The building seems to have vanished while I was putting away the Christmas decorations.
Chews nails ...
I HOPE Bora has a spare copy ...
Showing posts with label american cancer society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label american cancer society. Show all posts
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Has anyone seen Hope Haven?
The building seems to have vanished while I was putting away the Christmas decorations.
Chews nails ...
I HOPE Bora has a spare copy ...
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Cancer Survivors Support Group
Have you just been diagnosed with cancer or are you going through treatment at the moment? Or have you completed your treatment and want to share your experiences with others? SL Cancer Survivors Group is a peer support group that meets every Thursday at 4pm SLT and every Sunday at 12 noon SLT in Second Life.
The group has been meeting regularly for over two years. Meetings are held in the safe surroundings of Hope Haven on the American Cancer Society in Second Life island. Attendance is open to everyone who has heard those words 'I'm sorry, you have cancer'. New members are very welcome. Come and meet fellow survivors, share your story, exchange information and experiences, vent, or just chat.
For carers, caregivers, and family members there is a separate group - SL Cancer Survivors Group.
For more details about how to join and a landmark to the meeting place please contact me.
The group has been meeting regularly for over two years. Meetings are held in the safe surroundings of Hope Haven on the American Cancer Society in Second Life island. Attendance is open to everyone who has heard those words 'I'm sorry, you have cancer'. New members are very welcome. Come and meet fellow survivors, share your story, exchange information and experiences, vent, or just chat.
For carers, caregivers, and family members there is a separate group - SL Cancer Survivors Group.
For more details about how to join and a landmark to the meeting place please contact me.
Monthly cancer talk by Dr Ren Stonecutter
'The good, the bad, and the downright ugly - tests to detect cancers'. That's the title of Dr Ren Stonecutter's talk today, in the American Cancer Society in Second Life Auditorium.
One in three of us will get cancer in our lifetime. And those of us who have been diagnosed with one cancer still have a chance of being diagnosed with a second 'primary cancer'.
So this talk is relevant to us all.
Join us at 1.30pm SL time in the auditorium to learn more.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society/203/174/40
One in three of us will get cancer in our lifetime. And those of us who have been diagnosed with one cancer still have a chance of being diagnosed with a second 'primary cancer'.
So this talk is relevant to us all.
Join us at 1.30pm SL time in the auditorium to learn more.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society/203/174/40
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Take a tour ... American Cancer Society in Second Life
The official promotional video by MarkTwain White for the American Cancer Society's "Relay for Life in Second Life" campaign, which first screened at SL6B.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Virtual support for cancer survivors - a panel discussion at SL6B
On Sunday, June 25 I moderated a panel discussion at SL6B at the American Cancer Society's exhibit 'The American Cancer Society in the Virtual World'. Five cancer survivors took part in this discussion where they described their experiences and how they felt about peer support in Second Life.
One of the questions that came up was, how does virtual support compare with real life support. The speakers made some important points, emphasizing the discoverability and accessibility of the SL support group and the low threshold for joining it.
Five different perspectives, from survivors in the USA, Canada, and Brazil, with different types of cancer, but with several common themes.
From left to right: Hilde, Les, Poppy (standing), Dwen, Tathi and Cinders
Hilde Hullabaloo, a thyroid cancer survivor in Canada, says she was never offered any support in real life. 'My doctors appeared to have no idea there is support out there for thyroid cancer patients, or didn't judge me in need of it. I was explicitly told to stay off the internet when it comes to thyroid cancer, because it would scare me.
'I don't drive and live in a very car-dependent area; there was no way I would have made it to a “real world” support group meeting, particularly not while I was tired and in pain. In the throes of treatment, I felt ashamed, depressed, and terrified; I found it difficult to express those feelings to anyone in the real world.
'The threshold for entering into SL's support group, while higher in terms of technology and bandwidth, was emotionally and physically lower.'
Les Karsin, a prostate cancer survivor in the USA, pointed out that one important difference between RL and SL support groups was accessibility. 'In SL it is much easier to find a group and easier to attend meetings than it would be for me in RL. All I had to do was search groups for the word "cancer," and the ACS survivors' group was right there. To attend meetings, all I have to do is sit down at my computer, log in, and TP to the meeting location.'
Les also prefers the relative anonymity provided by SL. '... [it] made it feel safer for me to attend the first few meetings. I am actually quite a shy person, and it would have been much harder for me to walk into a room full of people in RL for the first time and tell my story. On the other hand, now that I have experienced the benefits of a support group in SL, perhaps I will be more likely to seek out a group in RL at some point in the future.'
He has found e-mail based support groups helpful, but points out that '... meeting with a group in SL, in a virtual environment where I can see other people's avatars seated around me and interact with them in real-time, gives me a much stronger sense of presence and connection ...so, I think that SL provides many of the same benefits as meeting with a group in RL, but reduces some of the barriers that make it hard for a person like me to take that first step of joining a group. Another advantage of SL is that I get to meet and talk with people from all over the world, not just my local area. That gives me a sense that I am part of a much larger, global community of people who are fighting this disease.'
