(Between Me and the River- Cover)

JOE: Good morning Calliope. I have a book review to share with you today.
CALLIOPE: Great. Let me see it.

 

Between Me and the River by Carrie Host

In The Right to Write, Julia Cameron observes, "My body which carries a knowledge deeper than my mind, has answers for me as an artist and a person." In her new book, Between Me and the River, Living Beyond Cancer: A Memoir (Harlequin, 2009), Carrie Host chronicles her encounter with the river of cancer, sometimes paddling along, sometimes caught in the rapids and sometimes grasping desperately for the shore.

Her account reminds me of Dante's Divine Comedy, especially the Inferno with its River Styx and the Purgatorio where her body, mind and soul are purified. She never quite makes it to the Paradiso, although none of us do in this life. From the start of her account, I wanted to push or pull her boat to safety or paddle with her.

Before her encounter with cancer Carrie wrote poetry. She learned to watch, listen, smell, touch and taste the joys, frustrations, fears, defeats and victories punctuating her voyage. She shares with the reader her poignant observations, thoughts and feelings as her body experiences them. You will share with her the sting of each setback and the glory of each victory. As Julia Cameron says, "We store memories in our bodies. We store passion and heartache. We store joy, moments of transcendent peace."

Carrie's book shares her perspective on wrestling with cancer, from the loneliness of facing it alone inside her body to the loving support of her thirty-eight muses who helped write her story. She starts writing with the goal of finding an ending to her story. Eventually she does, "Radiating pure light, I've surreptitiously come to a place with winter clarity along the banks of a magnificent river, its roar a vague whisper, a place with all words sleeping."

 

15th Annual “Festival of Hope” hosted by Genesee Cancer Assistance June 5, 2009 at the Batavia Downs Genesee Cancer Assistance Inc.

(GCA), a community-based, volunteer organization located in Batavia, has set the date for their annual Festival of Hope celebration. This event was made possible by several local business event sponsors; Batavia Radiation Oncology Associates, Bank of Castile & Tompkins Insurance, Steven M. Haley & Associates, LLC at the Insurance Center, The Batavia Downs, UMMC, Stan’s Harley Davidson, Pudgie’s Lawn & Garden, WBTA-1490, Batavia Sign Company, HSBC and Time Warner Cable.

The Festival of Hope celebration and fundraiser gives GCA the ability to help lighten the load of Genesee County residents who are fighting courageous battles against cancer. GCA is a local charity that helps local citizens. The premier event at this year’s festival will be the Time Warner “Kids Zone” which includes a fun run and other entertaining activities for kids and families alike. Other activities at this year’s event will include the second annual 5-K Run for Hope, the traditional Walk for Hope, a Chinese Auction, and the “Lighting of the Luminaries.

“This event allows GCA to operate and to continue helping the residents of our county who are battling cancer” stated Gregg Torrey, GCA Board Member and Chairman of the festival planning committee. “This event is about honoring members of our community who have passed away from cancer and ensuring that those who are suffering with cancer today have the assistance they need” Torrey concluded.

If you are interested in registering for the 5K or the Walk for Hope please call Gregg Torrey at (585) 507-8139. To learn more about Genesee Cancer Assistance visit their webpage at http://www.geneseecancerassistance.com/index.html

Don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook Search Genesee Caner Assistance.

Please save the date for this important and exciting celebration to be held at the Batavia Downs, June 5 at 5PM and bring your family!

 From the press release:

Batavia High School will be “Goin’Bald” for Roswell Park Cancer
Institute on Wednesday, March 25, at 7:00 PM in the BHS gym. The event,
sponsored by the National Honor Society and part of the annual Roswell’s
Goin’ Bald for Bucks appeal, will be sandwiched between two exciting
games of volleyball - the first between the BHS girls’ varsity
volleyball team and the boys’ varsity basketball team, and the second
game between staff members from throughout the school district. During
the intermission between the two games, any brave person who has
volunteered to go bald for Roswell will have their heads professionally
shaved.

“Our school community has been touched by cancer too often not to recognize the importance of the research that is ongoing at Roswell,” said Adam Pettinella Batavia High School National Honor Society President, “Our efforts this year are in honor of Mrs. Kay Dean, BHS health teacher, who passed away from cancer two years ago.” He said she was an active member of the faculty and everyone’s favorite teacher would have loved to have been a part of this special event.

The following teachers will have their heads shaved Wednesday evening:  from Batavia High School - Mr. Adam Garlapow, Mr. Nate Korzelius, Mr. John Kirkwood, Mr. Adam Fusco and Mr. Mark Warren; from the Middle School - Mr. Jeff Tress; from Jackson School - Mr. Carm DelPlato; from Robert Morris School - Mr. Michael Calandra and Mr. Jerry Sloan and from John Kennedy School - Mr. Paul Kesler, principal.

