Strollerderby : Cancer

Finish Line - Creepy Cakes, Sesame Street, And Much More

Brett Singer — Sat, 30 May 2009 02:56:00 GMT

It was a short week for some, but on Strollerderby we were wicked busy, as they say in Beantown.

Here's a bit of what went on here the past few days:

Shannon called this one the "Post Most Likely to Send You Running for the Tissues This Week." Check out Paper Girl Delivers Food and Shelter to Haitian Family and see if you agree.
On a much lighter note is Jeanne's handy travel guide for the Big Bird lover in your life: Three Ways To Get to Sesame Street This Summer.
Sunny's post Creepiest Baby Shower Cake Ever is self-explanatory. But it still has to be seen to be believed. (Warning: it will take you a long time to UN-see this thing.)
Madeline wins the "title of the week" award with her post Sonogram Cufflinks for Father's Day ... or a Pro-Life March.
Speaking of breast milk (how's that for a transition?), Cole told us about a guy who actually said, "If I have a lactating daughter, why not take advantage of her?" He has cancer and is using the mommy milk as treatment. But I do question his choice of phrasing. Decide for yourself at WATCH: Man Drinks Daughter's Breast Milk to Cure Cancer.
As for me, I was astounded at the number of people who watched the season premiere of that reality show about the people who have all those kids. Share my amazement at Jon & Kate Plus 8 Premiere Snags 9.8 Million Viewers.
Finally, a plug for Babble Talk Radio, which this week featured myself and Famecrawler's Karl Erikson. You can listen to the whole show right here, and we'll be back live again next Friday.

Best of FameCrawler - Week of May 29th

Whit Honea — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Mike Tyson's 4-Year-Old Daughter Dies

Madonna Dishes on A-Rod and Kate Hudson

Confirmed - Gisele is Pregnant With Tom Brady's Baby!

Nicole Richie, Dad Lionel & Daughter Harlow (PHOTOS)

Sneak Peek! Jon & Kate Plus 8 Season Premiere

Kelly Rutherford, Lies and Videotape

Amy Mickelson's Breast Cancer Battle

Michelle Williams and Daughter Matilda Support Their Local Coffee House

Angelina Jolie: Madonna Adopts For Fame

Jon & Kate - Who Are The Kids Happier With? (Photos)

Slumdog Kids Finally Get A Home!

Brian Grazer's Prenup Still Makes Wife Rich

8-Year-Old Has Ovarian Cancer

JeanneSager — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:33:00 GMT

As if we weren't worried enough about childhood leukemias and pediatric neuroblastomas.

A rash of recent news of young kids with traditionally adult cancers makes it that much scarier to be a parent these days. And here's another one!

An eight-year-old girl in England has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer after complaining of abdominal pain to her parents that they thought might be appendicitis. She was soon diagnosed as one of the youngest children in Britain to have the disease (there were a few under the age of four in 2005). The little girl's left ovary had to be removed in full, and she's in the midst of chemotherapy.

Ovarian cancer in kids isn't unheard of. It's considered "one of the most frustrating of all gynecologic diseases," according to experts, but the good news is more than half of ovarian tumors in kids turn out to be benign (so even if this crops up, you don't have to panic . . . at least not until the doctors tell you to start panicking). Still, doctors say pediatricians need to be aware this COULD be the cause of adominal pain or endocrine symptoms in kids - so don't feel ashamed of suggesting it.

Beond the threat of death (the biggest concern with any cancer), pediatric ovarian cancer can affect a child's development as she hits to teenage years when her body would normally begin menstruating. In Sophie fry's case, there's good news - with one ovary left, doctors expect she'll not only make a full recovery but menstruate normally and even have the potential of having kids.

Image: Telegraph

Is Your Kid a Victim of Mr. Bubble Down Under?

Judge Orders Parents to Resume Son’s Chemo

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:00:00 GMT

A judge has ruled that a 13-year-old boy with cancer must resume chemotherapy against his parents’ wishes. After Daniel Hauser was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, doctors told him that he had a good chance of being cured through chemotherapy and radiation.

But after just one treatment, which doctors say reduced the size of Daniel’s tumor, the boy and his parents decided they no longer wanted to treat his cancer with mainstream medicine.

After Daniel stopped doing chemo, child protective workers accused his parents of medical neglect. In court, the Hausers explained that their family’s religion advocates the use of alternative medicine, and Daniel himself has refused to undergo more chemotherapy. According to his mother, Daniel is a Medicine Man with the Nemenhah Band, which was founded by a man who claims to have fought cancer solely through alternative remedies.

But the judge was not swayed by the mother’s arguments. He argued that Daniel was unaware of the extent of his illness, and pointed to the fact that “doctors have said Daniel's cancer had up to a 90 percent chance of being cured with chemotherapy and radiation. Without those treatments, doctors said his chances of survival are 5 percent.”

The judge gave the family less than a week to find an oncologist and resume chemotherapy if recommended.

The Hausers’ lawyer immediately spoke out against the ruling, saying, "It marginalizes the decisions that parents face every day in regard to their children's medical care. It really affirms the role that big government is better at making our decisions for us."

By this logic, the law should not interfere when a child is physically abused by his parents, either. Of course families should be allowed to pursue alternative medicines, but not at the risk of a child’s life.

Photo: ABC News

George Harrison Faked Beatles Signatures for Sick Kid

JeanneSager — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:36:00 GMT

How far would you go for a dying child?

