What's Good... May Edition

Friends and followers of "The Cancer Couch" - how can I thank you enough for sticking with me through all this and continuing to follow my story and support this foundation that WE have built. Well, to start I am going to put out this newsletter monthly with ONLY GOOD NEWS. Call me a pollyanna (I'm so not) - but - I need some GOOD NEWS in my life and I bet you do too. That is not to say I ignore the bad, or the frustrating, or the sad. I don't. But I also don't want to live there. I use those feelings to learn from a situation - what I don't want or, I take action to improve and honor it. None of us know how much time we have left but let's just say - when you are diagnosed with an incurable cancer in the prime of your life - you can kind of see the numbers on the bus that is barreling towards you. So, I am choosing not to dwell in the negative but rather - to highlight, celebrate and spread - the good. Here is what's good this month...

Did you know that we have, collectively, with the help of our friends at Hope Scarves and Twisted Pink, put 1.7 million dollars DIRECTLY - with not a penny taken out - into the labs of the amazing, brilliant researchers at Dana-Farber (Dr. Nikhil Wagle) and Memorial Sloan Kettering - my home field (Dr. Sarat Chandarlapaty). AND...we have put thousands into Angel Funds to support those living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) in financial need through the Beth Calabotta fund at the Blessings Health Center in Illinois and in my hometown of Fairfield, CT at the Norma Pfriem Center in honor of Beth Davis. BRAVA people BRAVA!!! YOU DID THIS! Everyone of you and every dollar you raised did this! Thank you! I may have had the idea but man...you guys ran with it!!! :) And...we are having FUN doing it! That's me up there doing STAND UP comedy!! Yes, I know - what the h%&^ was I thinking? Just because I can "stand up" doesn't mean I have nailed the other 50% of the "STAND UP COMEDIAN" gig. It is truly one of the hardest things I have ever done. My hat goes off to every hard-working comedian out there. Support stand up comedy and when you go to a show, please laugh your arse off - it's scary up there!! My generous friends at The Fairfield Comedy Club have offered to donate $5 of every ticket, to any show, to TCCF!!! So please check them out and use promo code CANCERCOUCH!!! You'll get a discount and we will get 5 bucks that will be matched to 10 and go straight to research!! 

I used my burgeoning comedic skills to perform at a charity event last night at Gotham Comedy Club in NYC and I was so honored to receive an award from the wonderful non-profit organization started by an amazing firecracker of a woman, named Carri Rubinstein, called Thru My Eyes . They make legacy videos for people to have for their loved ones. Don't get me wrong: My clinical trial IS WORKING and I remain fully, potentially delusional but, FULLY optimistic that I will outlive these numbers by DECADES! However, I know the average life expectancy after recurrence is 18 months. I watch so many MBC friends fail and die - every week. So...I made one of these videos because I want my kids to have that and see me (random chin hairs and all) feeling vital and funny and well. Thank you Carri and the Thru My Eyes team for honoring me with a Spirit Award last night (some pics below of the event!).

In other good news...our end of school year scoops challenges are about to take off! Thanks to my sisters Paula and Vivian and our friend Vicki as well as so many other amazing people (Danielle, Lisa, Amanda, Sara, Jenny) who are running these this year (details to follow as well as sign up sheets!!!). 

Ok the other thing that is good... our 3rd annual cancer beat tickets are going on sale shortly so SAVE THE DATE 9/8/2018 at The Warehouse in Fairfield, CT (at the metro north train station!) and we are thrilled to have the comedic talent of Christine O'Leary for our VIP program and G.Love & Special Sauce for our musical performers! We have sold out the past two years so please don't delay in getting your tickets to this fun event - this year's theme is Laugh, Live and G.Love! Wellness, humor and good vibes will abound. 

Lastly...I'm getting a wee bit tired these days and the lesson I am learning from this is I need to take my cape off once in a while and ask for and receive help :). Not one of us can do it all. We are collaborative creatures by nature. So... here are a few asks: If your awesome self or your awesome company would like to be a sponsor of The Cancer Beat, or be involved with getting sponsors and donation items, please email me directly and I will give you a very specific and manageable job or sponsorship package with a million thousand thank yous, GREAT marketing, and even better karma! Shout out to Circle Hotel Fairfield, Wildfire Magazine, Vegalash and Tracy Locke - a few recent and recurring sponsors! 

And, man there is so much great news - this is turning into a newsnovel - I AM GOING TO BE A REAL LIVE COWGIRL at the Cowgirls vs Cancer Big Sky yoga retreat for which I have been accepted in Montana! My next newsletter or newsnovel :)  will have pics and tell you all about it! 

Yeehaw and namaste.

---