Dwen Dooley agrees. 'Anonymity, via an avatar that has ... or doesn't have to have ... a connection to your real name, can give you courage. You can talk about "private" matters in SL where you might feel there was a taboo about talking about it in "Real Life".
'Access can be another issue. SL offers desk or lap-top access to support without concern for travel, ramps, stairs, hills, cars, buses, trains ... the outdoors ... those limited by their RL bodies are mostly not as constrained by SL.
'In SL you can't hold a real hand, cry on a real shoulder, or get a "real" hug. [But] those who immerse themselves in SL are used to its limitations and accept them because they've seen such amazing benefits despite those limitations.'
Tathi Pessoa, a cancer survivor from Brazil, says: 'I’ve never been to a RL support group, its not usual in Brazil . I’m not aware of groups outside the big cancer hospitals and when I have to go to a cancer center usually I have to stay face to face with people in all kinds of state of cancer (normally very advanced ). It scares me a lot so I avoid this kind of places. SL can provide beautiful places and environments ... different from the scary one.'
Cinders Vale is a six-year breast cancer survivor in the USA. She had to give up her car several years ago and finds getting to real life support meetings, especially in the winter, is a problem.
She says: 'I think going to virtual meetings/chats for many is easier. It doesn't matter how bad you look or feel. You are still surrounded by those who have been where you are, and who understand. You can feel the support and caring. Survivors or caregivers who need to talk at any time of the day or night have access to group members. They can just open up the group IM window and see who answers them. Our virtual support system works just as well as any RL version. It does fulfil a need for many out there.'
Many thanks to all the participants for sharing their perspectives.
One of the questions that came up was, how does virtual support compare with real life support. The speakers made some important points, emphasizing the discoverability and accessibility of the SL support group and the low threshold for joining it.
Five different perspectives, from survivors in the USA, Canada, and Brazil, with different types of cancer, but with several common themes.
From left to right: Hilde, Les, Poppy (standing), Dwen, Tathi and Cinders
Hilde Hullabaloo, a thyroid cancer survivor in Canada, says she was never offered any support in real life. 'My doctors appeared to have no idea there is support out there for thyroid cancer patients, or didn't judge me in need of it. I was explicitly told to stay off the internet when it comes to thyroid cancer, because it would scare me.
'I don't drive and live in a very car-dependent area; there was no way I would have made it to a “real world” support group meeting, particularly not while I was tired and in pain. In the throes of treatment, I felt ashamed, depressed, and terrified; I found it difficult to express those feelings to anyone in the real world.
'The threshold for entering into SL's support group, while higher in terms of technology and bandwidth, was emotionally and physically lower.'
Les Karsin, a prostate cancer survivor in the USA, pointed out that one important difference between RL and SL support groups was accessibility. 'In SL it is much easier to find a group and easier to attend meetings than it would be for me in RL. All I had to do was search groups for the word "cancer," and the ACS survivors' group was right there. To attend meetings, all I have to do is sit down at my computer, log in, and TP to the meeting location.'
Les also prefers the relative anonymity provided by SL. '... [it] made it feel safer for me to attend the first few meetings. I am actually quite a shy person, and it would have been much harder for me to walk into a room full of people in RL for the first time and tell my story. On the other hand, now that I have experienced the benefits of a support group in SL, perhaps I will be more likely to seek out a group in RL at some point in the future.'
He has found e-mail based support groups helpful, but points out that '... meeting with a group in SL, in a virtual environment where I can see other people's avatars seated around me and interact with them in real-time, gives me a much stronger sense of presence and connection ...so, I think that SL provides many of the same benefits as meeting with a group in RL, but reduces some of the barriers that make it hard for a person like me to take that first step of joining a group. Another advantage of SL is that I get to meet and talk with people from all over the world, not just my local area. That gives me a sense that I am part of a much larger, global community of people who are fighting this disease.'
Dwen Dooley agrees. 'Anonymity, via an avatar that has ... or doesn't have to have ... a connection to your real name, can give you courage. You can talk about "private" matters in SL where you might feel there was a taboo about talking about it in "Real Life".
'Access can be another issue. SL offers desk or lap-top access to support without concern for travel, ramps, stairs, hills, cars, buses, trains ... the outdoors ... those limited by their RL bodies are mostly not as constrained by SL.
'In SL you can't hold a real hand, cry on a real shoulder, or get a "real" hug. [But] those who immerse themselves in SL are used to its limitations and accept them because they've seen such amazing benefits despite those limitations.'
Tathi Pessoa, a cancer survivor from Brazil, says: 'I’ve never been to a RL support group, its not usual in Brazil . I’m not aware of groups outside the big cancer hospitals and when I have to go to a cancer center usually I have to stay face to face with people in all kinds of state of cancer (normally very advanced ). It scares me a lot so I avoid this kind of places. SL can provide beautiful places and environments ... different from the scary one.'