The late great George Harrison apparently figured a child's happiness meant a lot more than some silly authentification process. Handwriting experts have proven Harrison forged the signatures of his fellow Beatles on a photo in the late 1960s.

The picture was for Ann Bartlett, a dying teenager. The story has just come out as Ann's father, Harry, donated the picture to a charity auction to benefit leukemia research. Even with the knowledge that John, Paul and Ringo weren't really signators, the photo, plus another personalized pic of Harrison himself that read "Ann, Hope you will be out of hospital soon, love from George Harrison, XXX" still sold for 1,300 pounds to an anonymous bidder.

Considering Harrison died of cancer himself, this story is nothing if not bittersweet. But Beatles fan or not, can you really be mad at the guy? He wanted to make a sick child happy, and there was no harm done here. In the end, it even helped a cause near and dear to the Bartletts' heart.

When it comes to making a terminally ill child happy, is it OK to cheat a little?

Image: Daily Mail

Morning News - Rush Angers His Own People

Brett Singer — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Rush Limbaugh angers a lot of people, but usually hunters are not in that group. But not anymore. The Washington Times reports that Rush has several groups of "sportsmen", specifically hunters (isn't "sportsmen" too generic a term?) all fired up because he's been working with the Humane Society. Why? Well, because gun owners hate puppies! OK, OK, I'm being silly. The real reason is because the Humane Society "is in fact an organization that opposes hunting, fishing, and trapping." So by hanging with them, Rush is now in the dog house with groups like Ducks Unlimited. (Better hope they're unlimited since you keep shooting at them! Get it? G'night, ladies and germs.)

We hear a lot about taxes. Ever wonder which companies pay the most -- or the least? Business Week has a surprising list. Some companies pay next to nothing. Yes -- almost NOTHING. Here's the list of those who pay the least, and the poor schnooks who pay the most.

Speaking of Republicans, Jeb Bush (remember him?) and of his fellow Republicans think that it's "time to leave Reagan behind." That would be interesting, since Reagan has kind of been the patron saint of all things Conservative and Republican since, like, forever. Or at least the last twenty or thirty years. Maybe the next guru of the past will be Nixon?

And speaking of Republicans and taxes, Jack Kemp died. I always thought Kemp got kind of a raw deal when he ran for Vice-President with Bob Dole. I guess it wasn't that bad, but that race was against Bill Clinton at the height of his popularity, and whoever ran on the Republican ticket was probably destined for failure. His legacy appears to be not as a Vice-Presidential loser but as an early champion of "supply-side" economics and Republican tax cuts. (I'm over-simplifying both for space and because I don't really understand economics. So if anyone wants to fill in the gaps, feel free to do so. You even have my permission to call me a dummy. It's OK. My kids do it all the time.) Kemp was 73 and died of cancer. Sad.

This isn't that new a story, but its pretty funny. Two people were caught, um, doing it, on the lawn in front of Windsor Castle. Yep -- that's the Queen's lawn. This sentence is as clasically British and Shakespeare: "Ignoring signs asking visitors to Please Keep Off The Grass, the man and woman, said to be in their early 30, selected a spot near the castle's Garter Tower and stripped off in full view of hotels, pubs and shops." Yes, because the real problem is that they were on the grass.

Oh, and let's not forget swine flu. Apparently there have been more cases reported, but it's not exactly Bubonic Plague. Yet. Here are some stats to scare ya into sanitizing your hands and those of your children. In the U.S. of A., 30 states are reporting swine flu cases. 19 countries. 800 people total, mostly in North America, with Colombia being the first in South America. (What an honor.) In Europe, Spain has the most cases, with 44. 30 people have been hospitalized. Yeah, it's a real party in the world these days.

If you'll excuse me, I have to go wash my hands. Again. See you tomorrow.

Image: s0rethumbs

Mexican Sesame Street Addresses Swine Flu

YouTube Helps Man Deliver Baby

OctoMom's Kid - Bite Mark And Black Eye

Consumer Reports Responds to Sling-Hate Outrage

Swine Flu - Are You Worried About Your Kids?

Ice, Ice Baby: Frozen Sperm Works, 22 Years Later

Kate Tuttle — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:01:00 GMT

After all the crazy stories of fertility treatments gone mad and nutty grandparents trying to extract sperm from the dead, it's refreshing to hear about the everyday miracles advanced reproductive technology can bring to parents who yearn for a child.

Chris Biblis, now 39, was just 17 when his family and doctors encouraged him to freeze sperm for future use; he was undergoing treatement for leukemia at the time, and some of the drugs used were known to cause sterility. This was in 1987, five years before the successful injection of a sperm cell into a human egg. As anyone knows who's had "the talk" with their child, pre-teen or teenager, this subject matter can cause massive embarrassment on both sides. Thank goodness, then, that Biblis's mother was courageous and humane enough to broach the subject because last month Chris and his wife had baby Stella, born to a father now cancer-free for 20 years.

The Biblises have five frozen embryos in case they want to attempt to have more kids. But for now, I'm sure they're still amazed at how fortunate they are that science -- and Stella's grandmother -- could see into a future for that teenager fighting cancer.

More by this author:

Exploited and Discarded? Seeking Protection for Egg Donors

Another Hospital Baby Mix-Up, Now With Added Racism!

Spurred to Action by Natasha Richardson Death, Parents Save Girl

Child Support Suffers in a Recession, Too

Breaking Bad on Plastics

JeanneSager — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:53:00 GMT

If only Benjamin Braddock knew then what we know now - plastics are a bummer for parents. Not to mention the environment.

