today is world cancer day.  what are you doing?

j’adore dance project dancers at jump dance convention in dc can get a free kid-size here is a heart bracelet from miss jenn michelle!

click here to read “castles are burning in my heart”

and speaking of stand up to cancer, did you watch the telecast last night?  did you donate?  did you help find a cure?  did you save lives? did you stand up to cancer.  there’s still time. click here to donate or text STAND to 4020 to give $10.

in seven days stand up 2 cancer will return to primetime. on september 10, 2010, at 8pm eastern and pacific, and 7pm central the one-hour fundraising event will be simulcast live and commercial-free on abc, cbs, fox, nbc, bio, discovery health, e!, g4, hbo, hbo latino, mlb network, mun2, showtime, smithsonian channel, the style network, tv one, and vh1.  it doesn’t matter which network you choose, as long as you choose to watch.

the 2008 telecast was viewed in more than 170 countries and helped raise over $100 million.  just like the 2008 broadcast, this year’s telecast will feature live performances by legendary recording artists and presentations by stars from film, television and sports, presenting content that offers viewers insights into cancer.

su2c aims to build continuing public support and donations for cutting-edge cancer research.  100% of all donations received from the public will go directly to cancer research.  viewers will be able to donate via phone, internet or text.  it doesn’t matter how you choose to donate, as long as you donate.

in fact, you can donate directly through my stand up 2 cancer team right here, right now.  my team has raised nearly $6000.  nearly.

you can choose to make a difference today.  you can can choose to make a difference on september 10th.  i hope you’ll choose both.  but it doesn’t matter which day you choose, as long as you stand up 2 cancer.

there was a mass exodus on foot.  people fled the city via every bridge possible.  the subways and trains weren’t in service.  grand central was locked down because of bomb threat. our building was locked down, too.  a cell phone signal near impossible to come by.

nuggetdaddy was working in new jersey then and i was finally able to get a hold of him.  we decided i would take the first train out of the city and he would pick me up whereve we could both get to.  i made it on the first train out of grand central.  it was sweltering.  the train filled with an acrid stench.   most passengers were covered in a heavy white dust, and in more than their fair share of blood.

it didn’t matter where the train was going, people just got on in hopes of making it out of the city.  the train stopped at every single station en route.  it took seemingly forever.

nuggetdaddy picked me up at the fleetwood stop and we decded to try to drive back into the city.  we had pets and freinds to check on.  family and friends desperate to hear our voices.  we were finally able to make it back in over some tiny bridge in the bronx.

by now the city was silent.  there were no planes in the air, no people on the streets.  when we woke up the next morning the wind had changed direction.  the stench was unbearable.  we stayed in the apartment all weekend, happy to be alive and at home with the pets and dr. roommate.

so, su2c, there’s your answer!

nugget and nuggetdaddy will come up on wednesday or thursday and stay with friends in lansdowne until i’m ready to leave.  

nugget is already missing her mama.  she loved the video email, but cried for me tonight when we skyped.  i had to call back after she got into her pajamas and sing her winnie-the-pooh songs while she jumped on the bed.

the nurses are great so far.  the pharmacist = FAIL.  it took foreverrrrrr to get my pain meds, and frankly they’re no better than what i take at home.   one likes to imagine that at least while in the hospital, pain might be better managed. ahem.

moving on… it’s late and normal people are sleeping. the steroids coursing through my veins say to me, “hey, let’s party!”   i think i’m going to turn on the tv and take some ativan shortly to see if i can trick my body into sleeping.

good night, all. we’re only $74 from goal #2!  i really hope we can meet (& surpass) it while i’m in for this first dose of chemo!

. . . . . . . . . . .

in response to reaching the $3600 goal:

YEAH!!! you guys (and ladies) rock!  i am SO touched by your genorosity.  i hope you’ll continue to spread the word. feel free to pass along this link: http://bitsofmyself.com/help-me-make-a-stand/ it will give interested readers a taste of my blog and show them exactly how they can doante directly to my team.

want to search for my star in the constellation? check it out & pass it along! go to: http://www.standup2cancer.org/constellation-launch?op=search

. . . . . . . . . . .

i’m deep into day two now.  feeling nauseated and in pain at times.  a wicked headache sprung up on me.  my face is a lovely shade of red from the chemo.  it happened last time, too.

i didn’t get much sleep last night (but that’s a story for another day’s post) so i’m going to try for a nap now.  wish me luck, since it’s shift switch time, and nothing good ever happens then.

unlike my last chemo (abvd), this one is administered in-patient over the course of 5 days.  hopefully 2-4 cycles will put me in remission. each cycle will take 4 weeks.

once i’m in remission i’ll go back to dc for the stem cell harvest and transplant.  i will spend 2-3 weeks in-patient at george washington.  this will likely not happen until after my sister’s wedding in november.

my standup2cancer team has already raised $2,730.  we’re even listed in the “top 50″ teams now!  this fundraising effort is so very important to me in a time when i feel most helpless.  please continue to help my family and me as we once again fight this horrible disease.

nugget is in no mood for me to be blogging, so away i go.  goodnight, friends.

on facebook you can find a bunch of bloggers telling su2c what they stand for.  shown here is brad from cancer is boring.  (brad, i very much agree.)

nevertheless, i’d like you to send me your pictures – here’s the twist – of you in your standup2cancer t-shirts telling me for what, whom or why you’re standing up.  i’ll add your photos to the help me make a stand page, much like the locks of  love page, and pimp your blog, store, cd release… you name it.

so, go on, get busy!  go to the su2c shop at cafepress and order your shirt.  then send me your photos of you in said shirt with your sign and whatever info you’d like published alongside your photo.

and remember, cafepress fulfills su2c orders at a 25% discount, enabling su2c to direct the discounted monies towards cancer research!

today is the day i start my journey on the road to battle, my second battle, against hodgkin’s lymphoma.  i’m asking you, my friends, my family, my neighbors, my husband’s co-workers, my best friend’s school, my stylist’s salon, my doctors and nurses, my blogosphere cohorts, my readers, to join me.  walk alongside me, hold my hand and help my family as we once again stand up to cancer.

in my previous post, i mentioned the su2c.org team i started.  have you joined yet?  have you donated?  did you help spread the word?

i’m asking for your blog posts, your tweets, your plurks, your stumbles and diggs.  email everyone you know.  i need you to.  you.  i need your help.

the past few days i’ve spent with my head in the sand, as far as it will go, coming up for air only when someone insists on asking about tomorrow.

i’ve also invested a good bit of time in starting my own standup2cancer team.  you can join it here.  our first goal will be to raise $1500 by my 36th birthday on august 15th.  this will be my second birthday spent fighting this disease.

now, i’m asking you, dear reader, to do whatever you can.  join.  donate.  buy an awesome t-shirt.  invite everyone you know.