Cinders Vale is a six-year breast cancer survivor in the USA. She had to give up her car several years ago and finds getting to real life support meetings, especially in the winter, is a problem.
She says: 'I think going to virtual meetings/chats for many is easier. It doesn't matter how bad you look or feel. You are still surrounded by those who have been where you are, and who understand. You can feel the support and caring. Survivors or caregivers who need to talk at any time of the day or night have access to group members. They can just open up the group IM window and see who answers them. Our virtual support system works just as well as any RL version. It does fulfil a need for many out there.'
Many thanks to all the participants for sharing their perspectives.
Milestone year for Relay For Life of Second Life
In this milestone year for Relay for Life of Second Life, the American Cancer Society's real world head office in Atlanta, GA has issued a statement recognizing the passion and dedication of survivors and volunteers in Second Life.
'Celebrating its fifth year in the virtual world, the 2009 American Cancer Society Relay For Life® of Second Life is set for July 18-19 as avatars representing cancer survivors, caregivers, their families and the millions of passionate supporters gather virtually to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and join the American Cancer Society in fighting for every birthday, threatened by every cancer in every community.
'This year’s virtual world event is expected to attract in excess of 3,000 participants as more than 125 teams unite toward reaching a fundraising goal of $250,000. In 2008, Relay For Life of Second Life raised $215,000 – surpassing its total for the previous three years, combined. Simultaneously, the real-world American Cancer Society Relay For Life is in the midst of its 25th birthday year, as the world’s most successful nonprofit fundraising special event brings together more than 3.5 million people across the United States and 20 other countries to raise funds to embolden the American Cancer Society’s fight for every birthday, threatened by every cancer in every community.
'The 2009 Relay For Life of Second Life celebrates “One World…One Hope,” thematic of the Society’s global mission and of the scope of Relay participation in its real and virtual world environments.
'During this year’s registration rally in February, 40 teams pledged their support for the event and signaled the largest, single-day team registration in Relay For Life of Second Life history.'
Scott P. Bennett, American Cancer Society national vice-president, marketing, said:
“The engagement of these committed, virtual world volunteers continues to grow each year and demonstrates the enormous impact they have within the Second Life community and with encouraging others to join the American Cancer Society’s mission to help save lives and create a world with more birthdays.” He continued: “Virtual world Relay participants, just like those in the real world, are passionate about their involvement, and they powerfully reflect Relay’s worldwide reach.”
For more information about Relay for Life of Second Life, go to:
http://relayforlife.org/secondlife
For information about the American Cancer Society in real life go to:
http://www.cancer.org/
'Celebrating its fifth year in the virtual world, the 2009 American Cancer Society Relay For Life® of Second Life is set for July 18-19 as avatars representing cancer survivors, caregivers, their families and the millions of passionate supporters gather virtually to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and join the American Cancer Society in fighting for every birthday, threatened by every cancer in every community.
'This year’s virtual world event is expected to attract in excess of 3,000 participants as more than 125 teams unite toward reaching a fundraising goal of $250,000. In 2008, Relay For Life of Second Life raised $215,000 – surpassing its total for the previous three years, combined. Simultaneously, the real-world American Cancer Society Relay For Life is in the midst of its 25th birthday year, as the world’s most successful nonprofit fundraising special event brings together more than 3.5 million people across the United States and 20 other countries to raise funds to embolden the American Cancer Society’s fight for every birthday, threatened by every cancer in every community.
'The 2009 Relay For Life of Second Life celebrates “One World…One Hope,” thematic of the Society’s global mission and of the scope of Relay participation in its real and virtual world environments.
'During this year’s registration rally in February, 40 teams pledged their support for the event and signaled the largest, single-day team registration in Relay For Life of Second Life history.'
Scott P. Bennett, American Cancer Society national vice-president, marketing, said:
“The engagement of these committed, virtual world volunteers continues to grow each year and demonstrates the enormous impact they have within the Second Life community and with encouraging others to join the American Cancer Society’s mission to help save lives and create a world with more birthdays.” He continued: “Virtual world Relay participants, just like those in the real world, are passionate about their involvement, and they powerfully reflect Relay’s worldwide reach.”
For more information about Relay for Life of Second Life, go to:
http://relayforlife.org/secondlife
For information about the American Cancer Society in real life go to:
http://www.cancer.org/
Friday, June 26, 2009
Live art auction to benefit Relay for Life of Second Life
The live art auction being organized by members of the RFLSL Survivors and Caregivers Committee that was due to be held last saturday had to be postponed because of the sim outages in Second Life. I understand from LadyKay Gable who is the auction's main organizer that the auction has now been rescheduled to SUNDAY JUNE 28.