But you don't have to be a graduate of anything to understand this helpful chart I picked up from the folks at Zo-Li, the baby product company that's managed to incorporate toxic-free plastics into all its goodies for kids.

Breaking down the different types of plastics, where you'll find them and what affect they'll have on your kids, the chart is a print and tack to the fridge if I've ever seen one. Because who wants to take a chance with their kids?

Their biggies to avoid:

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) - also known as Plastic #3 - Usually found in cling wrap, squeeze bottles, bigs, mattress covers, diaper changing mats, bottles for cooking oil, window cleaner, and detergents PVC poses risks to both human health and the environment. PVC needs additives and stabilizers such as lead for strength and phthalates for ﬂexibility. The manufacturing and disposal of PVC emits dioxins into the air which settles on grasslands and water impacting the meat and dairy products consumed by humans. Dioxin is a known carcinogen and hormone disruptor associated with learning and behavioral problems in children, decreased birth rate, and reduced immune functionality.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) - also known as Plastic #6 - Used in opaque plastic cutlery and Styrofoam disposable cups, carry-out containers and meat trays. Styrene can leach from Styrofoam containers and is a known carcinogen that is toxic to the brain and nervous system through prolonged exposure.

Polycarbonate - This is a catch-all of all plastics that don’t fall into any of the other six groups. Some of the new bio-plastics that are corn / rice / potato / tapioca-based plastics as well as the newer plastics labeled BPA-free are included in this group, but the type of plastic to avoid in this group is polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is commonly used in plastic baby bottles, reusable water
bottles, and some clear plastic cutlery. Bisphenol-A (BPA), found in polycarbonate is a hormone disruptor, which can leach into the foods and liquids in polycarbonate containers. BPA has been linked to several health issues including prostate and breast cancer, early onset of puberty, miscarriages, birth defects, behavioral issues such as hyperactivity, obesity, diabetes, and impaired immune function.

Want the whole chart to keep your kids safe? Click on the image below to print and save.

Images: BarSupply/Zo-Li Baby

They Say: Pool Water's Toxic for Baby

JeanneSager — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:21:00 GMT

Nobody wants to think of their kids taking in sips full of toxic water. But a new study says all the disinfectants we've been using to keep our drinking and swimming water clean may be doing just the opposite.

The ten-year study funded by the Environmental Protection Agency found that disinfectants mixing with organic matter in our water to create "disinfectant by-products" (DBP) with some pretty risky consequences.

"Some of these are toxic, some can cause birth defects, some are genotoxic, which damage DNA, and some we know are also carcinogenic," geneticist Michael Plewa said in HSDailyWire.com.

The scary part, as we head into summer, is the significant amount of DBPs found in swimming pools, where Plewa says body hair, urine (we all know kids pee in the pool) and other bits of human mix with the disinfectants in the pool. Because poolwater is generally recycled, Plewa says the concentration of DBPs in a swimming pool is tenfold what it is in drinking water. And babies, whose parents love to take them into the pool to escape the summer heat, are more susceptible than any of us to the damaging affects of DBPs.

So what can you do? Stay out of public pools - where people are doing all kinds of nasty. Stick your kids in fresh disinfectant-free water in a baby wading pool (and keep a VERY close eye on them), and wait until scientists come up with some new wonder product. . . which they'll find out twenty years down the line also causes cancer, but hey, what we don't know won't kills us. Right?

Image: ScienceDaily

When a Mother Goes Bald

JeanneSager — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:01:00 GMT

I've spent the last month and a half knocking down doors trying to convince a lot of broke people to give me money so I could shave my head.

Even in a bad economy, I hit my small goal of $1,000 raised for the St. Baldrick's Foundation - so you can all laugh at my very bald head.

Ready for it?

Yes, that's me, bald. My head got stuck on my pillow Saturday night, and I can officially clean out from under my nails just by rubbing my fingers across my scalp, but it was worth it.

I'm a hero for kids with cancer. Everyone who shaved their heads during this St. Baldrick's season is a hero. So is everyone who pulled out their wallets and gave - whether it was $1 or $1,00.

In many ways, the smaller amounts meant all that much more - because they came from people I knew were struggling this year. As one fellow shavee told me at a firehouse last week where twenty firemen came together like a true band of brothers and shaved their heads - "people still believe in a good cause."

I walked down the line among men who get out of bed in the middle of the night to rush out in their turnout gear and run into burning buildings, men who are used to ragging on the reporter just because they can, and they were shy, quiet. "Anything for the kids," they admitted. I nodded. "No, anything," one man said, looking me straight in the eye.

Most of us will do anything for their kids. But kids overall? I have to shave my head every year - not because my daughter has cancer (thank goodness) - but because I can't look a sick child in the eyes and not see my daughter standing there. I can't hear the story of a child stricken with a leptomenengial tumor at three and not think, Oh my God, my daughter is only three. I can't turn off the mother in me when I hear about children's cancer.

There are hundreds of other charities - worthy charities - but I'm a parent. So I pick this one. And every year, for as long as I'm still growing hair, I'll give it up, hoping that some day, one day, that $2, $25, $100 I talked out of someone, will change another parent's world.

Want to donate on someone's head? Check out the St. Baldrick's Foundation website and see if anyone you know shaved their head this year.

Which Kids Shampoos Have Cancer Causing Agents?

