Down syndrome awareness month

I'm going to mix it up a bit this year b/c we all know my blogging, well, slacks. HA! I'm going to *try* to post a picture everyday of something that Brook does that the "doctors" said she "most likely" would not be able to do. We will start w/ a little video. Brook is 2 1/2 yrs old here. One of my favorites of all times. My girl does shine, everyday!!

More Melanoma facts!! You NEED to listen up!!

Brooks first day of Kindy

The Googs had to have a talk w/ The Brookster before school. You see, ever sence The Brookster started pre~school, her classroom was at the High school where The Googs attends. The Googs liked the fact she was right there to keep an eye on her. Now, The Brookster, is in her own big girl school accross town so The Googs is very worried.



They had a long talk and The Googs was not so worried, I think, to send The Brookster off to school. The Googs gave The Brookster a big hug and went off to school herself.



The Brookster! In Kindy! The Momma has waited for this day. My baby is just not a baby anymore. She is a big girl now. TOTALLY included in the regular kindy classroom w/ her peers. I call so much bullshit on the doctors who tell us parents our kids can't do such~and~such. BULLSHIT! Our kids can do what ever they damn well want to!!

The Brookster walked right into her classroom, put her lunchbox and backpack in her cubby, saw a table full of girls, walked over, pulled out a chair, said "HI" and sat down like she owned the place.

Thats my girl!!

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

It's a well known fact, I HATE cancer. Reallly badly!! Today I will just post some facts that I swipped from Zoey's blog. Please listen people as these are the facts!

Cancer claims the lives of more children each year than AIDS, asthma, cystic fibrosis and diabetes combined.

It is the leading cause of death by disease in children and adolescents.

Each year in the United States, approximately 12,400 children and adolescents younger than 20 years of age are diagnosed with cancer.

Approximately 2,300 children and adolescents die of cancer each year.

One out of every 300 males and one out of every 333 females in America will develop cancer before their 20th birthday.

Childhood cancer does not discriminate, sparing no ethnic group, socio-economic class or geographic region.

About one in 500 young adults is a childhood cancer survivor. Nearly 2/3 of the survivors later experience significant and chronic medical problems or develop secondary cancers as adults that result from the treatment of their original cancer.

In the past 30 years ONLY ONE new cancer drug has been approved for pediatric cancer.

The causes of most pediatric cancers remain a mystery and cannot be prevented.

Researchers estimate that 51% of moms and 40% of dads who have a child with cancer meet the criteria for “Acute Stress Disorder” within two weeks of the cancer diagnoses.

And a few final thoughts from me....

And then there was the foot

We went in on Thursday to check on The Googs foot. OMG!!! OUCH!!! She will remain in the cast for awhile yet. I have to change the dressing every other day. She still has to have the Lovenox shots in the belly for a few more days. She hates that! We did find out some good news though. There was NO Melanoma in the lymph nodes they removed.

PRAISE THE LORD!!!

We have no info on the foot yet. Still waiting but this is good news so far, eigh!!

Melanoma surgery, take two

The Googs had her second surgery on Friday. She did pretty well all in all, a little trouble waking up, and, man, my kid is cut up, but she is alive and home. Thats all that metters right now. Here are some pics of our day.



























Thx for the flowers Aunt V and Uncle B :)



We got The Googs up the next day and gave her a little bath and washed her hair. The Brookster, the sweet little sister she is, brushed The Googs hair all out :)

Melanoma facts. Please listen!

I would like to provide some facts regarding Melanoma that you should be aware of:

*Skin cancer is the #1 diagnosed cancer, and the third most commonly diagnosed cancer among women 20-39 years of age.

*More than 90% of skin cancer is caused by sun and tanning bed exposure.

*Each hour, one person dies from skin cancer.

*One in 5 people will be diagnosed with it.*One in 41 men and one in 61 women will develop melanoma in their lifetime.

*The rate of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, has more than doubled between 1973 and 1996.

*Melanoma is more common than any non-skin cancer among people between 25 and 29 years old.

*An estimated 7,400 deaths from melanoma and 2,200 from other skin cancers were expected in 2002 and more than 7,800 died from melanoma alone.

*The death rate from melanoma for men is almost twice that of women due to late detection

*Melanoma is now the fastest growing cancer in the U.S. here have been no significant advances in the medical treatment or survival rate in the last 30 years.

* One blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma later in life.

* Exposure to tanning beds before age 35 increases melanoma risk by 75 percent.

* On an average day, more than one million Americans use tanning salons.

* New high-pressure sunlamps emit doses of UVR that can be as much as 12 times that of the sun.

*In women 25-29, melanoma is the primary cause of cancer death, and in women 30-34 it is the second most common cause of cancer death.

*In the U.S. your chance of getting melanoma in 1940 was 1 in 1500. By 2004, it was 1 in 67. By 2010, scientists predict it will be 1 in 50.

*The incidence of melanoma has increased 690 percent from 1950 to 2001, and the overall mortality rate increased 165 percent during this same period.

*If untreated and allowed to spread, there is no known treatment or cure.

Doctors don't regularly screen for melanoma and patients often find their own so be sure to watch your skin. What to watch for:

A change in size, shape or color. The features of change to watch for in moles are the A, B, C, D & E of detection.

Asymmetry — Two halves of a lesion that are not the same

Border - Borders of a lesion are irregular, scalloped or vague

Color - Color varies from one area to another, including shades of tan or brown as well as black, blue, red and white

Diameter - A lesion that is greater than 6 millimeters in diameter, about the size of a pencil eraser

Evolution - Lesions that change or evolve, or is ELEVATED or raised above the skin and has a rough surface

You should also watch for the following skin changes:
A mole that bleeds
A fast-growing mole
A scaly or crusted growth on the skin
A sore that won't healA mole that itches
A place on your skin that feels rough, like sandpaper

I have an idea.... just make a dermatoligist part of your yearly check~up!!