Above: a sneak preview of some of the works that will be auctioned on Sunday
The auction will be held on the north shore of ACS island. Chase Marellan will be wielding the gavel. An amazing array of artists have donated their works. So come, dig deep in your pockets, and bid! All proceeds to the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life of Second Life.
The following artists have generously donated works:
Daruma Picnic, Sledge Roffo, Zhora Maynard, sakura2 Kohime, littleone Aries, Greenthumb Magic, StarZ33 Mccullough, LadyKay Gable, Silver Click, Elizabeth Tinsley, Delgado Cinquetti, Rain Somhers, Cheen Pitney, Cre8tive Chemistry, CHUCKMATRIX Clip, Josina Burgess, Sistagrlro Wei, Katarina Erin, Oberon Onmura, Artfox Daviau, Caitlin Tobias, Demi Blackhawk, Jazz Calhern, poi jarvinen2, Betty Tureaud, Maryva Mayo, Shellina Winkler, zephyru Zapedzki, Physeter Nicholls, Feathers Boa, Filthy Fluno, Misprint Thursday, and BrightamberG String. There is also a posthumous collection of works by Artistic Fimicoloud.
Take the SLURL to: http://slurl.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society/59/221/22.
Above: a sneak preview of some of the works that will be auctioned on Sunday
The auction will be held on the north shore of ACS island. Chase Marellan will be wielding the gavel. An amazing array of artists have donated their works. So come, dig deep in your pockets, and bid! All proceeds to the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life of Second Life.
The following artists have generously donated works:
Daruma Picnic, Sledge Roffo, Zhora Maynard, sakura2 Kohime, littleone Aries, Greenthumb Magic, StarZ33 Mccullough, LadyKay Gable, Silver Click, Elizabeth Tinsley, Delgado Cinquetti, Rain Somhers, Cheen Pitney, Cre8tive Chemistry, CHUCKMATRIX Clip, Josina Burgess, Sistagrlro Wei, Katarina Erin, Oberon Onmura, Artfox Daviau, Caitlin Tobias, Demi Blackhawk, Jazz Calhern, poi jarvinen2, Betty Tureaud, Maryva Mayo, Shellina Winkler, zephyru Zapedzki, Physeter Nicholls, Feathers Boa, Filthy Fluno, Misprint Thursday, and BrightamberG String. There is also a posthumous collection of works by Artistic Fimicoloud.
Take the SLURL to: http://slurl.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society/59/221/22.
The Future is NOW! ACS helps celebrate SL's sixth birthday
The American Cancer Society, one of the finalists for the 2009 Linden Prize, is one of the organizations featured at Second Life's Sixth Birthday (SL6B).
The Society's site, designed by Emily Schaf, is located in SL6B Titan.
While the main focus of the American Cancer Society exhibit is on Relay For Life of Second Life, the site also features samples of other American Cancer Society real life programs, such as Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, International Relay For Life, and appropriately the American Cancer Society's More Birthdays campaign. The exhibit was also the venue for a panel discussion yesterday on virtual support for cancer survivors.
The exhibit features a cool new video by MarkTwain White describing the role of the American Cancer Society in Second Life.
It is humbling to be a part of this amazing organization. As 125 teams and more than 2000 volunteers prepare for the fifth Annual Relay For Life (to be held this year on July 18-19) it is clear that the American Cancer Society is making the future and setting standards in fundraising and support in virtual worlds … and that 'The Future of Charity in Virtual Worlds is NOW'!
SL6B runs until June 30. Don't miss seeing this exhibit - go to:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/SL6B%20Titan/65/142/24
For more information about exhibits and events at SL6B, check out the SL Wiki at http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/SL6B.
The Society's site, designed by Emily Schaf, is located in SL6B Titan.
While the main focus of the American Cancer Society exhibit is on Relay For Life of Second Life, the site also features samples of other American Cancer Society real life programs, such as Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, International Relay For Life, and appropriately the American Cancer Society's More Birthdays campaign. The exhibit was also the venue for a panel discussion yesterday on virtual support for cancer survivors.
The exhibit features a cool new video by MarkTwain White describing the role of the American Cancer Society in Second Life.
It is humbling to be a part of this amazing organization. As 125 teams and more than 2000 volunteers prepare for the fifth Annual Relay For Life (to be held this year on July 18-19) it is clear that the American Cancer Society is making the future and setting standards in fundraising and support in virtual worlds … and that 'The Future of Charity in Virtual Worlds is NOW'!
SL6B runs until June 30. Don't miss seeing this exhibit - go to:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/SL6B%20Titan/65/142/24
For more information about exhibits and events at SL6B, check out the SL Wiki at http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/SL6B.
Register for the first lap of Relay for Life of Second Life!
With less than a month to go, there's still time to register for the first lap of Relay for Life of Second Life!
The Fifth Relay for Life of Second Life will be held July 18-19 2009. More than 125 teams and 2,000 volunteers are hard at work raising funds to cure cancer. So far they've raised over $200,000 real American dollars!