JeanneSager — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:01:00 GMT

Manufacturers of children's bath products are the latest to earn the ire of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which accuses the likes of Johnson & Johnson, Gerber and Bath and Body Works of putting chemicals linked to cancer in products meant for children.

The CSC, which put out a scathing report last year on cancer-causing agents in lipsticks, has released a study this month dubbed "No More Toxic Tub," accusing major kids bath product manufacturers of using formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane to produce shampoos, soaps, sunscreen, bubble bath and lotions. Neither is listed on the labels, the CSC says, but actual tests of forty-eight products found trace amounts.

The Environmental Protection Agency classifies 1,4-Dioxane as a “Group B2, probable human carcinogen,” while it ranks formaldehyde as "a probable human carcinogen." According to the CSC, sixty-one percent of twenty-eight products tested contained both chemicals. Twenty-three out of twenty-eight products tested contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from fifty-four to six hundred ten parts per million. In the broader spectrum test of forty-eight products, thirty-two contained 1,4-dioxane with levels up to thirty-five parts per million.

So what should you avoid?

The products that tested positive for 1,4-dioxane include:

American Girl Hopes and Dreams Glistening Shower and Bath Wash
American Girl Real Beauty Inside and Out Shower Gel – Apple Blossom (three samples)
American Girl Real Beauty Inside and Out Shower Gel – Sunny Orange
Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash (three samples)
Baby Magic “Soft Baby Scent” Baby Lotion
Barbie Berry Sweet Bubble Bath
CVS Baby Shampoo
CVS Kids Body Wash – Blueberry Blast
Dora the Explorer Bubble Bath
Equate Tearless Baby Wash
Gentle Naturals Eczema Baby Wash
Grins & Giggles Milk & Honey Baby Wash
Hot Wheels Berry Blast Bubble Bath
Huggies Naturally Refreshing Cucumber & Green Tea Baby Wash
Johnson’s Baby Shampoo
Johnson’s Moisture Care Baby Wash
Johnson’s Oatmeal Baby Wash - Vanilla
L’Oreal Kids Extra Gentle 2-in-1 Fast Dry hampoo – Burst of Cool Melon
Mustela Baby Shampoo
Mustela Dermo-Cleansing Gel for Hair and Body Newborn/Baby
Mustela Multi-Sensory Bubble Bath
Night-time Bath Baby Wash
No-Ad Sun Pals SPF 45 UVA/UVB Sun Protection
Pampers Kandoo Foaming Handsoap – Magic Melon
Sesame Street Bubble Bath – Orange Mango Tango
Soft & Beautiful Just for Me! No-Lye Conditioning Creme Relaxer, Children’s Super
Suave Kids 2-in-1 Shampoo – Wild Watermelon
Tinker Bell Scented Bubble Bath

The products that tested positive for formaldehyde include:

American Girl Hopes and Dreams Shimmer Body Lotion
American Girl Real Beauty Inside and Out Shower Gel – Apple Blossom (three samples)
Baby Magic “Soft Baby Scent” Baby Lotion (three samples)
Barbie Berry Sweet Bubble Bath
CVS Baby Shampoo
CVS Kids Body Wash – Blueberry Blast
Dora the Explorer Bubble Bath
Equate Tearless Baby Wash
Grins & Giggles Milk & Honey Baby Wash
Hot Wheels Berry Blast Bubble Bath
Huggies Naturally Refreshing Cucumber & Green Tea Baby Wash
Huggies Soft Skin – Shea Butter
Johnson’s Baby Shampoo (two samples)
L’Oreal Kids Extra Gentle 2-in-1 Fast Dry Shampoo – Burst of Cool Melon
Pampers Kandoo Foaming Handsoap – Magic Melon
Sesame Street Bubble Bath – Orange Mango Tango
Tinker Bell Body Lotion
Tinker Bell Scented Bubble Bath

For a look at some alternatives, SuperEco has a round-up of non-toxic kids shampoos. You're probably going to need it.

Image: OneStepAhead

UPDATE: Bye Bye BPA: WHICH Bottles Will Go Bisphenol Free

JeanneSager — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:57:00 GMT

Checking for the BPA-free label when shopping for baby bottles may soon be a thing of the past. The six largest manufacturers of bottles in the United States have voluntarily agreed to go Bisphenol-A free.

We reported on this story over the weekend (see below), but thanks to our friends at SuperEco, we now have a list of who's involved in the manufacturer cave in.

Going toxin free are Gerber, Avent America (which stopped production back in December), Evenflo, Disney's First Years, Dr. Brown and Playtex.

Attorneys general in Connecticut and New Jersey put forward a request to the bottle makers, asking for the hormone-disrupting chemical to be removed from the manufacturing process. The request came on the heels of newer research that shows the affects of BPA are large even at low doses, doses lower than the FDA's current standards. Studies have linked BPA to everything from cancer and obesity to problems with brain function and mood disorders. They've also shown BPA is building up in the bloodstream. In a study of people age six and older, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found detectable levels of BPA in ninety-three percent of two thousand five hundred seventeen urine samples.

Of course, the big companies aren't exactly doing this all out of the goodness of their hearts. Babies R Us and a number of other retailers announced last year that they would phase out all sales of bottles with BPA in them. Canada has outright banned the substance.

But sometimes even the big companies make decisions that are good for parents.

