted a distributed architecture with failover servers in other jurisdictions that were unlikely to cooperate with EU orders. If The Pirate Bay shuts down, it's certain that something else will spring up in its wake, of course -- just as The Pirate Bay appeared in the wake of the closure of other, more "moderate" services.
The Pirate Bay verdict: guilty, with jail time
The Pirate Bay "spectrial" has ended in a guilty verdict, prison sentences for the defendants, and a shared 30 million kronor ($3.5 million) fine. According to the Swedish district court, the operators of the site were guilty of assisting copyright infringement, even though The Pirate Bay hosted none of the files in question and even though other search engines like Google also provide direct access to illegal .torrent files.Click here to read more.
These two points formed the basis of The Pirate Bay's defense, but the court found them ultimately unpersuasive in its 107 page verdict. "By providing a site with, as the district court found, sophisticated search functions, easy upload and storage, and a website linked to the tracker," the defendants were guilty of assisting copyright infringement, the court said...
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Netbook Shopping
If you're not thinking about buying a netbook, you should be—they're powerful, portable, and inexpensive. Here's what you need to know before you buy.
A look at the fast-changing netbook – with an overview of the netbooks we’ve tested in the last 18 months. We start with the humble, original Linux-based ASUS Eee PC 701, to the Vista-running HP 2133 Mini-Note, and the breathtaking MSI Wind U120.
As one might expect, there's no clear winner...
Over the past few days there's been a raft of stories about how the Linux netbook market share is not as healthy as it used to be...... let's take the point of view of an average computer user. He/she doesn't entirely understand how computers work, but they know how to do the things they like... When such a person purchases a Linux netbook, they face two hurdles. The first hurdle is provided by the software. The second hurdle is provided by the hardware, which is often awkward to use.
Vista is too demanding for netbook hardware, so Microsoft has chosen to extend the lifespan of Windows XP in order to stave off broader Linux use on low-end mobile hardware. This provides a window of opportunity for Linux to get a meaningful foothold in the market—an achievement that has perpetually eluded the free operating system—while Microsoft is prepping Windows 7, which is said to be more netbook-friendly than Vista.
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Fate of File Sharing on Pirate Bay Awaits
This court trial in Stockholm, Sweden has captured the attention of tech heads all over the world. It is fairly interesting, since thepiratebay.org could be compared to Napster back in it's free heyday, insofar as it tracks files from peer-to-peer (P2P). Except that now the files are much larger, they can contain motion pictures, and when compressed, they are known as bittorrents. (Warning: bittorrents often contain viruses, so skip to the end of this article for filesharing tips to prevent infection).
Here are links to Wired which talks about the conclusion of the trial, and to WebTVwire which goes back and sets up the case. Links to comments from thepiratebay.org founders follow.
STOCKHOLM -- The Pirate Bay trial wrapped up here Tuesday amid a media circus as attorneys for the four accused founders of the world's most notorious BitTorrent tracker proclaimed their clients' innocence to charges of facilitating copyright infringement.
Anyone who follows the latest developments in technology, online video, piracy, or legal test cases will no doubt have heard all about The Pirate Bay court case. But with the end now in sight, it’s worth taking a look at the main issues raised...
They know that silly legal threats won’t stop us. We believe they are using this process to spread as much dirt about us as possible. To make filesharing look dangerous and illegal.
Expect the months around the trial(s) to be dirty! Expect our enemies to spread some nasty lies about us!This will not be a battle of right or wrong. It will be about who wins the debate in media.
We have already written history, actually more than once. Now we are creating the future.
These proud Swedish gentlemen seem to backup their lofty ideas of self-expression with the technology they create. Case in point - their new proposed service 'Ipredator' which will allow global filesharing under the cloak of anonymous IP addresses. Applications which anonymize IP addresses have been available for awhile, but this service combines both together. What makes this combination interesting is that both services are based on the contributions of other users. Anonymizer software relies on donated IP addresses that take the place of your own temporarily. Would this mean that thepiratebay.org is creating the tools for globalizing grass roots democracy? Would they be peddling privacy or piracy?