The first lap honors cancer survivors and cancer caregivers from around the world. Survivors and caregivers walk the first lap to put a face to the battle against cancer. They've been on the 'front lines' in a battle on cancer, and are here to tell their story. Over 120 survivors and caregivers have already registered.
For more information on Relay for Life of Second Life, visit http://relayforlife.org/secondlife.
To register for the first lap, please go to that site and click on 'Survivor & Caregiver First Lap Registration'.
If you have any questions about the first lap or the Survivor/Caregiver Committee, please email Dwen Dooley, Chair, RFL of SL Survivor/Caregiver Committee, at dwendooley@gmail.com.
The Fifth Relay for Life of Second Life will be held July 18-19 2009. More than 125 teams and 2,000 volunteers are hard at work raising funds to cure cancer. So far they've raised over $200,000 real American dollars!
The first lap honors cancer survivors and cancer caregivers from around the world. Survivors and caregivers walk the first lap to put a face to the battle against cancer. They've been on the 'front lines' in a battle on cancer, and are here to tell their story. Over 120 survivors and caregivers have already registered.
For more information on Relay for Life of Second Life, visit http://relayforlife.org/secondlife.
To register for the first lap, please go to that site and click on 'Survivor & Caregiver First Lap Registration'.
If you have any questions about the first lap or the Survivor/Caregiver Committee, please email Dwen Dooley, Chair, RFL of SL Survivor/Caregiver Committee, at dwendooley@gmail.com.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
An angel's touch
With all the coverage we've had for the Makeover Magic fashion show on the American Cancer Society island on Sunday, June 7 you'd think there would be nothing left to say. Well, not quite.
The fashion show went off flawlessly. The models - survivors, caregivers and mentors - looked stunning. But behind the scenes there were, putting it mildly, complications. One of them was losing our partner Runway Magazine who were co-sponsoring the event and responsible for the publicity ... who quite simply fell off the grid. The story's been blogged to death so I won't repeat it here, but it left Makeover Magic coordinator Cinders Vale and the committee members with quite a dilemma. Should we look for another partner? Should we postpone the show? Or fill the gap ourselves? We took the brave decision to handle it through the group's members and, judging by the results, I think it was the right way to go.
At one point it looked as if we might lose Glitter Xeltentat, a cancer survivor, from the program. And then an angel stepped in ... Italia Villota called Glitter a day before the show and took her shopping, and made sure she got on the runway.
Behind the scenes
Glitter poses on the runway
Glitter sparkled. She walked down the runway as if she'd had years of training (and I know how difficult it is, having walked the gangplank ... errr ... runway at the survivors' fashion show in 2007 ... it was like walking through thick, sticky, heavy glue). She glittered, she gleamed, with her SL family there to support her. And her new look suits her perfectly!
The final line-up
If you've read my previous post you'll know that we chose to hold the event on National Cancer Survivors Day, because it is about celebrating survival, and giving survivors (and their caregivers) a little pampering. Thank you Italia for showing us what NCSD is about!
A big thank you to all the fashion mentors, the FACES team, FACES CEO Aradia Dielli, the designers who donated items, and Jeremey Ryan of Barefoot Designs for the surprise gift of a home for each of the survivors and caregivers who took part in the show. To our photographers Jordan and Sharron. To Aryon Dagger for interviewing the participants. And last but definitely not least our coordinator, Cinders Vale. You are ALL angels!
The fashion show went off flawlessly. The models - survivors, caregivers and mentors - looked stunning. But behind the scenes there were, putting it mildly, complications. One of them was losing our partner Runway Magazine who were co-sponsoring the event and responsible for the publicity ... who quite simply fell off the grid. The story's been blogged to death so I won't repeat it here, but it left Makeover Magic coordinator Cinders Vale and the committee members with quite a dilemma. Should we look for another partner? Should we postpone the show? Or fill the gap ourselves? We took the brave decision to handle it through the group's members and, judging by the results, I think it was the right way to go.
At one point it looked as if we might lose Glitter Xeltentat, a cancer survivor, from the program. And then an angel stepped in ... Italia Villota called Glitter a day before the show and took her shopping, and made sure she got on the runway.
Behind the scenes
Glitter poses on the runway
Glitter sparkled. She walked down the runway as if she'd had years of training (and I know how difficult it is, having walked the gangplank ... errr ... runway at the survivors' fashion show in 2007 ... it was like walking through thick, sticky, heavy glue). She glittered, she gleamed, with her SL family there to support her. And her new look suits her perfectly!
The final line-up
If you've read my previous post you'll know that we chose to hold the event on National Cancer Survivors Day, because it is about celebrating survival, and giving survivors (and their caregivers) a little pampering. Thank you Italia for showing us what NCSD is about!
A big thank you to all the fashion mentors, the FACES team, FACES CEO Aradia Dielli, the designers who donated items, and Jeremey Ryan of Barefoot Designs for the surprise gift of a home for each of the survivors and caregivers who took part in the show. To our photographers Jordan and Sharron. To Aryon Dagger for interviewing the participants. And last but definitely not least our coordinator, Cinders Vale. You are ALL angels!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Celebrate survivorship!
