Pink Glove Dance

To raise awareness of breast cancer, two years ago Medline sponsored Providence St. Vincent's Medical Center in Portland, Oregon, to produce the original Pink Glove Dance. The response was overwhelming, and as of today the video on YouTube has had 13,302,214 views and has generated countless Pink Glove Dance events.

Last year a sequel was done, featuring health facilities from across the United States. The response has been so outstanding that Medline decided to host an online Pink Glove Dance Competition for the United States and Canada.

Approximately 135 organizations entered the contest. The top three winners will receive donations in their name to a breast cancer charity of their choice. The amounts of the donations are $10,000 for 1st place, $5,000 for 2nd place and $2,000 for 3rd place.

Voting began on October 3, and the winners will be announced on October 28.  To view the videos and vote, go to pinkglovedance.com.

Following is the video of the original Pink Glove Dance, as well as the entries of hospitals that have played a part in my life. Please vote!

Original Pink Glove Dance

Providence St. Vincent's Medical Center, Portland, OR

I was hospitalized here in 2007.

This video is not eligible for the Pink Glove Dance Contest.

Stillwater Medical Center, Stillwater, OK

I worked here in 1981 and 1982, in the Dietary Department.

Go here to cast your vote for this video!

Parkland Hospital, Dallas, TX

I received medical services here many times in the early 2000s.

Go here to cast your vote for this video!

Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX

I was born in this hospital in 1960 and was hospitalized here three times.

My mother was hospitalized here many times,

and she passed into Heaven from here in 2006.
The charity they're dancing for is The Bridge Breast Network,
who helped me when I had no money for medical services.

Go here to cast your vote for this video!

Eliminate Prostate Cancer Testing?

"The United States Preventative Services Task Force has prepared a recommendation against prostate cancer testing for ALL MEN.  Among the many problems with this rash action is the fact that many men are high-risk not just for diagnosis but to DIE from prostate cancer.  Such a recommendation threatens to put them into harms way by telling their doctors that they should not be tested for prostate cancer.

"Tell them they're wrong - write a letter to your editor today."

http://www.capwiz.com/zerocancer/issues/alert/?alertid=54317501&type=ME

"The United States Preventative Services Task Force has prepared a recommendation against testing for prostate cancer for ALL MEN.  This is a disservice to men - particularly men who are at highest risk of dying from prostate cancer.

 

"Please send a letter to your Representative and Senators today to bring their attention to this very harmful action and ask for their support to raise awareness about the importance of early detection and education about prostate cancer."

 

http://www.capwiz.com/zerocancer/issues/alert/?alertid=54315501&type=CO

Action Rewarded!

Thanks to advocates like you, prostate cancer research at the Department of Defense has been saved! On Wednesday, July 6, an amendment was passed on the House floor to restore the Prostate Cancer Research Program's funding to $80 million, staving off a proposed $16 million cut for fiscal year 2012.

Prostate Cancer - June 3!

http://capwiz.com/zerocancer/issues/alert/?alertid=47861506

It's time to go to this link and send emails again, this time to our senators, by JUNE 3. Just fill in the blanks and the ZERO project will do the rest, including routing to the appropriate senators. If you want to add personal information to the email, please do so...letters with personal reasons to support the cause always have more impact. Here's the personal info (with some statistics) that I added to the form letter email:

"My father died of prostate cancer, as did my sister's father-in-law. One in every 6 men get prostate cancer at some time in their lives.

"Compared with men who have no family history of the disease, men with a father or brother who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer have more than twice the risk of getting prostate cancer themselves. Men with two or more relatives have about 5 times the risk. Men with three or more relatives are almost guaranteed to get prostate cancer.

"So my sister's husband has more than twice the risk of prostate cancer, and my sister's sons, having had both grandfathers die of prostate cancer, have five times the risk.

"Prostate cancer kills over 30,000 men per year and is the 2nd leading cause of male cancer-related death in the United States.

"I come from a family who has served in the Armed Forces throughout history. Recent research shows that active duty servicemen have an increased risk of getting prostate cancer compared to their civilian counterparts."

Please send an email today! ZERO will route to the appropriate senators.

Call to Action

One in every 6 men get prostate cancer at some time in their lives.

Compared with men who have no family history of the disease, men with a father or brother who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer have more than twice the risk of being diagnosed. Men with two or more relatives have about five times the risk. Men with three or more relatives are almost guaranteed to get prostate cancer.

My father died of prostate cancer, as did my sister's father-in-law. So my sister's husband has more than twice the risk of prostate cancer, and my sister's sons, having had both grandfathers die of prostate cancer, have five times the risk.

Military men have a greater incidence of prostate cancer, as do African-Americans and smokers.

Please notify your Representative that you support continued funding of the DOD's Prostate Cancer Research Program. If you go to this link, www.capwiz.com/zerocancer/issues/alert/?alertid=44301501, you can simply fill in the blanks, and the ZERO Project to End Prostate Cancer will email the letter to your Representative.

A personal hand-written letter is more effective. If you are willing to send a hand-written letter, go to www.house.gov/zip/ZIP2Rep.html if you need to find out who your Representative is; you'll need your zip code+4. (If you don't know the +4, they'll redirect you to the post office to find out, then you can click your Back button). Then click the link at the top of the ZERO page that says "Capitol Hill Basics" to review the brief statements about addressing letters to Congress.

Whether by email or by letter, including the "why" of requesting their support will add weight to your plea.

They must receive your email or letter by May 13.

Thank you SO MUCH!

(Statistics courtesy of ZERO Project to End Prostate Cancer)