Image: OhMyGov

Court Nixes Couple's Request for Dead Son's Sperm

JeanneSager — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:01:00 GMT

The parents of a man dead since 1998 won't be fulfilling their last minute dreams to have a grandchild - a New York court just nixed their request to use the dead man's sperm to make a baby.

Ah, common sense prevails somewhere in New York.

Mark Speranza banked sperm at a lab in 1997 before undergoing treatment for cancer; he wanted to be able to father a child if he survived the battle. Unfortunately, Speranza died in January 1998. He'd ordered the semen samples to be destroyed if he died, but his parents had filed to be allowed use of the sperm.

They wanted to impregnate a surrogate mother with their son's semen so they could become grandparents. It sounds like a storyline ripped from a recent episode of Private Practice (although, on the show, the sick kid was still alive and wanted to have a baby . . . her parents were eager for a grandchild and happy to go along with their teenage daughter getting pregnant before she died).

What's bizarre to me is the fact that this case wasn't thrown out simply because Speranza had directed his sperm to be destroyed upon his death. Apparently his request wasn't enough. Instead, a state law that requires a father provide blood tests before his stored semen is used to impregnate a surrogate played a role. Because Speranza was dead, a Manhattan judge said the family would have been violating state law.

Shouldn't a man's request of what be done with his semen be enough? After all, we reserve the right to sign up as organ donors or not - our parents can't come waltzing in after our death to announce that old cousin Charlie needs a kidney and there's a fresh set just lying there on the table. A guy couldn't be forced to have sex to make a baby, he shouldn't be forced after his death to make a baby he didn't ask for.

And what would this do to a child - to know his grandparents/custodial parents disregarded his dad's wishes to make him? It sounds like a set of people who are very sad to have lost their son - but need to realize they can't replace him with his child.

Image: CyprusIVF

Teen Ball Players Throw Away a Win for Child of Cancer Victim

JeanneSager — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:33:00 GMT

Just when you think kids are done surprising you, they do it again. Take the boys of the DeKalb (Wisc.) high school basketball team - who showed this month that winning isn't everything, especially when it means hurting a boy who has just lost his mom.

A group of teen boys traveled two hours to play a high school basketball game in Milwaukee, Wisc. earlier this month, only to find the coach of the opposing team, the Milwaukee Madison High School team, wasn't there. Coach Adam Womack Jr. was at the local hospital with player Johntell Franklin, whose mom had died that day from cancer.

The visitors from DeKalb were eager to get home, but Coach Dave Rohlman told Womack to take his time. DeKalb offered to go home, to let the players from Madison have their time to grieve.

But Womack decided his kids needed to play, needed to get their minds off of their friend and onto the game. They took to the court. In the middle of the second quarter, Franklin arrived. He wasn't on the roster, but he wanted to play. It would mean giving up two free throws to DeKalb - official policy in high school basketball, substituting a player not listed in the official scorebook is a technical.

It would have given DeKalb an advantage. Instead they argued with the ref. They didn't want to take it. When the ref insisted, one of the team's best players went to the free throw line, and missed. Twice.

He purposely threw the ball out of bounds, and threw away a win. Madison went on to win a close game . . . and the two teams sat down afterward to share a couple pizzas.

Somehow, I seem to find a weeper to share here on the 'Derby at least once a week. This is no exception (and the fact that this story was e-mailed to me by my husband, who was touched in his own sports guy way makes this all the more moving). What's remarkable about this story are the attitudes of the kids and coaches from DeKalb, of course, but also the understanding of Coach Womack that his players needed to play - that Franklin could find catharsis on the court after losing his mother.

High school sports are hotly contested, and a win means far more to kids at that age than most adults realize. Giving that up - throwing that away - takes guts, heart and an incredible self-possession that most sixteen, seventeen-year-old boys (or girls) don't have. A letter from Coach Womack to the editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out an incredible job is being done in raising these kids.

"As a principal, school, school district staff, and community you should all feel immense pride for the remarkable job that the coaching staff is doing in not only coaching these young men, but teaching them how to be leaders," Womack says.

These are the kinds of sports stars we really need.

Source: Bleacher Report

Image: Journal Sentinel (Johntell Franklin)

Shave Your Head, Fight Children's Cancer

JeanneSager — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:33:00 GMT

How much is your hair worth to you? Enough to save a kid's life?

I've got to confess, I've never been one of those women who connected her femininity with the length of her hair. I first shaved my head in high school. When my daughter came along, I realized the shock value of walking around as a woman with short hair was worth something more. I could go down to the scalp for more than just my need to shave minutes off of the morning routine. These days, I shave my head for the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

Founded in 1999 by a bunch of re-insurance agents looking to kick in for a good cause, St. Baldrick's "shaving events" happen every March (and some throughout the year). The premise is simple - people put up pledges that go to the foundation. In return, you shave your head. They laugh. Everyone wins.

So why bother with this one?

I almost look at my yearly head shavings now as good karma. I grow my hair out (the real sacrifice for me) for a few months, then I walk into a room filled with the kind of positive energy you don't encounter much anymore. It's a day when people are thinking about kids. Family members of kids lost to cancer and kids who've survived cancer sit down in chairs beside high school kids who have spent the last few weeks banging down doors for money even knowing the funds raised won't help pay for their trip to Disney World or football uniforms.

And the kids come too. The kids who have survived a fight with cancer. No one wants to see their child fall sick, and staring in the eyes of one of these kids always sends parents of the healthy kids home to wrap them in their arms.

But what does that do? It makes us feel better, but not much else.

So how much is your hair worth? Willing to put it on the line?