Imagine living in China or Iran. In that case, anonymity would be much more important. Maybe we will be seeing a lot of new dietcoke+mentos Youtube videos coming out of places like China and Iran in the near future.
WARNING ABOUT FILESHARING:
Often filesharing websites track bittorrents which contain viruses, trojans, adware, or spyware or all of the above. These are shared by other users who either are unaware of the hidden dangers, or they have a twisted sense of what 'sharing' means. When the bittorrent file is uncompressed these evils are set loose. Sometimes they are invisible to the user.
In order to avoid this, it is advisable to read the comments that are posted with the file. It is in the comments that potential threats are discussed. This is where other sophisticated/vulgar filesharers report their experience. Perhaps it is best to avoid files with zero comments? I am just guessing.
In any case, it is good to run a virus scan application on the files you share, whether you seed (send) or leech (receive). A favorite among tech heads is Kapersky.com, which is not free. A popular free spyware remover is Spybot Search & Destroy at Spybot.com.
The new COBRA premium reduction law
The government is temporarily subsidizing 65% of your COBRA health care costs, making it cheaper to be unemployed.
Update on Radiation Treatment
So, I haven't written in my blog for a long time, mostly because I've been so confused about my treatment. Now I'm on #12 of 33 radiation treatments, and like everything else about breast cancer, in time I've just gotten over it. I mean, I still hate it, but in February and March I was so angry that I had to have radiation, plus there were a whole series of things that happened that I still don't understand. I have a type A kind of personality, meaning I always want everything explained and in condensed form so I can keep it in my blackberry.
First of all, back in December I considered myself a success case. My chemotherapy clinical trail had shrunk my 5 cm tumor to 5 mm in size. My lumpectomy would be simple, or so I thought, until my surgeon removed 17 lymph nodes and discovered cancer in 5 of them. Based on that, he scheduled a second surgery to remove and test more lymph nodes and at the same time, to have the gastro surgeon remove my gall bladder, which had gall stones.
I was floored. Why hadn't the chemo killed the cancer in my lymph nodes? If they didn't know I had it in my lymph nodes until they removed them, then how are they going to know if it comes back there someday? Until then, I thought I had a grip on understanding this stuff. I could not comprehend the six page pathology report at all.
Well, upon the second surgery, he removed 4 lymph nodes and found cancer in none. But the surgery combined with the gall bladder surgery was more debilitating. My left arm was not happy, and I would need physical therapy, I couldn't tolerate food or cooking smells for a long time afterwards.
Now that I was well enough to go to the supermarket, I disliked everything I saw, and returned home with only diet ginger ale, cheerios, and lemon yogurt. I had to resume taking anti-nausea medicine. I was back to my usual chemo routine, with my horrible hot flashes, stunned and confused, afraid of germs from other people, doing nothing all day .
I couldn't understand why I would have to go to radiation 33 times. I thought there was some mistake. I was cancer free. I wrote to my boss to get my job back, and he wrote back that there was no job for me due to economic reasons. Since he had laid off others, I wouldn't be able to take him to court for discrimination.
Wait, there are two more events to come. I developed an infection in my left breast, the one they operated on. It was red and swollen and painful, and I pretended for days that it wasn't happening, since I didn't have a fever. How could I have an infection? I had had a visiting nurse come six times and check my incision, which were healing just fine.
I couldn't eat, so finally my friend told me I had to go to the surgeon. She said it might be the kind of infection that people often get just from being in the hospital. When I asked the surgeon, he said that it's just the kind of infection people just get. I took amoxicillin for 10 days, but I was better in about 3 days.
During which my car was stolen, which angered the two policemen who came, since it was a 10-year old Ford and not a likely car one might steal. They paced up and down our apartment insisting it must be in the tow pounds in the Bronx. Then one sat down at my computer and read the website from NYPD stating that they did not have my car, and he had me print it out.
The next afternoon was my first radiation, at which I had a crying fit and told the radiation oncologist that I didn't believe in the treatment because radiation causes cancer, and it didn't make any sense to me that it would also prevent it's recurrence. She spent a long time explaining to me that it has been proven to work.
