I Want To Do More – What Can I Do Now?
Posted by Michelle Moquin on October 22nd, 2009
Good Morning.
Well, have you seen Michael Moore’s movie yet? You know the flick, ’Capitalism: A Love Story’. I was so jazzed for its release and yet I still haven’t seen the movie yet. I’ve just been so busy that I haven’t have the leisure of going sitting in a theater for a few hours….but I will. However, not seeing the movie doesn’t mean that I can’t take more action. For those of you who have seen it (or not), for those of you who want to know what’s next, for those of you who want to do more, here’s what Michael suggests. I have included some of my thoughts in red.
“Michael Moore‘s Action Plan: 15 Things Every American Can Do Right Now”
You’ve Seen the Movie — Now It’s Time to ACT!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Friends,
It’s the #1 question I’m constantly asked after people see my movie: “OK — so NOW what can I DO?!”
You want something to do? Well, you’ve come to the right place! ‘Cause I got 15 things you and I can do right now to fight back and try to fix this very broken system.
Here they are:
FIVE THINGS WE DEMAND THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DO IMMEDIATELY:
1. Declare a moratorium on all home evictions. Not one more family should be thrown out of their home. The banks must adjust their monthly mortgage payments to be in line with what people’s homes are now truly worth — and what they can afford. Also, it must be stated by law: If you lose your job, you cannot be tossed out of your home.
Although California alone has reported unemployment at around 12%, so many people are no longer collecting unemployment, or reporting that they are unemployed. Basically many have given up looking. I have heard the true unemployment is hovering around 20%. I don’t have anything to substantiate that but knowing how many of my friends are not working, that percentage wouldn’t surprise me. Rhonda: You commented that quite a few of your friends have been laid off. Thanks for posting your article. It is a sensitive time for many, and the last thing that needs to happen after you lose your job is losing your house. I think a moratorium is a good idea.
2. Congress must join the civilized world and expand Medicare For All Americans. A single, nonprofit source must run auniversal health care system that covers everyone. Medical bills are now the #1 cause of bankruptcies and evictions in this country. Medicare For All will end this misery. The bill to make this happen is called H.R. 3200. You must call AND write your members of Congress and demand its passage, no compromises allowed.
Nothing more for me to say here. I am for the Public Option and Single Payer.
3. Demand publicly-funded elections and a prohibition on elected officials leaving office and becoming lobbyists. Yes, those very members of Congress who solicit and receive millions of dollars from wealthy interests must vote to remove ALL money from our electoral and legislative process. Tell your members of Congress they must support campaign finance bill H.R.1826.
Again, I’m all for this. I’m going to check out this bill H.R. 1826.
4. Each of the 50 states must create a state-owned public bank like they have in North Dakota. Then congress MUST reinstate all the strict pre-Reagan regulations on all commercial banks, investment firms, insurance companies — and all the other industries that have been savaged by deregulation: Airlines, the food industry, pharmaceutical companies — you name it. If a company’s primary motive to exist is to make a profit, then it needs a set of stringent rules to live by — and the first rule is “Do no harm.” The second rule: The question must always be asked — “Is this for the common good?” (Click here for some info about the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.)
I don’t know anything about state-owned banks, but this has peaked my interest.
5. Save this fragile planet and declare that all the energy resources above and beneath the ground are owned collectively by all of us. Just like they do it in Sarah Palin‘s socialist Alaska. We only have a few decades of oil left. The public must be the owners and landlords of the natural resources and energy that exists within our borders or we will descend further into corporate anarchy. And when it comes to burning fossil fuels to transport ourselves, we must cease using the internal combustion engine and instruct our auto/transportation companies to rehire our skilled workforce and build mass transit (clean buses, light rail, subways, bullet trains, etc.) and new cars that don’t contribute to climate change. (For more on this, here’s a proposal I wrote in December.) Demand thatGeneral Motors‘ de facto chairman, Barack Obama, issue a JFK man-on-the-moon-style challenge to turn our country into a nation of trains and buses and subways. For Pete’s sake, people, we were the ones who invented (or perfected) these damn things in the first place!!
Again, this is going to take a little research on my part.
FIVE THINGS WE CAN DO TO MAKE CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT LISTEN TO US:
1. Each of us must get into the daily habit of taking 5 minutes to make four brief calls: One to the President (202-456-1414), one to your Congressperson (202-224-3121) and one to each of your two Senators (202-224-3121). To find out who represents you, click here. Take just one minute on each of these calls to let them know how you expect them to vote on a particular issue. Let them know you will have no hesitation voting for a primary opponent — or even a candidate from another party — if they don’t do our bidding. Trust me, they will listen. If you have another five minutes, click here to send them each an email. And if you really want to drop an anvil on them, send them a snail mail letter!
Doing this is a piece of cake. Make, making phone calls a daily habit. Everyone can do this. Maybe start off with a goal of calling once a week for a month, and then go from there. Increase your goal. Make it something that is doable for you, so that you set yourself up to succeed, not fail. I’ve been calling lately but not enough. I’m going to try it: Once a week for a month. Wanna join me?