If you're not, how about finding a donor event near you and dropping by to meet the kids who make it happen, maybe stashing a little cash in their pot? It's just hair, but this is one of those times bald is absolutely beautiful.

Image: St. Baldrick's Foundation (visit to find a shavee event or search to see if anyone you know is shaving this year)

They Say: Fertility Drugs Not Linked to Ovarian Cancer

Kate Tuttle — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:01:00 GMT

A major study has confirmed earlier findings that drugs used in fertility treatment are not associated with a higher risk of ovarian cancer, according to an article in the New York Times. Although the study did not rule out any link with cancer -- in particularly, it echoed it offered reassurance to women alarmed by earlier research linking a rare but often deadly cancer to certain fertility medications.

From the article:

“The message to give clinicians and patients is that over all these data provide further evidence that fertility drugs do not increase the risk of ovarian cancer to any great extent,” said Allan Jensen, an assistant professor of cancer epidemiology at the Danish Cancer Society and the first author of the paper. The senior author was Susanne Krüger Kjaer.

Dr. Jensen added, “You should always balance a possible small increase in ovarian cancer risk with the physical and psychological benefits of pregnancy made possible only by use of these drugs.”

The study, one of the largest ever to address the issue, looked at more than 50,000 patients seeking fertility treatment in Denmark between 1963 and 1998.

More By This Author:

Little Girl with Bowel Disease Kept Alive on Donated Breastmilk

They Say: More Abuse, Neglect Among Bottle-Feeding Moms

Does Obama's Election Mean Black Kids Now Have "No Excuses"?

Man Kills Family, Self, After Layoffs

Designer Baby Born Without Cancer Gene

Brett Singer — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Pop quiz: you have a history of cancer in your family. You want to have children. Science has progressed to the point where you can alter your unborn child's genetics so that they will be born without the particular gene that causes the particular type of cancer in your bloodline. What do you do?

This is no longer a hypothetical question. A baby girl was just born in Britain without the defective BRCA1 gene, which causes cancer in 50 to 85 percent of girls, according to London's Daily Mail. That gene is rampant in this particular London family, who wisely chose to remain anonymous. (No reality TV show for those two.)

When the unborn are mucked with, controversy follows. Various Pro-Life/Anti-Choice advocates, such as James Dowson of LifeLeague, are against the practice, calling it a "slippery slope…It is designer babies. Screening for cancer is an emotive issue - my own father and grandfather both had cancer, so I know - but it is a dangerous road to go down. Today it is cancer, next year it will be IQ, and the year after that blue eyes and blonde hair."

I don't like the term "designer baby". It sounds like something you create in a lab. But isn't that what doctors are doing? I realize that I'm not offering a good analysis of the science involved here. The Daily Mail article is decent, and there is lots of information online if you want to read up on it. I'm going to stick with the more parenting-related issues that come up with this story.

I'm somewhat ambivalent about the idea of genetic screening, and even more hesitant to agree with genetic manipulation. Although I'm not a scientist (I even graduated college without passing a single science class, for what that's worth) I feel strongly that doctors can't possibly know what the long-term effects are of adding and removing genes from anyone, in utero or fully-grown. Like most Jewish parents, my wife and I went through the genetic screening process when she was pregnant, but declined to know all of the information that they found. It's one thing to check and see if you are a carrier for a horrible and incurable disease such as Tay-Sachs. It's something else to find out what the chances are that your child will contract various types of cancers. We decided that we'd rather not know.

And therein lies the core of the issue – choice. If a technique is available and medically possible, it shouldn't be up to me or anyone else to decide whether or not it can be used.

My ambivalence comes from the idea of trying to create a baby with traits that you pick off of a menu of human characteristics – "I'll have the blue eyes with a hint of hazel, and a boy with a strong right leg so he can grow up to be an NFL punter like Jeff Feagles." (Hey, Jeff Feagles is one of the best punters in football. And punters can play longer than any other position in the game because they don't get hit much.) This may sound silly, but I've read enough comic books and seen enough movies to know that messing around with genetics rarely ends well. Eventually some lunatic – Hitler, perhaps – decides to create a Master Race of Super Soldiers and starts World War III. Hm, maybe it's not just a comic book thing.

As with abortion, this is a religious issue. Conservative British politician Ann Widdecombe said, "'A lot of embryos have genes in them that could lead to nothing but them turning into perfectly healthy humans. Once again this shows a worrying precedent that man wants to play God."

This is the argument that nobody ever makes when it comes to the death penalty. But that's a different story.

What do you think? Is this just another issue of personal choice and women's reproductive freedom? Or is it more dangerous? And even if it is more dangerous, does anyone have the right to tell someone not to do it?

Source: Daily Mail

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Teen Has Cancer and Lives in a Car

JeanneSager — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:29:00 GMT

Doctors have told Destiny Himmel's mom the teen needs a safe, clean, germ-free environment as her body rebuilds in its battle with leukemia. Easier said than done when you live in your car.

Kerry and Destiny Himmel live in their Ford Explorer, alternating between a parking spot at a California McDonald's and another at a nearby grocery store. Kerry used to work as a truck driver, but when she went looking for another job, her daughter got sick.

