A Childhood Cancer Survivor Blogging about the World of Childhood Cancer

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September is Child Cancer Awareness Month

Just giving you a heads up… September is upon us. My school started a couple of weeks ago, and my brothers both left for college. I miss them already.

So now, my friends, what does Childhood Cancer Awareness Month mean to you? Have you ever known a child with cancer? Have you ever known a family who has a child with cancer? I know it’s not pretty, and I know it probably breaks your heart to think of it. It sure breaks my heart to know many children who are fighting right now. These kids are filled with love and hope and they are brave– filling everyone around them with joy.

I am asking you to join me this month and please choose one thing that you can do to show you care. Each time I post this month, I will give you at least one suggestion, one opportunity. Today, I will begin with the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation. www.teddybearcancerfoundation.org. This incredible foundation helped save my life. They help families with hotel room vouchers when they need to stay near the hospital, they help families pay bills… most of the time, one parent must quit work to be with their sick child, and they even help families with funeral costs. There are so many wonderful things that they do to help families… there is no way I can name everything here. Maybe you would like to send a check, or maybe you would like to offer something amazing for their silent auction at the October luncheon fundraiser.

No gift is ever too small when it comes from the heart.

I love your hearts:)

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Gosh, I have missed you!

My goodness, my goodness! Do you ever get so busy in life that you feel things are swirling around you????????

Well, this would be me these past three weeks:)

The really difficult thing about not posting for a long time is that so much happens in that time that I have a hard time condensing the happenings. Here is my Campbell Soup “Condensation” of the past few weeks:

August 10–Kelly Teal from KSBY TV and Carina Corral taped an interview:

Published author, dancer, cancer survivor: Nipomo teenager being honored this weekend – KSBY-TV- msnbc.com:
http://cp2test.msnbc.msn.com/id/38693561/from/toolbar

August 12– I traveled to Santa Barbara for a TV interview with Marni Rozet, Executive Director of the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation. It will air on Cox 8 during September for Child Cancer Awareness Month.

August 13– Early morning radio interview to talk about the upcoming American Cancer Society Tolosa Winery Fundraising Event with Amy and Kahuna, Coast 101.3.

August 14– All day dance rehearsal for Academy of Dance School Show

August 15– Early morning rehearsal at the Performing Arts Center– show at 2:00 p.m.  5:30– speak a few words at ACS Tolosa Winery Event.

August 18– Travel to Los Angeles with Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation for their annual Universal Studios Event.

August 19– First day of my junior year in high school… trying to add a community college course to my schedule.

In the meantime, I have been doing interviews and writing articles:

 RIT Open Publishing Guide Article:

http://opg.cias.rit.edu/battling-cancer-grace-publishing-perspective

(This one was fun to write and I got to meet Rachael… very, very nice!)

 TheSBON Interview:

http://thesbon.com/grace-interview/

(Thank you, Kira!)

 Choose to be a Hero Interview:

http://ichoosetobeahero.com/2010/08/24/grace-an-interview-with-melinda-marchiano/#sf488116

(My thanks to Shennendoah!)

Aren’t you happy I gave you the Campbell Soup “Condensed” version?

August

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KSBY News San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles – Published author, dancer, cancer survivor: Nipomo teenager being honored this weekend

KSBY News San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles – Published author, dancer, cancer survivor: Nipomo teenager being honored this weekend.

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Dave Congalton KVEC 920

I had a great time today talking with Dave Congalton in a radio interview to promote the American Cancer Society Gala Fundraiser that will be held at Tolosa Winery in San Luis Obispo at 5:30 on August 15th. I loved Dave’s questions– especially the one about my port and Lance Armstrong! Gosh, he is funny! Now you are going to have to listen to the podcast to see what all that hilarity is about:) I finally had the chance to meet Kathleen Schroeder– American Cancer Society volunteer extraordinaire and Dave Ruiz– another volunteer extraordinaire, with a voice that belongs on the radio!

This morning, just after I yawned and opened my eyes, Kelly Teal from KSBY came to our house to tape an interview that will likely air on KSBY TV on Friday. Tomorrow, Mom and I are heading back  to Santa Barbara so I can do a TV interview with Marni and The Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation. Have I told you lately how much I love the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation????????????? Also, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. This child is asking you to “Be Aware!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Your helpful assistance in some way is even better:)

Right after the interview in Santa Barbara, I am looking forward to joining Starbright World in their online chatroom. They are a group that does wonderful things to support teens with life-threatening illnesses. I am already looking forward to meeting them. I pray that I will be able to help them in  some way– somehow I already know that they will be helping me!

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Artist Nat Fast

I met a warm, sparkly-eyed man when I was four. I met him at PCPA Theaterfest when my brother, Dean, was a young performer in the play “The King & I.” He would sit backstage, or in the voms, and he would create amazing drawings from what he observed. And every time I would see him, his eyes lit up with love, and his calm and gentle voice would ask me how I was.

Well, twelve years have passed, and I am still friends with Nat Fast. My brothers and I are beyond those Young Performer days at PCPA, but I have this incredible treasure of friendship with Nat that will live on forever. I am always touched by the gift he has to be able to draw and paint with seriously amazing talent.  

Guess what I get to do after dance tonight? I am going to see a show of Nat’s work.

What a blessing to have Nat’s friendship (and art) in my life!  Go hug an artist!