Sunday June 7 is National Cancer Survivors Day - and to celebrate, six survivors and caregivers who have been treated to a makeover will be parading their new looks along with their mentors at the Makeover Magic fashion show on the American Cancer Society island. The show kicks off at 11 am SLT.
This event is organized by a committee led by Cinders Vale and formed by the Cancer Survivors and Cancer Caregivers groups together with the FACES Creative Team. It will feature designs by a host of talented designers who have kindly agreed to donate items.
'Makeover Magic' is the Second Life equivalent of a real life program, 'Look Good...Feel Better' - a free, community-based service run by the American Cancer Society that helps cancer survivors to restore their appearance and self-image during treatment.
National Cancer Survivors Day is celebrated in hundreds of communities in more than 15 countries around the world and is supported by the American Cancer Society. Come and help us celebrate survivorship and admire the makeovers!
Oh, and the SLurl:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society/147/140/51/
This event is organized by a committee led by Cinders Vale and formed by the Cancer Survivors and Cancer Caregivers groups together with the FACES Creative Team. It will feature designs by a host of talented designers who have kindly agreed to donate items.
'Makeover Magic' is the Second Life equivalent of a real life program, 'Look Good...Feel Better' - a free, community-based service run by the American Cancer Society that helps cancer survivors to restore their appearance and self-image during treatment.
National Cancer Survivors Day is celebrated in hundreds of communities in more than 15 countries around the world and is supported by the American Cancer Society. Come and help us celebrate survivorship and admire the makeovers!
Oh, and the SLurl:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society/147/140/51/
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Playing The 1st Question
Three Relay For Life team captains were among the four contestants in The 1st Question on Tuesday. I couldn't be there myself because of the timing but I watched it later on line.
Aryon Dagger is a breast cancer survivor who has been featured before in these pages when she took part in the Makeover Magic program last year. She's a consultant for this year's program and talked about the fashion show which is taking place on Sunday.
The other contestants were Jasmine Night and Katina Magic who are both team captains, and Franja Russell who runs the SciFi and Fantasy portal and was last week's winner.
Pooky Amsterdam and Hydra Shaftoe host this weekly fun quiz on SLTV, and there were plenty of plugs for Makeover Magic and for Relay For Life.
First up, each contestant was asked to define which element defines them best. Aryon and Jasmine both chose mercury, which Aryon chose because it is 'liquid, smooth, and mixes well with other elements'. Katina and Franja chose oxygen and cobalt respectively.
It was a closely run contest between the two 'mercurial avatars' but Aryon slid in front at the end. Woot Aryon!
Watch it here on:
http://archive.treet.tv/1st-question-02jun09
UPDATED Friday, June 5 - Aryon has blogged about her experience here:
http://christhebutch.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/the-1st-question-show-in-second-life/#more-774
Aryon Dagger is a breast cancer survivor who has been featured before in these pages when she took part in the Makeover Magic program last year. She's a consultant for this year's program and talked about the fashion show which is taking place on Sunday.
The other contestants were Jasmine Night and Katina Magic who are both team captains, and Franja Russell who runs the SciFi and Fantasy portal and was last week's winner.
Pooky Amsterdam and Hydra Shaftoe host this weekly fun quiz on SLTV, and there were plenty of plugs for Makeover Magic and for Relay For Life.
First up, each contestant was asked to define which element defines them best. Aryon and Jasmine both chose mercury, which Aryon chose because it is 'liquid, smooth, and mixes well with other elements'. Katina and Franja chose oxygen and cobalt respectively.
It was a closely run contest between the two 'mercurial avatars' but Aryon slid in front at the end. Woot Aryon!
Watch it here on:
http://archive.treet.tv/1st-question-02jun09
UPDATED Friday, June 5 - Aryon has blogged about her experience here:
http://christhebutch.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/the-1st-question-show-in-second-life/#more-774
I painted my house purple ...
After brainstorming with some Relay For Life volunteers, RFL of SL event chair Fayandria Foley came up with the idea of showing our hope by turning our land, our clothes, everything we could think of, purple on a chosen day. So, Monday, June 1 we turned SL purple.
Poppy's Place
I painted my house and died my hair in the cause.
For more images see the Daily SL News blog:
http://15timez.blogspot.com/2009/06/well-sl-showed-us-all-their-hope.html
Poppy's Place
I painted my house and died my hair in the cause.
For more images see the Daily SL News blog:
http://15timez.blogspot.com/2009/06/well-sl-showed-us-all-their-hope.html
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Mixed reality conference on impact of virtual worlds in public health
I was honored to be one of the speakers recently at a mixed reality all-day Health Expo to celebrate the launch of the Health Commons. It was organized by the Non-Profit Commons, an online community initiative of Techsoup Global, and part of the NetSquared Conference in San Jose, CA.