In April, Destiny was diagnosed with high-risk acute leukemia. She has gotten through what is considered the hardest part of her treatments, but she still has at least two years of care before doctors think the cancer can be eradicated. Now Kerry spends her days home-schooling her daughter in the back of their car and shuttling the teen between medical appointments (Destiny's care is covered by Medi-Cal, the California state insurance system). On cold nights, Destiny stretches out in the back of the car, riddled by the pain that follows chemotherapy, with the family's two dogs to keep her warm. They get by on $500 in government assistance each month, cutting coupons to stretch their dollars and using the bathroom of the fast food restaurant.

But her mom won't accept putting her in foster care - to get her out of the car. Nor will the teenager. When a reporter for the Los Angeles Times suggested it, Destiny broke into sobs. When another member of the Times' staff uncovered proof that the Himmel's were offered housing earlier this spring and turned it down, Kerry said her daughter couldn't handle the stairs at the building in her condition. She said she couldn't meet with case managers and keep up with her daughter's medical appointments at the same time. She worried that the transitional residents at the proposed shelter would subject Destiny to unsafe germs.

If this were merely the story of a child suffering through cancer, it would be bad enough. But reading further and further into the Times' story, I found myself wondering not where the system has failed the Himmels, but how Kerry Himmel thinks she is helping her daughter. To not want her put in foster care because she thought she'd lose her is understandable. To not take an apartment because it has steps? That's a mix of denial and martyrdom - with a dose of short-sightedness thrown in.

Kerry Himmel is trying to be a good parent, that's clear, but sometimes that means admitting we can't do it all for our kids.

Image: The Los Angeles Times

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Man Says Drinking Breastmilk Cured His Cancer

JeanneSager — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:25:00 GMT

We've all heard breast is best, but best for a middle-aged man fighting prostate cancer? Howard Cohen says he chased away the cancer cells with daily drinks of mother's milk - human mothers.

In this video sent my way after reporting on the Facebook ban of breastfeeding mothers, Cohen, an American, chats with a British interviewer about his decision to start drinking breastmilk - based on a study found by wife Barbara (and covered here on the 'Derby last year). Asked by the interviewer if he ever though it was disgusting, Cohen says it's "perfectly natural."

"I saw it as something I could do in addition to traditional medicine, I didn't know I was going to be doing it instead of traditional medicine," he says, claiming that his continued regimen of twice-weekly breastmilk shakes has kept the prostate cancer at bay for more than nine years.

So we know that breastmilk is natural for babies, yes. Natural for the rest of us?

Cohen says it's an "extremely healthy thing for humans to do." And while I'd agree it's healthy for babies, what he doesn't mention in the video (below), is that breastmilk is made by a mother specifically for her baby. Yes, you can argue that cow's milk is made for that calf or goat's milk for that kid. But there are also processes in place to ensure goat or cow's milk don't contain any viruses - while people who have bought into this study and Cohen's marketing of it, are buying milk by the frozen pack via the Internet - with no such guarantees.

And some people aren't even using it for such lofty goals as curing cancer - there are apparently guys buying breastmilk from moms who think they're helping a mom who can't breastfeed or people with cancer . . . and they're getting off on it. One mom says she had ten men contact her shortly after she posted an offer to sell her breastmilk online. One said his wife had died, and he needed it for his baby - but he couldn't provide her proof that he had a baby. Not that Cohen is to blame, certainly, for these freaky horny guys!

But it's scary to me to think that people are out there randomly buying breastmilk. Would you do as Cohen has, take to drinking breastmilk in lieu of traditional medicine?

Image: Channel4

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Dying Dad Gets Extra Time Thanks to Mystery Donor

JeanneSager — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:27:00 GMT

Finally, a bit of news that reminds us hedge fund managers are people too (the NASDAQ be darned). A mystery manager here in the states has ponied up the cash to fund the cancer treatments for a British father denied care by that country's National Health System.

Jack Rosser knows he will die, but thanks to the mystery donor, he may have as much as several extra years to spend with his toddler daughter.

OK, commence weeping. I know I shed a tear or two at this story, not least because the Rosser's diagnosis with an aggressive cancer of his kidneys came just days after little Emma was born. The Rossers should have been celebrating new life; but they were staring death in the eyes.

Rosser was told he probably had two years left, unless he began treatments with Sutent, a cancer drug which costs three thousand pounds a month (currently about $4,450). The medicine would give him extra time, but it couldn't save his life. It wasn't enough of a benefit for the British National Health System. The government told Rosser the treatment was off the table. Attempts to get him into a clinical trial were out too - he was told his cancer wasn't advanced enough. He'd have to accept death . . . and leaving his wife and daughter sooner rather than later.

When his story was highlighted by a group working to fight for cancer patients denied life-lengthening care (and highlighted by Bloomberg late last month), the man identified only as a hedge fund manager from the states stepped forward. He'll pay for the fifty-seven-year-old Rosser's treatments, he said, as long as he needs them.

"It's been such a fight and all I can say is thank you. He's given my daughter the opportunity to get to know her dad," Jenny Rosser told Sky News this week.

Perhaps someone could remind the National Health System - and nasty American HMOs - that sometimes the decisions they're making aren't about that one patient, but the lives around them too. A few extra months for a little girl to get to know her father can make a world of difference in her life.

Oh, and while you're at it, could someone pass me a Kleenex?

Image: Sky News

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They Say: Prenatal Folic Acid Not So Good After All

JeanneSager — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:57:00 GMT

Am I the only one who is starting to feel like scientists flip a coin every day to decide what's good for our kids? The latest flip flop hits those prenatal ~~horse pills~~ vitamins every mother tries to force down throughout her pregnancy.