On the way home at the bus stop, ten minutes from home, my car drove right past me with some other driver in it, who was not me! I called 911 and an unmarked car came immediately. "Get in!" they said, and we drove all around Riverdale really fast, but we didn't find it. That really made me mad. I had planned to use the car to drive to radiation 33 times, and now some goofball was tooling around the Bronx in it!
You'll be glad to hear that my days of being miserable are over. Except most food is still out of the question. But now it's nice out, I'm on physical therapy #5, I got used to the germs from other people in the subway again, I got a new leather coat, my hair is about half an inch long, and my friend asked me to design and build her website using flash animation. It's a landscape architecture portfolio.
So now I am teaching myself dreamweaver and flash. A few years ago, I wrote my landscape architecture portfolio website using XHTML, CSS and borrowed javascript. Flash will be much more difficult, so I will have something to write about in my blog, since I will no longer have cancer to write about. All I will have to do is take tamoxifen and go to the endocrinologist. And change my diet... and take vitamins... and exercise more... and stop buying diet coke in toxic plastic bottles...
Love, E
A google search for plastic bottles + breast cancer
I understand that alarms are frequently set in the press about all kinds of potential causes of breast cancer from cheeseburgers and french fries to wine and beer. Maybe that's because the causes of breast cancer are not well understood, except for cases in which there is a genetic inheritance, which they can now test for. (I don't have a family history, so they didn't test my genes). I try to stay away from these scary articles because they are so confusing.
But today I read one that I feel may have some substance. (Although the article does not cite sources, nor is it a properly scientifical article, so I guess I have to look into it further.) It's an article divided up into a photogallery of 16 images, which is kind of a pain to try and read.
Article: Is Your Home Causing Breast Cancer?
Click on photogallery of 16 images with captions listing various toxins.
The section that I'm interested in is under image #5 - plastic containers, which says:
Figuring out whether plastic containers are safe can be confusing: polyethylene is safe, polycarbonate isn't; polypropylene is safe, bisphenol-A isn't. After repeated reheating, polycarbonate, a chemical seen in several plastic storage products, can leak BPA, the dangerous hormone disruptor found in some baby bottles.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the chemical in most plastic soda bottles, leaks the hormone-disrupting carcinogens called phthalates after repeated use. Deli plastic like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) can also release dioxins.
Claim: Reusing or freezing plastic water bottles will cause them to break down into carcinogenic compounds or release dioxins.
Status: False.
More searching led me to the following link at The Environmental Working Group: Environmental Concerns are Sending People Back to Their Taps
eMagazine, by Melissa Knopper, May 5, 2008
When it comes to reusable bottles, however, consumers still need to do their homework. Research shows that clear bottles made of polycarbonate plastic (such as the original 32-ounce Nalgene) can leach bisphenol-A (BPA). This is an endocrine-disrupting chemical that acts like estrogen in the body. BPA essentially tricks your body into thinking it’s estrogen, says Washington State University Researcher Patricia Hunt. She discovered the dangers of BPA when some of her polycarbonate mouse cages started to leach BPA, causing infertility in female mice.
Since BPA has been linked to low sperm counts and an increased risk of breast and prostate cancer, scientists like vomSaal and Hunt suggest avoiding reusable bottles made from plastic. They also raise serious concerns about the potential for other plastic chemicals to leach out of typical PET water bottles—especially if they sit in the hot sun.
More Confusing Talk About Soybeans and Breast Cancer
Patients with a history of breast cancer may choose to consume products high in phytoestrogens [found in soybeans], hoping they may protect against recurrence. Others believe phytoestrogens can act as a natural hormone replacement therapy and can alleviate menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, without the side effects of traditional synthetic hormones.Although there seems to be some connection, the association is still not clear with some studies showing a protective effect and other research revealing stimulatory effects to breast cancer cells in vitro [in a petri dish]...
