A Childhood Cancer Survivor Blogging about the World of Childhood Cancer

Posts tagged ‘Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery’

My Christmas Day Letter to Oprah

 

My Christmas Day Letter to Oprah…

Dear Oprah,

My name is Melinda Marchiano and I am sixteen years old. When I was thirteen, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. Today, I am in remission and working hard to stop childhood cancer—yes, I am writing to you on Christmas Day. If I could open my heart for you to look inside, what you would see is a whole ton of gratitude. It is this gratitude inside me that drives me to become a voice for children who cannot speak for themselves.

Oprah, CureSearch and Children’s Oncology Group state that with adequate funding, a cure is within our reach.  I believe them. What you could do, by giving a voice to childhood cancer, is astronomical in scope. When children are diagnosed with cancer, 80% are at advanced stages—compared to 20% in adults. I cannot sit silently with my “cure” and allow my fellow young cancer patients to continue their battles without fighting with everything I have for their cure too. Just by raising awareness, we can all make a difference. Today is the day to begin to stop the suffering. We need awareness. We need funds for research. We need a cure. Today.

As I looked around the table today at all of my family at our Christmas feast, I could not have been more thankful. At the same time, I will admit that thoughts of the Nunn family… who lost their seven year-old son Max this past Thanksgiving Day to brain cancer…danced through my heart all day long.

Please Oprah, please do a show on childhood cancer,

Melinda

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Will the Real “Santa” Please Stand Up?

When people tell me, “I hope you get everything you want for Christmas,” I know they mean well and that their words come from love. What I really, really want is not a thing. And I know all of you who follow my blog know exactly what it is that I want. Could it be the same as my Make-A-Wish?

Today, in Panera, I noticed a collection box for Make-A-Wish, and it was stuffed with bills and coins. It made me smile to think how eager people are to support Make-A-Wish for all of the work they do to help children with life-threatening illnesses. It made me think about how there is no amount of money that people can give to Make-A-Wish that will make my wish come true.

My wish depends upon the answer of one person– Oprah.

What I want more than anything is for Oprah to help educate people about childhood cancer. With one show, she could save many children’s lives… it may just lead to a cure.

My “Santa” looks exactly like Oprah. It’s okay that I don’t know what is in the big bag yet.

I am praying… praying for that Christmas miracle to come true.

Cottage Hospital Gingerbread House

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Larry Ate a Bag of Hershey Kisses

Happy Holidays everyone! Are there wrapping paper, tape, scissors, ribbon, bows, cookies, candy, Hershey Kisses everywhere? 

Yikes, we had near disaster tonight in our Christmas/pet chaos. It’s been raining for four days, and our dog Larry has been spending time inside with us during the day rather than his usual outdoor spot. Snowie, our Miss Princess pure white kitty, HATES the rain and climbs screens and screams incessantly until someone lets her in. Well, the laundry room is her usual spot at night, but during the day– especially with my brothers home– the washer and dryer are constantly running. Snowie HATES to be in the laundry room with the equipment running. So, here we have two animals indoors with us for days who are usually outside… and then I will add to the chaos…

Our other cat, Miss Smooth, Calm, Cool and Collected at all Times, Oreo, has been missing for nearly three days. She can’t stand to come in at night because she has to sleep in the laundry room with Snowie. It’s been raining hard and all of our family had become concerned about Oreo by today.

Guess who showed up?

Oreo. Who knows where she’s been? She’s pretty plump, not skinny like I thought she’d be. Maybe she was out eating baby frogs– yuck– she likes to eat baby frogs and I can hear a whole bunch of them “Ribbiting” out there.

Anyway, Oreo shows up and my mom sees her through the laundry room window. She takes the laundry, dumps it on her bed, and goes outside to check on Oreo, to be sure she was okay.

In the meantime, Larry spied the door my mom had momentarily left open to check on Oreo. Larry had a wonderful time with the shopping bags on my mom’s floor and had no problem in locating the one with the Hershey Kisses in no time flat.

Larry devoured half a bag– also in no time flat– before my mom discovered the scene of Larry with his nose in the bag gobbling. She scared the living daylights out of me with her scream!

