Monday, August 31, 2009

Winter Season - Week 2

State of Mind
If you think you are beaten … you are.
If you think that you dare not … you don't.
If you think that you'd like to win
But feel you can't, it's almost a cinch that you won't
For out in this world you'll find
Success begins with a fellow's will -It's all in the State of Mind.

Yes, many a race is lost before ever a step is run,
And many a coward fails before his work's begun.
Think big, and your deeds will rise;
Think small, and you'll fall behind.
Think that you can, and you will -For it's all in the State of Mind.

If you think you're outclassed … you are.
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to know that you can before you ever win a prize
Life's battles don't always go to the bigger or the stronger man,
But sooner or later that fellow who wins
Is the fellow who thinks he can.

Fundraising Tip
Write Your Fundraising Letter including photos, persoanlized, text, names of honored patients and why you are led to make a difference. Send a shortened version of your letter in an Email to everyone you have email addresses for. Be sure to provide your fundriasing website link.. We still have plenty of information meetings coming up so feel free to attend another meeting and invite your friends, family, and co-workers along. You will receive a $100 fundraising credit for every person who completes their fundraising and event!!!

Frequently Asked Questions
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
As you know, the money we raise helps blood cancer patients and their families by funding research to find cures and better therapies, and provide information and support so that they have the best possible outcomes throughout their cancer experience. However, if donors need a more specific response to: "What does a $25, $50 or $100 donation buy?" here is their answer:
  • A donation of $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options.
  • A donation of $50 makes possible a Family Support group with a trained facilitator where comfort can be found and experiences can be shared among patients and family members.
  • A donation of $100 helps supply laboratory researchers with supplies and materials critical to carrying out their search for cures.
  • A donation of $1,000 makes possible one- on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their health care team.

Mission Moment
Dawn
Tennessee
Living with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for 1 year, 4 months
Age: 38

Wow . . . How fast your life can change before your eyes. I am 37, a wife, sister, daughter, and mother to two incredible sons. My story starts with a pain in my back and chest, a pain so bad that my hubby took me to the ER. I was first diagnosed with pneumonia. After a few days of bed rest and a round of antibiotics, I left for Romania for my first Mission Trip. When I returned, I got worse even after a couple more weeks of antibiotics and bed rest. I finally get a CT-scan and we are told I have Diffused Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. My first chemo was set for 4 days later and it has been less than a week and my head is swimming.

I believe that God will get me through this. I believe there is so much more to experience and see...I want to Live....I will be praying for you...God Bless!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Winter Season - Week 1

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.

--Eleanor Roosevelt

Fundraising Tip
Set up your fundraising website by personalizing the text, adding a photo, and setting a fundraising goal. The best websites include photos of honored patients.

Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT DOES THE LLS DO?
There are 68 chapters of the Society located across the United States and Canada. The Society supports a variety of programs: research, patient services, advocacy, community service and education.

  • Research Funding—supports basic and clinical grants to find causes, cures and preventive methods.
  • Patient Services—provides financial aid and peer support groups.
  • Advocacy—supports access to healthcare and increased research funding.
  • Community Service—referrals to local resources and sponsorship of marrow donor drives.
  • Education—free educational materials and professional medical symposia. Free literature is available through the toll-free Public Information Line 1-800-955-4572 and through our Web Site http://www.lls.org.

Mission Moment
Peyton Mayhew
Brandon, FL
Living with ALL for 1 year, 7 months
Age: 4

Peyton is 4 years old. Her story is common to her disease and devastating to our family. On July 13, 2006 I had taken her to the pediatrician because she had been running a low-grade fever and complaining that she hurt. We thought she had an ear infection or maybe strep throat. How shocking to find yourself in an oncologist's office hearing news that will change your entire life. Peyton receives her treatment at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg and Tampa, we have the most wonderful team of doctors and nurses who support, help and educate us each step of the way.

Our family is blessed with Peyton's older brother and sister Nathaniel and Rachael, who have been helpful, patient and understanding throughout the beginning stages of her treatment. We have had the most amazing outpouring of love and support from our friends, family, church, school, and community. Prayers have been prayed, meals delivered, presents brought to the house, cards mailed, our website visited for updates on how she's feeling and just calls to see if we need to talk.

It's been a growth time for us as a family to come together and be strong for each other- to be patient, to give, love and support each other. It's heartbreaking to watch your child's pain, to hear their cries, and to see the physical manifestations of the disease in their once perfect body. You feel like you can do nothing for them, you have no control, and there's a sense of complete helplessness. Yet you comfort, you console, you cheer, you make them smile and laugh, you make favorite foods and read the same story over and over. You hold and love through tears in the night, and let them know you're there with them through each treatment and will never leave them.

--Anissa Mayhew, mother of Peyton Mayhew www.hope4peyton.org