Champions for a Cure – Melanoma Event in San Francisco
Champions for a Cure Invite - May 20
Mike will be honored as a melanoma warrior at “Champions for a Cure” – a fundraising event in San Francisco on May 20. This event benefits the Melanoma Research Foundation and the festivities include wine tasting, food from local restaurants, and fabulous music! The cost is $150 a person. We know it is expensive, but… if you can join us, we would be so grateful and excited to have our friends and family with us. It is for a good cause – MRF funds research programs and helps patients.
http://www.melanoma.org/get-involved/champions-cure
See the PDF of the invite
Thursday, May 20, 2010 – 7 pm to 10 pm
The Presidio of San Francisco Officers’ Club
50 Moraga Avenue, San Francisco, CA
The evening’s festivities include wine tasting from nearby wineries, samplings from local restaurants, a silent and live auction, and fabulous music!
Honoring Champions:
Dr. Jeffrey Binstock, UCSF Medical School, Clinical Professor of Dermatology
Dr. Hayes Gladstone, Stanford University, Director and Associate Professor, Division of Dermatologic Surgery
Dr. Seth Matarasso, UCSF Medical School, Clinical Professor of Dermatology
Dr. David Minor, California Pacific Medical Center San Francisco
Mistress of Ceremonies Carolyn Johnson, ABC News Anchor
Special Guests: Bay Area Sports Champions
Advance ticket: $150
For more information and sponsorship opportunities, or to purchase tickets, contact Mary Mendoza at 800.673.1290 or mmendoza@melanoma.org.
Our Cute Kombucha Babies
We have a new addition to our family. It is called Kombucha. We will try anything that claims to help fight cancer after a diagnosis of melanoma. It is a drink that originated centuries ago and is made by fermenting sugared black or green tea in a jar for a couple of weeks. But it doesn’t work unless you have a SCOBY which stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (also known as a mother). That is the large flesh looking thing. We got our scoby from my mom’s friend but you can order them online or get them on craigslist. We named ours Loogie. Each time we make a new batch, Loogie makes a new “baby”. Then we put the baby in the next batch. We are on our third batch and it gets better each time. It makes a natural carbonation. Kombucha tastes like a vinegar, apple cider and champagne combo. It has billions of probiotics and is high in antioxidants. Yes I know it sounds and looks gross. But it really isn’t. It is really good for you. Try a bottle the next time you are at Whole Foods. At $3 a bottle we are saving money by making our own. Here is a good recipe and we are happy to give you a Loogie baby to start your own batch. http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-Kombucha/
NY Times article on Kombucha (we should have been interviewed for this!) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/fashion/25Tea.html
Mike and our newest Loogie Baby
A mother’s inspirational skin cancer battle
Katie was a beautiful young mother of the three in the UK who died in late February of Melanoma. When I saw the story below, I tracked down her blog “Katies Fight” and it was truly devastating, sad, beautiful, and inspiring to read. She documents the short two years of her battle with unbelievable grace and wit. It was very scary to read how she went from Stage III in July 2008 to Stage IV in October 2009, and so quickly to her death last month. For me, her story was somewhat comforting because she accepted death so bravely and I really admire that.
I hesitate when posting these stories. It is the outcome we fear the most and it is very hard to read something that doesn’t have a happy ending – especially for those battling Melanoma. I am sorry for that. But I do it to show people that this cancer can affect anyone. I do it to make people understand. And I do it because we can all learn from her journey – it is one we all will face in some way or another.
Article was from the BBC:
Doctors never discovered the mole that led to 37-year-old Katie Pratt’s skin cancer.
The first the mother-of-three knew about it was when she had developed malignant lumps in her neck.
Friends and family were inspired by her courageous fight with the disease, which she chronicled in a regular blog.
But two years later Katie was dead…read the rest
Katie’s Blog – “Katies Fight”
My Melanoma Mindys
Black for Melanoma Ribbon
These are the blogs of my two favorite Mindys…
They are in the midst of a battle with Stage IV Melanoma. One as a patient, one as a wife. If you know me, you know that I am not religious. They make me pray. Please send them your prayers.
Mindy Stanley – Melanoma Wife
Mindy Lanoux – Melanoma Warrior
Featured in the NY Times article on MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Keep fighting. Love to both of you…
Em
Em and Michael's Blog 
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