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Revealing the Identity of Someone #2

It seems like many moons have passed since I quizzed you on who you think might be Someone #1… and then I compounded the puzzle by adding Someone #2.

Don’t you love guessing games?

Here come the clues:

Someone #2 is a best-selling author, television host extraordinaire, founder of Cassidy’s Place, Cody’s House and Association to Benefit Children, and someone who cares deeply about children. I am deeply honored, and more grateful than my words can say, to tell you that I received a beautiful endorsement from Kathie Lee Gifford for Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery.

I imagine that Ms. Gifford has a schedule that keeps her flying swiftly about her life.  Then, someone like me comes along who requests her time and attention. Just knowing that she took the time to look at my book makes me so happy. It lets me know that there are people who truly care about changing lives for the better… even people who are very successful.

It seems to me that being successful means greater responsibility. Success is a blessing. We then have the responsibility to use what we have to help others. Yes, we need to be excellent stewards.  Life is short. We have so much we can give, and nothing feels better than giving.

Thank you Someone #2!  Miss Kathie Lee Gifford, you touch my heart with your gift to me and other cancer survivors. You motivate me to be generous, and you have given me a master lesson in stewardship.

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Relay yesterday, Johnny Tan Interview Tomorrow

Relay for Life this past weekend was awesome! Our team, Team Trilogy, raised over $17,000 for the American Cancer Society, and all of the Arroyo Grande teams together raised $93,000! It is remarkable to see what all of these dedicated people do– it is truly God’s work. The feeling of love that surrounds this whole event is something I wish for all of you to experience. Consider joining a team next year. You will truly make a difference and what you receive in your heart will be so much more than what you give from your time and your wallet. Trust me. I speak the truth.

Tomorrow morning, at 8am PST, I will be talking with Johnny Tan:

http://www.frommymamaskitchentalkradio.com/blog/2010/06/25/melinda-marchiano-author-of-%e2%80%9cgrace-a-child%e2%80%99s-intimate-journey-though-cancer-and-recovery-%e2%80%9d/

I would love to have you call in with questions at 347-327-9995. Life is always more fun and more rewarding when we do it together. Please join me!

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Foreign Publication Rights

Part of the thrill of creating and marketing my book is the joy I have from meeting many people I never would have met. Another unexpected part of the thrill is that I get to learn something new every day about publishing. I am not sure where, but I have heard of the term “foreign rights” before and never thought too much about it.

Today, I am thinking much more about it than ever. We received news today that there is interest in foreign publication rights for Grace. I am imagining Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery translated into German and Korean. I am imagining Grace in bookstores on the other side of the world, and this tickles me to giggles. In my most hopeful dreams, my written words would be able to help people who are suffering here in our country. I never, ever imagined that my words might travel to other countries to help people there. But, isn’t this exactly how God works? He loves us so much that He finds a way to help us– even when we are utterly clueless. Wow.

Tomorrow is Relay for Life day in Arroyo Grande, California… hometown of Zac Efron, and also home of highly dedicated and loving people working their tails off to make cancer to take a long walk off a short pier. Thank you to everyone who has given their time in their own hometowns to Celebrate, Remember, and Fight Back! Tomorrow is going to be awesome!

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LIVESTRONG Dedication Pages

Did you know that LIVESTRONG is creating the World’s Largest Dedication Book?

LIVESTRONG Action will present the book to world leaders to impress upon them the immediate attention we need to place toward finding a cure for the global epidemic, cancer. My mom and I are both dedicated to helping others with cancer and to doing all that we can to help find a cure. I am grateful for all that Lance Armstrong and the people at LIVESTRONG are doing to move toward this goal.

Gosh, I feel so loved. My mom wrote a dedication page for me:

http://www.livestrongaction.org/dedication/melinda-marchiano

It just takes a moment to sign my page, and each dedication and each signature will tell our world leaders how vitally important it is that we act now.

Can you guess who Signer #16 is?!!!!!!!  Giggle. Giggle.

Each week, someone I did not know before contacts me to tell me that they are battling cancer. I believe that nearly everyone who will read this post has been touched by cancer in some way. (Some of us have been “hammered” rather than “touched”!)  Let’s all do what we can… working together creates amazing results.

Imagine the result being the cure for cancer. Yes… I will not give up until this happens!

P.S. Please click this link– take a moment to make a difference!  Even better yet, create a page for someone you love.

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Selling 10,000 Books at a Time

Does this post title grab the attention of my author friends?

I imagine your ears are perked as high as a German Shepherd ready to protect his family from danger. I received an email today from my friend, Matt, who wants to assist me in achieving exactly what my title states.  You can imagine that my ears perked up to their perkiest level and my brain started crackling with all that he wrote in his email. Don’t you love when someone shares their wealth of knowledge with you– just because they want to help others?

It seems that authors and publishers would hoard this information, fearing that helping others would result in even slightly higher sales of other author’s books. This just might send them to the poorhouse. But then… there are people like Matt. Without Matt, I would never have had a clue of how to go about getting my book published. And I never would have met Matt if I had not taken a spur-of-the-moment, hour and a half drive to Santa Barbara last February with my mom.

Sometimes the decisions we make, the teensy-weensy little decisions, end up making a huge difference in our lives– and even in the lives of others. More and more, I am learning that we need to reach out to life every chance we get. That “reach out to life” last February has to be one of the best decisions of my life!

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