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Portraits
Mousetrap and I, February 10, 2009
Mom, February 10, 2009
Mom at An Beal Bocht, February 7, 2009
My friend and I at An Beal Bocht, February 7, 2009
Love, E
P.S. come over and I will take your portrait with my new camera.
Can I be fired for having cancer? Workplace rights and insurance resources for cancer survivors and others
I have updated this blog post and verified the links to make it more thorough since the information is even more relevant now that I have officially lost my job last week. My pro bono cancer attorney is unable to do anything about the possibility of discrimination against me, since my firm is so small and others have already been laid off before me.
In speaking with friends in New York, many others seem to be in the same situation that I now find myself. For anyone else like me, here are some links to read. I have not investigated them all, but they are here for those who wish to look into them further.
A new law has been passed to help unemployed people pay their COBRA health insurance premiums, which can be expensive.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides for a 65% reduction in COBRA premiums for certain assistance eligible individuals for up to 9 months.
FAQs About COBRA Continuation Health Coverage
Pam Stephan, Breast Cancer Guide at About.com's extensive breast cancer website, was kind to send me the following link:
Knowing Your Rights, Telling Colleagues, Taking Accommodations
From Betsy Lee-Frye, for About.com
Employers are required by federal law to provide "reasonable accommodations" for anyone with a disability. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), cancer qualifies as a disability when the disease or its effects of treatment hinder an individual's "major life activities."The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship is survivor-led cancer advocacy organization. The following are links to free NCCS publications in pdf format:
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 also protects the jobs of people with a cancer diagnosis. However, not everyone qualifies for FMLA protection. . . Employers who have fewer than 50 employees do not have to follow FMLA regulations.
What Cancer Survivors Need To Know About Health Insurance
by Kimberly J. Calder, MPS and Karen Pollitz, MPP
This book sorts through the insurance maze by explaining the many types of insurance, exploring ways cancer survivors can get the most out of their insurance coverage and discussing laws that provide some protection for cancer survivors changing jobs. 34 pages.Working It Out: Your Employment Rights As A Cancer Survivor
by Barbara Hoffman, JD
Unfortunately, many cancer survivors experience workplace discrimination. In fact, one survey found that American workers with cancer are fired or laid off five times as often as other workers. This book addresses the employment challenges that many survivors face and offers advice and resources to address those challenges. 22 pages.Self-Advocacy: A Cancer Survivor's Handbook
NCCS believes that cancer becomes a much lesser foe when faced by informed and knowledgeable health care consumers who know how to communicate their needs to those who can be helpful to them as they experience cancer. This handbook focuses on self-training steps and tools to assist and empower individuals dealing with cancer. 26 pages.LawHelp
A national, non-profit org that helps low and moderate income people find free legal aid programs in their communities, and answers to questions about their legal rights.DisabilityInfo.gov
New York State is a comprehensive online resource designed to provide people with disabilities with quick and easy access to the information they need. With just a few clicks, the site provides access to disability-related information and programs available across the government on numerous subjects, including benefits, civil rights, community life, education, employment, housing, health, technology and transportation.The New York State Division of Human Rights is the place to find out about the New York State Human Rights Law.
New York City Commission on Human Rights has all the info on the New York City Human Rights Law.
Susan G. Komen For The Cure
An overview of the financial issues that someone with breast cancer might face plus a list of resources for financial assistance and advice. Includes topics such as dealing with insurance claims that have been denied and maintaining coverage during a job change or job loss.
Important Facts About Government-Sponsored Health Insurance Programs
What Managed Care Plans Are Available In My Neighborhood? January 2009.Healthy New York The health plans may charge different premium rates.
Freelancers Union health insurance.
On the national front:
The Empowered Patient
February 12, 2009
Don't have health insurance? Don't despair. In this week's Empowered Patient, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has tips on getting the care you need.
- Lack of health insurance is "not a futile situation" says one expert
- Organizations offer financial assistance for certain conditions, diseases
- State and federal governments offer free clinics, prescription drug help
- Some companies offer health insurance to part-time workers
Health Care Advocacy
For a fee, Healthcare Advocacy offers professional consulting, support, and planning
services regarding your health and disability benefits.