The report from the Emergency Vet:

According to the amount of chocolate that Larry ingested, he will have a “mild” reaction.

Phew!

Rain and pet chaos. Anyone else have a good story?

Larry and Oreo Curled up together in his Bed

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Dear Cancer,

Dear Cancer,

Three years ago, on December 18, 2007, Dr. Dan called to tell me that my second biopsy revealed your identity– Hodgkin lymphoma. You were so clever in your hiding, so adept in disguising your destruction, that you nearly got away with suffocating me before we even found where you were lurking. I remember a feeling of power over you just learning your name. You became my instant enemy.

You did your very best Cancer, you really did. You fooled my friends, doctors, and most of my family.  You whittled me down to 79 pounds. You brought me to the brink of death time after time and ravaged everything in your path.

What tortures me most is seeing other children suffer and die… and you know that.

But guess what Cancer?

By the Grace of God, I have family, friends, and a medical team who have helped me to rise far above your treacherous grasp. Not only am I out of your grasp, but I am turning around the attack. Yes Cancer, you heard me right. I am out to get you. There is nowhere you can hide.

You know Cancer, every time I share my story, or someone reads Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery, people become more aware of you and the horrors of your existence. The more aware we all become of you, the more money will raise to fund research for your swift demise.  And I haven’t even begun my college education which I plan on dedicating to eradicating you.

Your Glory Days are over Cancer. I advise you to start shopping around for your cemetery plot.

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Nutcracker 2010 Memories

All week-long, the music from The Nutcracker has been playing in my head. After five performances last weekend, it is still with me! I wish that all of you could see how talented the people are who I dance with. Not only are they talented, but I love each of them like they are my sister. It’s an exceptional group of girls who all support one another and never compete with one another. What an amazing environment for growth, and I realize how blessed I am to be surrounded with this kind of support and love.

Rag Doll Oksana and Soldier Melinda

Last year, one of my parts was a Rag Doll, like Oksana here with me in this photo. This year, as part of our soldier dance, we went down on the floor on our rear ends and got back up again. Tricky huh?! I enjoyed being a Soldier:)
 
Next in the performance came my part in Snow. Mom has a tough time making it through Snow ever since three years ago when she sat watching me dance as a Snowflake two days after my biopsy. We had no idea at the time what the Big Blob was inside my chest. I think that song will always make her cry, and watching me dance along with it– well, she is “Toast”! Gotta love moms:) She did tell me that she began dripping tears even before I appeared onstage because Jane and Harmony, the Snow Queens, were dancing from their souls. I loved being a part of Snow– it is always epic with the incredibly beautiful music and of course…
 
 
The Snow!!!!!!!!
 

Nutcracker Snow with Callie and Teagan

 
 
 
 
 
Callie was an incredible Flower Queen and Teagan and I were both Soldiers:) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And one more dance… Ribbon… ahhh yes, the dance that took every ounce of strength and breath I could gather up!
 

Nutcracker Ribbon Dance with Sarah

 
Bye-Bye Nutcracker 2010. It was great fun!

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Golden Mike for KSBY’s Carina Corral Grey

I received great news today from Carina Corral Grey at KSBY– she won a Golden Mike Award! Golden Mikes are awards given by the Radio & Television News Association of Southern California, and the award she will be receiving at the Award Dinner is for:

TV-17- Best Hard News Series Reporting in Division B. The title of the series is called, “A Child’s Resilience,” and guess what story is included in this?

Published author, dancer, cancer survivor: Nipomo teenager being honored this weekend – KSBY-TV-msnbc.com:
http://www.ksby.com/news/published-author-dancer-cancer-survivor-nipomo-teenager-being-honored-this-weekend/

I am very, very happy for Carina and for KSBY, not only for their award, but for their commitment to air news stories that will bring forth awareness and assistance for kids fighting serious childhood illnesses. I am thrilled that the broadcasting industry obviously agrees with the importance of this issue and with the beautiful way Carina and KSBY put together the stories. I hope this will encourage other reporters to reach out to help our very youngest in need.

Thank you Carina. Thank you KSBY. My sincere and warmest of all congratulations on this well-deserved award.