Turns out that folic acid we always thought was so necessary for their development? This week, they're saying we probably should hold off about three months. Stay tuned (these things are subject to change).

The study out of Norway has some heft to it. Researchers followed thirty-two thousand kids over a period of three years and found moms who took folic acid during the first three months of gestation were more likely to have a baby with respiratory issues all the way up to the eighteen-month mark. The kids were also twenty-four percent more likely to land in the hospital because of their wheezing.

Over the years, folic acid intake by pregnant moms has been liked to everything from a decrease in the incidence of spina bifida to a possible decrease in cancer in kids. I've known moms who started taking prenatal vites months before they even began TRYING for a baby because they wanted to have a healthy folic acid build-up in the body. And I'd imagine you'd be hard-pressed these days to find a prenatal vitamin that DOESN'T have folic acid built in (thank you March of Dimes).

So what's a mom to do? Would you say the benefits outweigh the risks? Or should we just stay tuned for the other flip flop to drop?

Image: MLive

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Is Banked Sperm Really the Same as Hair and Toenail Clippings?

JeanneSager — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:31:00 GMT

The contents of a freezer that broke down at a Britain hospital in 2003 wasn't just holding yesterday's lunch. It was keeping on ice the only hope six men would ever have of one day fathering children. Now five of the cancer patients (one has since died) are locked in a battle for damages that's now in front of the country's highest court.

The men were each told that treatment for their condition may result in the loss of their fertility - sending them scurrying to the hospital to have samples of their sperm frozen to preserve their chances of becoming a dad. In June 2003, the longterm storage unit at the Southmead Hospital failed, and the thawed sperm had to be thrown away. The North Bristol National Health System Trust, which manages the hospital, admitted it was at fault, but the men have so far been told that they are not eligible for any damages.

A county court judge earlier this year compared the sperm samples to hair and toenail clippings, stating the men had no right to claim personal injury once the sperm was removed from their body. Their lawyers are now fighting to have that overturned in front of the country's two seniormost judges.

Can anyone really compare sperm saved in a medical institution to toenails clipped over a garbage can? There's no guarantee that the sperm could successfully be used to create a viable embryo, but these men put specifically entrusted their sperm to a hospital to keep it for safekeeping. They did so with the specific intention of protecting their chances of one day becoming a father, something these men may never know (at least not in the biological sense).

People who dream of one day having children, only to learn infertility problems stand in the way, often mourn as though they've felt a physical loss. To tell them that they should look at their struggles as nothing more than losing one's hair would be both cruel and condescending. Can't the same be said for these men?

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JeanneSager — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:31:00 GMT

An English woman who received an ovary donated by her twin sister last year is about to become a mother. Barren since her body went into early menopause at fifteen, the thirty-eight year old is an aunt to two of her sister's children. Now her sister will be an aunt too.

The women are identical twins, which worked to their advantage in this procedure. Because of their identical genes, the eggs from the donor ovary are the genetic equivalent of the woman carrying the baby. Three months after transplant surgery last year at a hospital in St. Louis, the mom-to-be had her first period in 22 years. She soon became pregnant and is due to deliver the baby next week.

Doctors grafted part of a working ovary into another woman's infertile ovary in 2004 which resulted in a successful pregnancy. But this was the first case of an entirely "new" ovary helping a woman become a mother. Doctors say it gives hope that more women can have their fertility restored this way; although the fact that identical twins are relatively rare means most women won't find it applicable. It does give hope, they say, that women who are about to undergo cancer treatment can have an ovary removed, frozen and later implanted to protect their fertility and perhaps become pregnant down the line.

Image: The Guardian

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Religious Parents Fight to Keep Braindead Boy On Life Support

JeanneSager — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:34:00 GMT

Eluzar and Miriam Brody are facing perhaps the hardest situation any parent can encounter. Their son, Motl, had brain cancer. Now doctors say the twelve-year-old is brain dead, and they've recommended removing the boy from life support. But his heart, beating with the help of intravenous drugs, has kept the Orthodox Jews from saying yes.

The Brody's religion interprets a beating heart and functioning lungs (currently powered by a ventilator) as signs of life. According to their attorney, "his family has a religious obligation to secure all necessary and appropriate medical treatment to keep him alive." The issue came this week, when doctors at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. determined the boy's condition had deteriorated beyond that of a persistant vegitative state. A story at MSNBC breaks down his condition, explaining Motl Brody's brain has actually begun to decompose.

Setting religion aside, this isn't something I'd expect any parent to decide easily. The hospital's determination came Wednesday. The first news story hit a day later.

What makes this story even more upsetting is the fact that Children's National offered to move, as they called it, Motl's "earthly remains" (honestly, as a parent, couldn't they have come up with a more sympathetic way of putting it?). But no hospital closer to the Brody's Brooklyn, New York home has agreed to take in a brain-dead child. They've agreed to give the case until this Wednesday out of respect for the family's religious beliefs.

How long should a family get to make this kind of decision - religion or no religion?

Image: Children's Medical Center

Momma's Auction to Fight Breast Cancer

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:01:00 GMT

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close, Maine Momma is doing something very special: Holding an auction of some ultra-modern and beautiful prints to raise money for a cure and to spread awareness.

I hope you click over to take a look, because these are definitely worth bidding on -- especially if you know her story. She's raising the money for herself, for friends, for family -- for anyone touched by the disease we all hope, one day, might be cured.

Please take a look.

(Hat tip to Greeblemonkey for the tip!)