The following students are also shaving their heads and have raised their own donations through sponsorship - Taylor Hubbard, Will Ely, Chad Luce, Andrew Maxwell, Sunny Rathod and John Richards.

This is the first time BHS has participated in this event. All proceeds will be donated to Roswell.

“We hope we have a great turn out,” said Pettinella.

When Michael Napoleone was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma/Leukemia, he wasn't going to give in without a fight.

The child fought the disease, and was as strong and positive as any eight year old kid would be in the situation.

But, he couldn't fight anymore and wound up passing away from the cancer on December 30.

Michael played youth baseball and football before becoming ill. He was also a big Notre Dame fan and was able to visit the University of Notre Dame three months before his passing.

While Michael was fighting the disease, the Batavia community rallied and helped the family out. The Napoleone's were struggling to to pay for food, gas and medical bills.

They appreciated what the community was doing for them.

After Michael's death, parents Michael and Laurie founded the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation, with the hopes of raising money to help fight childhood cancer.

At Monday night's game between Pavilion and Notre Dame, there was t-shirts and hats as well as raffle tickets for sale to raise money. The game was called "The Michael Napoleone Foundation Cancer Awareness Girls Basketball Game" and both Pavilion and Notre Dame's team was wearing shirts to support the cause.

Dave Pero is Michael's uncle and got together with Pavilion coach Verne Brooks to work out the details of setting up the fundraising game.

The Pavilion girls wore t-shirts that said "Gopher a cure", which plays off the Golden Gophers mascot. Notre Dame's shirts said "Irish for a cure".

The Foundation started small but with the support of the community has grown to be pretty big and is helping a lot of people out. Money has been raised by countless donations and fundraisers. 

At last count, 63 families have been helped out by the foundation in just over a year.

The Foundation also purchased the scoreboard at Lyons Park in Michael's memory, after youth football was banished from Dwyer Stadium.

The big one is donating $5,000 to the Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong Memorial. That money went towards purchasing a machine that analyzes cells. A test like that used to take the hospital a week, and now it can be finished within a day.

The Foundation has also made large donations to United Memorial Medical Center and Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

If you are interested in donating to the charity you can e-mail the Foundation at michaelnapoleonememfoundation1@verizon.net.

From the United Memorial Medical Center:

The Cancer Services Partnership of Genesee and Orleans County (formerly known as the Healthy Women’s Partnership) has scheduled its annual breast cancer awareness event, Pink Hatter’s Night Out, for October 9th at Batavia Downs, 8315 Park Road, Batavia.

All attendees are encouraged to wear a pink hat. Each year prizes are awarded for hats in several categories. Doors open at 4 pm to preview the Chinese Auction items. Dinner will begin at 6 pm. 

Tickets to the event are $20 each and available at the Healthy Living Partnership, 211 East Main Street, Batavia; or by phoning (585)344-5494. Seating is limited and is expected to sell out early.

Michele Odrabina, MD who practices in obstetrics and gynecology in Albion and Medina will be the featured speaker.

The group DIVA by DIVA will present a special performance of “A Celebration of Women.” This O’Connell & Company original production is now in its 9th year. Each performance features different materials and cast in a fast paced whirl of sequins, songs, humor and quotes by, for and about women.

The Cancer Services Partnership is a grant funded program which provides access to free colorectal, breast and cervical cancer screenings for men and women, age 18 to 64, who are uninsured or underinsured. United Memorial manages the Partnership for Orleans and Genesee Counties.

A trio of runners in periwinkle pullovers brightened up an otherwise drab afternoon in Batavia today. Nicole Chuchmach, Jill Harper and Natalie Atkinson gathered outside the RV run by their "support team" outside Wal-Mart today to get out the word about Sophie's Run.

Sophie's Run is meant to raise awareness of colorectal cancer, and to do that, the three ladies left their home of Milton, Ontario in Canada on September 1. They will run nearly 500 miles to New York City, where they should arrive on October 24, spreading the word about colorectal cancer all the way.

The runners have been through the heat and the cold, the wind and the rain. They did their best to prepare, but they couldn't predict every obstacle, such as, say, massive bulldogs chasing them down rural lanes.

"You train," said Jill Harper, "but you can't train the emotions."

Officially, the three ladies are in Caledonia, where they'll start tomorrow on the next leg of their run down through Avon and Lima to Canandaigua on their way to the finish line in New York City. For the past few days, they've been staying in Batavia at the Holiday Inn—whom they have nothing but profuse graitude for hosting them. They've even recruited a local gal to run the next 14 miles with them.

For more information on Sophie's Run, check out the Web site and keep up with the blogs.