Carina Corral Grey and Melinda

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Google Map Vehicle Sighting

Coming home from school today, I was driving along Tefft Street when my mom noticed a strange-looking vehicle coming toward us in the opposite lane. It was a teeny-tiny car with a huge tripod on top and a bubble-like camera on top of that. We giggled at the way it looks and how funny it must be to be the person who is driving the car. Now, what I want to know is when they get that piece of tape up  and running, are all of you going to see me smiling and waving at you when you look up “Tefft Street” in Nipomo????????????????????

Giggle, giggle, hope so! Actually, all you will see is the silver streak of a Toyota Tundra barreling toward home (I was hungry, okay?!)

I will conclude with a few photos of Google Map Vehicles that look  a bit similar to the one we saw.

Why does this crack me up?

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The People in My Life

Today, I am thinking about the people in my life. Well, not just today, but every day, I am thinking how I am blessed with so much love.  There are Mom and Dad and Nicholas and Dean and I can’t forget Larry and Snowie and Oreo.

Beyond my immediate family, Gramma & Poppy live nearby, and they are always (yes, I mean it, always!) supportive of whatever I am doing. They come to school events, dance events, my speaking events, and they support me in incredible ways for my book project. Poppy loves to joke;  you know who else loves to joke too! And Gram… she is always thinking of others and together she and Poppy have established themselves as the Grand Prize Best Host and Hostess.  

Searching my heart further, I find Uncle Bruce and Gramma M. and Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sharon and Uncle Greg and Aunt Valerie and all of my cousins who I love to pieces!  I am thankful for school friends, dance company friends, Academy of Dance friends, and now this whole new world of people I have met through my book project.

This “New World” of people happen to be passionate about exactly what I am passionate about.

STOP CHILDHOOD cANCER!

Of course we despise all forms of cancer– we are just focused on stopping the suffering of the children first and foremost. We need to raise awareness of the facts, we need to raise money for research, we need clinical trials, we need less toxic treatments, we need a cure. I want to thank my friends who inspire me each day to work hard to see that major change happens– not later– but now.

The Nunn family, Jennifer Powers, John Gavin, Niki Axford, Susan Blake, Dan Cohen, Bob Piniewski, Joann Nawrocki, Ramona Gail Butler Harris, Carly Boucher, Deliece Hofen, Becca Stapleton, Christine Bouchard, Stacey Eva, Renae Barnes Murphy, Deborah Green Fatheree, Kriszan & Jade, Lois Salter, Christine Becker Barbour, Michelle L., and I have just begun to thank all of you.

I know there are more I am missing on my list. Would you like to join?

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A 13-Year-Old’s Journey from Cancer to Grace

A 13-Year-Old’s Journey from Cancer to Grace.

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Diana and The Chevron Station

For those of you who have read Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery, you may remember a story that took place at our local Chevron Station. Mom and I were on our way to the Cancer Center in Santa Barbara, filling up the car for our daily radiation treatment journeys, when a woman came over to our car. Mom was busy scrubbing the windshield when “Diana” approached her and asked if she could  pray for me. At the time, I was completely bald– not even one wisp of hair dangling from my scalp. Diana proceeded to pray one of the most heartfelt, meaningful prayers I have ever heard in my entire life. With tears flowing down our cheeks as our silver Tundra sped down the freeway on ramp, we then noticed something else… 

Giggle, giggle… have to read Grace!

This moment in time is something I will never forget. And now, I have a brilliant memory to add to this one. One of the girls I dance with on the Nipomo High School Dance Company asked me yesterday, “Do you remember the woman who prayed for you at the gas station?”

“Yes… ” I replied.

“Well, she’s my mom,” she announced.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh this is so great, so amazing, so incredible! I believe I am going to have the opportunity to wrap my arms around Diana and thank her for reaching out to me with her loving heart. Wish you could see me smiling now:):):)

I love that there are “Dianas” in this world of ours who teach us to not be afraid to share our love and faith with everyone. I am grateful– so grateful– that Diana gave me the gift of her divine prayer that day.

This appreciation in me will last my lifetime.

 

 

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