The expo consisted of a number of panels, with the aim according to the organizers of 'bringing together healthcare leaders and practitioners to share best practices and develop new strategies for incorporating technology to address the need to organize and disseminate health-related information and to connect with other nonprofit health organizations to promote the advancement of innovative projects, cures, research and advocacy'.
Left to right: Poppy, Sting and Fay
Stingray9798 Raymaker, the ACS representative in Second Life; Fayandria Foley, Event Chair of Relay For Life of Second Life; and I were on a panel to discuss the ways in which the cancer support community, the cancer treatment community and the cancer research community can meet together and share ideas and support, through the various inworld support networks in the virtual world of Second Life. We also explored the fundraising success of Relay For Life.
There were five panels in total and the other four panels consisted of: mental health issues (Coughran Mayo), HIV/AIDS awareness (Ricken Flow), healthy lifestyles (Rebecca E. Lee & Sameer Siddiqi, Texas Obesity Research Center), and disabilities (Gentle Heron of Virtual Ability).
The expo consisted of a number of panels, with the aim according to the organizers of 'bringing together healthcare leaders and practitioners to share best practices and develop new strategies for incorporating technology to address the need to organize and disseminate health-related information and to connect with other nonprofit health organizations to promote the advancement of innovative projects, cures, research and advocacy'.
Left to right: Poppy, Sting and Fay
Stingray9798 Raymaker, the ACS representative in Second Life; Fayandria Foley, Event Chair of Relay For Life of Second Life; and I were on a panel to discuss the ways in which the cancer support community, the cancer treatment community and the cancer research community can meet together and share ideas and support, through the various inworld support networks in the virtual world of Second Life. We also explored the fundraising success of Relay For Life.
There were five panels in total and the other four panels consisted of: mental health issues (Coughran Mayo), HIV/AIDS awareness (Ricken Flow), healthy lifestyles (Rebecca E. Lee & Sameer Siddiqi, Texas Obesity Research Center), and disabilities (Gentle Heron of Virtual Ability).
Saturday, January 31, 2009
ACS unfolds plans to expand its support programs in SL
Stingray9798 Raymaker (the American Cancer Society representative in SL) is the first to acknowledge that he is a "noob", who once managed to delete an entire building. (You're not the only one, Sting. I managed to delete my house!) But his vision of how ACS will evolve in the future is far from rudimentary.
Speaking at Nonprofit Week last Thursday, Sting used the opportunity to unfold ACS plans to expand its support group program in SL to match its RL programs, as well as offering help and advice to other nonprofits.
He first outlined the current programs on the American Cancer Society sim, including The Hope Haven which he described as "the cornerstone of how the ACS provides much needed support for cancer survivors who live in Second Life", the "Makeover Magic" program which is scheduled to happen twice in 2009, and a breast cancer education and awareness program based on the real life Making Strides Against Breast Cancer program.
New projects include the Media Library, where avatars can browse resources of information, and a new series of lectures on cancer information organized by Ren Stonecutter, a RL physician who is already a popular speaker on the island.
Forthcoming plans include a support group (Man to Man) for men only, and another program, Reach to Recovery, for breast cancer survivors to “mentor” newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.
Another, more aggressive plan involves access to the ACS's National Cancer Information Center. The NCIC consists of cancer specialists who currently answer all phone calls (24/7) to the ACS toll free hotline…1-800-ACS-2345. Emphasizing that this is still in the very early stages of development, Sting continued: "If this project is rolled out, we would be able to provide immediate information and resources to cancer patients and loved ones in-world just the same as we do when they call on the phone in RL. I do not mean to create an expectation that this will become available in the near future - but it is one of my pet projects that I will work diligently on because the need is so great."
In closing, Sting offered the following thoughts to nonprofits and also mentioned that ACS will in future be offering its meeting spaces to nonprofits who do not own their own sim:
"Since entering Second Life, the American Cancer Society has existed on the support of one staff person and countless volunteers. Our budget allocation is minimal, at best, and we exist primarily because of generous volunteers who donate their time and talent.
"The key to our success has always been the organization’s willingness to support and legitimize our volunteers’ efforts. It shouldn’t take a lot of money to exist in SL, if you stay true to the mission of your organization."
Orange Island and the Nonprofit Commons teamed up to present Nonprofit Week which was held from Monday, January 26th to Thursday, January 29th.
Speaking at Nonprofit Week last Thursday, Sting used the opportunity to unfold ACS plans to expand its support group program in SL to match its RL programs, as well as offering help and advice to other nonprofits.
He first outlined the current programs on the American Cancer Society sim, including The Hope Haven which he described as "the cornerstone of how the ACS provides much needed support for cancer survivors who live in Second Life", the "Makeover Magic" program which is scheduled to happen twice in 2009, and a breast cancer education and awareness program based on the real life Making Strides Against Breast Cancer program.