Patient Advocate Foundation
Provides patients diagnosed with diseases such as cancer with prescription drug financial assistance.
"Sometimes it's less expensive to buy your own insurance policy rather than going on COBRA. You can compare prices at ehealthinsurance.com."
Cover The Uninsured
Strategies to make sure you're getting the most out of your insurance plan including suggestions for record-keeping of expenses, options for the uninsured, and how to handle an insurance claim denial.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Pathological pathology reports parsed
Okay, going back a few posts about my pathology report (don't go back there, stay with me now) we had the report on my lumpectomy surgery of December 29. That report took two weeks to be published, and when it was, it was confusing beyond belief and threw my tiny little brain into a frizzle.
I faxed all six pages of the to my friend Dr. C. who has a Phd in molecular genetics and a sizable brain. Well, she couldn't make heads or tails out of it.
How many lymph nodes had been removed? How many of those had been affected with cancer? It was impossible to discern. I had to wait until my next surgery on February 2, followed up my my next post-surgery check-up, which was today.
Today I was given the pathology report with, thank goodness, an addendum. I have a feeling my surgeon had made a request to the pathologist to please quantify his numerous findings in English.
So this is what it says after all the technogobble: "There are eight positive (cancerous) lymph nodes among the thirteen total lymph nodes (8/13).
In one sense that's very bad, of course, because who wants cancer in their lymph nodes? No one. Lymph nodes are the pathway straight to my brain. And in another sense it's very good because if all eight of those lymph nodes are under the microscope, it means they are no longer in my body. (Lymph nodes are too tiny to just remove a piece of, that's also kind of why they can't put the good ones back in).
--- Break here for funny story: right before I went into surgery I told my surgeon that I felt I needed my lymph nodes in the future and that he could not have them all. He said no problem, he would take two and that would be enough for now, he could always take more later. The reason this story is funny (to me, at least), is that he went ahead and took out 13! I know, you're thinking "what a lot of nerve", but that's the whole point. He saw the cancer and out they went. This is the behavior of a smart person who doesn't mess around.
Now we've gotten this far, and yet we are only up to surgery#2 on February 2, which is plan B to remove any more affected lymph nodes. Why wait from December 29 to February 2 for surgery#2? Because that is how long it took me to get a spot on the schedule of my surgeon, because he is tops. Plus there were a few upcoming programs on Oprah that I didn't want to miss.
---- Break for another funny story: during chemo, all my doctors got very upset because I had to hospitalized for gall stones, unrelated to chemo. I had to be treated with morphine for the pain until it went away by itself, since no one wanted to remove my gall bladder during chemo, I guess because my body was so exhausted and compromised with poor ability to heal itself, prevent infection, etc.
So since then, it's just been a waiting game until my next bout with gall stones, which was inevitable. So my breast surgeon decided to schedule my laproscopic gallbladder removal at the same time as my axillary (underarm) lymph node removal! It sounded like a nutty idea, and when I went to consult with the gastrointestinal surgeon he asked me, "Who's idea was this?" I thought that was very funny. But you can easily see that by this point I am developing a different kind of sense of humor than most people.
So, of course everything worked out perfectly as planned with four very small incisions from the gall bladder which don't hurt, and a few centimeters incision under my left arm which hurts because that part moves around a lot.
Those are in addition to my three lumpectomy incisions which are perfect and almost healed, plus my two chemo port-a-cath incisions, one of which was botched (by a different surgeon). THAT'S A TOTAL OF TEN (SMALL) INCISIONS! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!
I keep telling you how complicated breast cancer is! I can hardly keep count of all this myself and it's my full-time job!
So at last, we've gotten to the end - the pathology report from surgery#2 HOORAY!!
There were four more lymph nodes removed, and it says NONE OF THEM HAD CANCER. THAT MEANS THAT SINCE DECEMBER 29 I'VE HAD NO CANCER. ANYWHERE. I just couldn't explain it until now!
Love, E
Next up: I still have my visiting nurse, will start physical therapy soon, then daily radiation.
