Please keep Cathy in your prayers at this time

**UPDATE** - Cathy passed away at 1 pm Houston time Friday, October 12, 2007 - please continue to keep her family in your thoughts and prayers.

- webmaster
friendsofcathy.com

National Depression Screening Day

October signifies the real beginning of the fall season for many of us. Leaves are falling off the trees, the air is cooler, and it’s time to excavate the Halloween decorations out of attic. With the changing of the seasons often comes a changing of how we feel. With all the craziness that defines our lives, many of us complain about being depressed from time to time. Experts now say that 12 million women actually do suffer from depression, and fewer than half are being treated for it. You can get screened for free at hundreds of sites across the country on October 11th, National Depression Screening Day. Check out www.mentalhealthscreening.org to find the location nearest you.

Not just another pretty face….

I have spent some time following political causes recently, and found some interesting information. From Martha Washington to Laura Bush, America’s first ladies have been amazing advocates for the public good. Did you know that Martha Washington organized female volunteers to aid wounded troops, benefiting the Revolutionary War Veterans? Or that Dolly Madison helped rebuild the White House by saving many treasures when the British burned D.C.? Lucy Hayes was all about temperance and suffrage, and pushed for women’s voting rights, and Florence Harding was the first First Lady to actually vote. Lou Hoover helped the Girl Scouts with her publicity efforts, while Eleanor Roosevelt was a champion of civil rights. Mamie Eisenhower raised funds for research on heart disease, after Ike’s heart attack, Lady Bird Johnson is well known for her landscape beautification projects, and Rosalynn Carter worked to bring emotional disorders “out of the closet”. If you were first lady, what would you champion?

Stuck in the 50’s…

I recently returned from Clarksdale, Mississippi, the “home of the blues”. When I drove into the town (population 20,000 is what they claim, but I question it), I felt like I had entered a time warp. It would appear at first glance that everyone here is impoverished (I somehow feel bad writing the word “poor”), that this town just came to a grinding halt sometime in the 50’s and never progressed. There are no visible new businesses, no civic improvements, no progress at first glance. Or second. But upon deeper investigation, I started to feel like I was looking for the wrong thing. Everywhere I turned, people were happy. Chivalry is not dead, it’s alive and thriving in Clarksdale. People know each other, they like each other, they help each other. People move slowly, but it’s because they stop and talk to everyone else on the way to where they’re going. Everyone is important, and treated with respect. Children and the elderly are universally loved, and everyone seems to have a wonderful secret. And maybe they do!

All About the Marketing….

Two summers ago a group of women who were preparing for a charity walk for breast cancer met to decide their team name. One of the participants (a mother of five and stage four cancer patient) tossed out an idea: how about “Save 2nd base,” a playful allusion to the high school system where the “bases” signify the progression from kissing to sex. Remember that expression? She designed a T shirt, drawing two baseballs at breast level above the slogan. The shirts sold like wildfire, and are in boutiques all over the east coast with money donated to breast cancer charities. Who says that cancer can’t turn something devastating into a good thing?

Greetings from Iowa!

I am lucky enough to be one of the working press at the first ever Presidential Forum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This morning, Lance Armstrong welcomed the Democratic candidates that came to explain their views on two very important issues, namely cancer research and health care. The event is televised on MSNBC, and hosted by Lance and Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s “Hard Ball with Chris Matthews”. I was up close and personal with Hilary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Dennis Kucinich, all of whom explained what they would do if they were elected President. There were about 2700 people in the audience, and when the question was asked “how many of you have been touched by cancer?”, there was a sea of arms waving in the air. Questions included everything from “would you make cancer a top priority?” and “do you take contributions from insurance companies?” to “do you support stem cell research?” and “what would you do first in the Oval Office?” Tomorrow will feature the Republican candidates. The point of all this? To make sure that the promises these candidates make about cancer research (and other diseases that ravage our citizens) and health care in an effort to get elected are recorded, and that the candidate that wins is held accountable. Cancer is the number one killer of Americans under the age of 85. It deserves to be a national priority.

Mail Bag

Shuffling through the mail the other day, I came across a letter with the return address “The White House, Washington D.C.” I was skeptical at first, but upon opening it, I found a note from the United States Press Secretary Tony Snow. To me! Hand-addressed and an actual signature! He and I have something in common–we both are colon cancer survivors. Here’s part of what he said “Thank you for taking the time to pull together literature about beating cancer. That’s one of the great things about being an American: people in this country just want to do the right thing for others. And having been the recipient of your kindness, I can assure you that I’m doing everything in my power to learn from and emulate your example.” Isn’t that cool?