New projects include the Media Library, where avatars can browse resources of information, and a new series of lectures on cancer information organized by Ren Stonecutter, a RL physician who is already a popular speaker on the island.
Forthcoming plans include a support group (Man to Man) for men only, and another program, Reach to Recovery, for breast cancer survivors to “mentor” newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.
Another, more aggressive plan involves access to the ACS's National Cancer Information Center. The NCIC consists of cancer specialists who currently answer all phone calls (24/7) to the ACS toll free hotline…1-800-ACS-2345. Emphasizing that this is still in the very early stages of development, Sting continued: "If this project is rolled out, we would be able to provide immediate information and resources to cancer patients and loved ones in-world just the same as we do when they call on the phone in RL. I do not mean to create an expectation that this will become available in the near future - but it is one of my pet projects that I will work diligently on because the need is so great."
In closing, Sting offered the following thoughts to nonprofits and also mentioned that ACS will in future be offering its meeting spaces to nonprofits who do not own their own sim:
"Since entering Second Life, the American Cancer Society has existed on the support of one staff person and countless volunteers. Our budget allocation is minimal, at best, and we exist primarily because of generous volunteers who donate their time and talent.
"The key to our success has always been the organization’s willingness to support and legitimize our volunteers’ efforts. It shouldn’t take a lot of money to exist in SL, if you stay true to the mission of your organization."
Orange Island and the Nonprofit Commons teamed up to present Nonprofit Week which was held from Monday, January 26th to Thursday, January 29th.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
New schedule for cancer caregivers meetings
Willow Lundquist has announced that the caregivers support group will meet twice weekly going forward, Sundays at 10 am SLT and Wednesdays at 7 pm SLT. The meetings will alternate between Hope Haven and Willow's place. Please contact Willow if you would like to learn more.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR to ALL of us in 2009 and may at least one of (y)our dreams come true.
Groovy Winkler will be starting off our 2009 'Fighting Spirit' talks on Sunday January 4 when he will be speaking about his personal cancer journey fighting a rare disease called pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) that affects only one in a million people. We'll be meeting as usual in Hope Haven on the American Cancer Society island at 12 noon SLT.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Men can get breast cancer too!
Although it is 100 times more common in women, there are 1990 new male breast cancers diagnosed in the USA alone each year and male breast cancer accounts for approximately 450 deaths per year in the USA - said Dr Ren Stonecutter, speaking at the American Cancer Society in Second Life today. Male breast cancer is on the increase and has grown by around 26% in the past 25 years, he said. And unfortunately it is often only detected after it has reached an advanced stage.
There are a number of factors which put men at increased risk, said Dr Stonecutter, including Jewish ancestry, previous (benign) breast disease, gynecomastia (enlarged breasts), hormonal imbalances, alcohol, celibacy, and a history of liver or testicular disease. He recommended that men protect their 'family jewels' when playing sports or other dangerous activities as injury is another risk factor. And he pointed out that genetic factors are also important - men with a positive family history of breast cancer have an increased risk of 15-20%.
He recommended that men at increased risk should check their breasts regularly or have their significant others do it for them, just like their sisters and mothers, and that men diagnosed with male breast cancer should have genetic testing and counseling for their family members. But all men who find a lump should take note, he said, as the majority of men who are diagnosed have no identifiable risk factors.
Male breast cancer usually presents itself as a small, painless mass just under the areola (the brown area around the nipple), he said. The first step on finding a lump is to get a mammogram. And "when in doubt, TAKE IT OUT!". Male breast cancer is so rare that many local community oncologists will see only one or two cases in their entire careers, so he recommended that men with advanced breast cancer should go for treatment to the big cancer centers or universities, such as Memorial Sloan Kettering, or the National Cancer Institute.
Dr Stonecutter is a regular speaker in Second Life and a real life family physician.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Breaking the ice
What better way to break the ice than by holding an icebreaker?
Willow Lundquist, new Cancer Caregivers chair, held a party on the ice for the caregivers in celebration of the fact that this is National Caregivers Month in the USA, and invited the survivors group to join in.
Willow Lundquist, the new Caregivers Chair
The party was held at Stormy Dragon which is run by Stormy and Dragonlord Moonlight. As you can see, we all skated brilliantly - thanks to their trick skating pose.
Stormy Moonlight atop the beautiful ice carousel
Poppy (L) and Cinders (R) dressed up to keep the winter winds away
There is much more to see on Stormy Dragon and it is one of the most tranquil spots in SL. Stormy has very kindly invited the caregivers and survivors to visit her land at any time.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Virtual peer support
Now that I've finally started to master Flickr I've uploaded a shortened version of the slides I presented at the Second Life Community Convention in September on "Virtual Peer Support for Cancer Survivors in Second Life":
http://flickr.com/photos/poppy_zabelin/sets/72157609544904116/
http://flickr.com/photos/poppy_zabelin/sets/72157609544904116/
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