A Childhood Cancer Survivor Blogging about the World of Childhood Cancer

Posts tagged ‘cancer’

Bigger, Wider, Deeper

Grace: A Child's Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery

Hugo the HopeMobile returned to California one week ago. After three weeks, 3 days, 28 states, and well over 7,000 miles, it has taken me an entire week to process all that has happened so that I can place some of it into words. I feel that it will take my entire lifetime to fully grasp the meaning of this epic journey. I wish– I wish there were words big enough, wide enough and deep enough to describe to you how much this trip has impacted me. I am a different person than when I left home on June 17th.

Being able to visit so many places and having the opportunity to meet absolutely amazing people has made my heart bigger. I love how there is always room for more love in our hearts!!! The people I met taught me to have a wider view of how we need to give without holding back and how we need to express our love with passion and action. I love how when we set out to give our love away, it always comes back so much bigger than what we give.

I witnessed God’s mercy, grace, and His goodness. I felt His deep love. 

People ask me now if it was sad to visit the children who are very, very sick. It was just the opposite. As much as I hate what cancer does and as much as I hate the suffering it causes, meeting the children was a joy! They gave me so much more than I could ever give them; that is the plain truth.

At each stop, I thought of all of the children I know who have left this Earth way too soon because of cancer. As thoughts of these children who are no longer here filled my mind, my heart went immediately to all the people who suffer with this kind of hole in their hearts. I know there is nothing that can fill that hole.

Deep, deep love remains. This deep love has given birth to many forms of hope that help children with cancer. While we were in Philadelphia, Mom and I had the great pleasure and honor of meeting Joe and Ali McDonough from Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. We loved meeting and talking with them! By combining their love for Andrew with their own enthusiasm and positive outlook, they have been able to raise money that is desperately needed for pediatric cancer research.

Joe and Ali McDonough from Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation

Now, I need, and want, to give a very special thanks to Joann, Bill, and Char from Alexa Nawrocki Pediatric Cancer Foundation. This foundation is named after Joann and Bill Nawrocki’s daughter, Alexa. Alexa battled cancer when she was two. In her loving memory, they began helping others.

Imagine what it must feel like to have someone give you food when your child is fighting for their life.

Imagine what it must feel like to have someone help you financially when it is time to bury your child.

Imagine how I felt when I met Joann for the very first time on our Hope Tour and she presented me with a check from Alexa’s Foundation to help toward our mission!

What means the most, is not the money, but they believe what I am doing is important—that it can make a difference. From the deepest part of my heart, I want to thank Joann, Bill, Char, and Alexa’s Foundation.

I finally got to meet Joann!!!

From this Bigger, Wider, Deeper Viewpoint, I wish that I could do everything to make a difference. I realize it’s going to take each one of us doing our part.

From this Bigger, Wider, Deeper Viewpoint, I can see the entire puzzle. I can see how we all need to be whatever part we can be of fighting childhood cancer.  Each piece is for the children,  and in its entirety, it is absolutely breathtaking. 

Stopping childhood cancer is about as beautiful as it gets.

 

 

 

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The Child First and Always

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew!

After nearly 7,000 miles, visits to 15 children’s hospitals, cancer centers, and childhood cancer research labs, I am overflowing with HOPE. Our visit today to Primary Children’s Hospital/Huntsman Cancer Institute in Utah was our final visit. Here, I had the unique opportunity to speak to a room filled with patients, hospital staff, and physicians. I want to thank Elaine Pollock and Dr. Josh Schiffman for their help and support to make this incredible day possible. Having this time to share my story and offer personal insights on how we can better help children fighting cancer makes my heart fill to the top. Being able to tour Dr. Josh’s lab, having him show me the research he is working on, and hearing his perspective on how we can stop childhood cancer by preventing it through genetic studies makes my heart leap to the point of skipping beats! I absolutely love how he believes research begins with the patient and then moves to the lab, rather than the other way around. I need to thank Alex’s Lemonade Stand for believing in the work he is doing– for the research grant they have provided for his studies. At the same time, I want to encourage other childhood cancer foundations, corporations, and individuals with bulging wallets to consider supporting his work. 

Finally, I need to encourage people who truly care about stopping childhood cancer to give as generously as they can. Research costs money– plain and simple. Research like Dr. Josh is doing will cure childhood cancer by preventing it in the first place.

What a remarkable goal. 

Let’s believe. Let’s give. 

It’s all about loving the children. As the sign outside Primary Children’s states boldly…

“The Child First and Always”

 

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My BullHorn Itinerary

Grace: A Child's Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery

On this National Cancer Survivor’s Day, I find myself thinking more about those who didn’t survive.  I find myself stuffed with thankfulness for life and for love.  Please join me in spilling over a bit today…

I am very, very excited about a fast approaching “Mission.” 

I call it Children’s Hospital Hope Tour.

My mission (if you know me, please pardon the redundancy,) is to visit “the kids” fighting cancer. I want to know their names; I want to know their faces and I want to hear their hearts.  I want to hug them and share in their hope.  The mission is to love them.  The mission is to make sure that the children who lost their battle will not ever be forgotten.

Awareness. Yes, that is the next big piece of the Mission Pie. We need to keep telling everyone who will listen how childhood cancer research is seriously underfunded.  If people truly knew the facts about the lack of funding, there would be change.  If I have to get out my bullhorn and hang out of the car as we sit in traffic traveling through cities, well…. 

Here is a better idea– I will give you my itinerary.

If you see that I will be in your area, and have interest in having me “Get Out My Bullhorn” for you, please contact us at melinda@melindamarchiano.com

6/17 Phoenix, AZ

6/18 El Paso, TX

6/19 San Antonio, TX

6/20-6/23 Houston & Austin, TX

6/23-6/26 New Orleans, LA

6/26 Memphis, TN

6/27 Chapel Hill, NC

6/28-6/30 Philadelphia, PA

6/30-7/2 Boston, MA

7/3 Niagra Falls, NY

7/4 Indianapolis, IN

7/5 Leawood, KS

7/6 Denver, CO

7/7 Salt Lake City, UT

7/8 Sacramento, CA

I can’t wait to meet you!!!  Promise I won’t put my bullhorn directly into your ear:)

Big Hugs Anais!

 

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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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Childhood Cancer and Launch Notes Radio

Melinda sends her love to friends and family.  Tomorrow, on Wednesday, May 26, 2010, Melinda will be a guest on Launch Notes Radio.  The broadcast will be at 8:30am PST/ 11:30am EST/ 10:30 am CST/ and 9:30am MT, and it will last for about 30 minutes.  Melinda will talk about her book, Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery.

 Anyone with an internet connection can listen by clicking the link below:

 http://www.blogtalkradio.com/launchnotes

 Also, anyone can call 646-929-1073 to ask Melinda questions… she would love this!

Thank you so much for your support of Melinda’s project to raise childhood cancer awareness, for supporting Melinda’s mission to help people with cancer, and for helping her with her ultimate goal of finding a cure for cancer. 

 With our sincere appreciation,

 Melinda Marchiano and Happy Quail

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International Book Awards for Grace

I admit I am still squealing, and it is still sinking in… I received two emails from the International Book Awards this afternoon.  The first email congratulated me for winning the Health: Cancer category of the International Book Awards and the second email congratulated me for being an award finalist in the Spirituality: Inspirational category!  Oh my gosh… oh my gosh! 

If you are interested in seeing a complete list of winners and finalists, here is the link:

http://www.internationalbookawards.com/2010awardannoucement.html

I am so happy… what better way to celebrate than thanking God and going to dance!

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