2. Take over your local Democratic Party. Remember how much fun you had with all those friends and neighbors working together to get Barack Obama elected? YOU DID THE IMPOSSIBLE. It’s time to re-up! Get everyone back together and go to the monthly meeting of your town or county Democratic Party — and become the majority that runs it! There will not be many in attendance and they will either be happy or in shock that you and the Obama Revolution have entered the room looking like you mean business. President Obama’s agenda will never happen without mass grass roots action — and he won’t feel encouraged to do the right thing if no one has his back, whether it’s to stand with him, or push him in the right direction. When you all become the local Democratic Party, send me a photo of the group and I’ll post it on my website.
I had a great time the other night. If you’re not one to pull people together, then get on Obama’s website and find people who already have a group going and join. It’s really that simple.
3. Recruit someone to run for office who can win in your local elections next year — or, better yet, consider running for office yourself! You don’t have to settle for the incumbent who always expects to win. You can be our next representative! Don’t believe it can happen? Check out these examples of regular citizens who got elected: State Senator Deb Simpson, California State Assemblyman Isadore Hall, Tempe, Arizona City Councilman Corey Woods, Wisconsin State Assemblyman Chris Danou, andWashington State Representative Larry Seaquist. The list goes on and on — and you should be on it!
I’m not one to run for office but maybe one of you are – go for it!
4. Show up. Picket the local branch of a big bank that took the bailout money. Hold vigils and marches. Consider civil disobedience. Those town hall meetings are open to you, too (and there’s more of us than there are of them!). Make some noise, have some fun, get on the local news. Place “Capitalism Did This” signs on empty foreclosed homes, closed down businesses, crumbling schools and infrastructure. (You can download them from my website.)
There’s a hidden activist in all of us: Find the activist in you and let him or her emerge!
5. Start your own media. You. Just you (or you and a couple friends). The mainstream media is owned by corporate America and, with few exceptions, it will never tell the whole truth — so you have to do it! Start a blog! Start a website of real local news (here’s an example: The Michigan Messenger). Tweet your friends and use Facebook to let them know what they need to do politically. The daily papers are dying. If you don’t fill that void, who will?
Hmm…I think I’m doing this already – how about you?
FIVE THINGS WE SHOULD DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND OUR LOVED ONES UNTIL WE GET THROUGH THIS MESS:
1. Take your money out of your bank if it took bailout money and place it in a locally-owned bank or, preferably, a credit union.
2. Get rid of all your credit cards but one — the kind where you have to pay up at the end of the month or you lose your card.
3. Do not invest in the stock market. If you have any extra cash, put it away in a savings account or, if you can, pay down on your mortgage so you can own your home as soon as possible. You can also buy very safe government savings bonds or T-bills. Or just buy your mother some flowers.
4. Unionize your workplace so that you and your coworkers have a say in how your business is run. Here’s how to do it (more info here). Nothing is more American than democracy, and democracy shouldn’t be checked at the door when you enter your workplace. Another way to Americanize your workplace is to turn your business into a worker-owned cooperative. You are not a wage slave. You are a free person, and you giving up eight hours of your life every day to someone else is to be properly compensated and respected.
5. Take care of yourself and your family. Sorry to go all Oprah on you, but she’s right: Find a place of peace in your life and make the choice to be around people who are not full of negativity and cynicism. Look for those who nurture and love. Turn off the TV and the Blackberry and go for a 30-minute walk every day. Eat fruits and vegetables and cut down on anything that has sugar, high fructose corn syrup, white flour or too much sodium (salt) in it (and, as Michael Pollan says, “Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants”). Get seven hours of sleep each night and take the time to read a book a month. I know this sounds like I’ve turned into your grandma, but, dammit, take a good hard look at Granny — she’s fit, she’s rested and she knows the names of both of her U.S. Senators without having to Google them. We might do well to listen to her. If we don’t put our own “oxygen mask” on first (as they say on the airplane), we will be of no use to the rest of the nation in enacting any of this action plan!
I’m working on quite a few of the above already. And you?
I’m sure there are many other ideas you can come up with on how we can build this movement. Get creative. Think outside the politics-as-usual box. BE SUBVERSIVE! Think of that local action no one else has tried. Behave as if your life depended on it. Be bold! Try doing something with reckless abandon. It may just liberate you and your community and your nation.
And when you act, send me your stories, your photos and your video — and be sure to post your ideas in the comments beneath this letter on my site so they can be shared with millions.
C’mon people — we can do this! I expect nothing less of all of you, my true and trusted fellow travelers!
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
Join Mike’s Mailing List | Join Mike’s Facebook Group | Follow Mike on Twitter | Become Mike’s MySpace Friend
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Tk: Your son’s delight over his taxes being raised is rare. Obviously he sees the big picture beyond his own personal bank account. I hope that his attitude is contagious amongst his circle of influence and beyond.
Janet: Yep, I’m showing ads. And I love your idea. Thanks for jumping in to support my blog in creating revenue for moi. Readers: How about doing what Janet suggested? – it only takes a click, and I would be greatly appreciative of you and your finger helping me out :) Thank you!
Jonell: Congrats to you too!
Hi David: I have not seen that movie so I can’t comment but I do appreciate your feedback about my blog. I never thought that my blog was divided between whites and otw’s, or that people felt that they needed to take sides. I never meant for any sides to be taken, and I certainly don’t take sides. Not all whites are bad and not all otw’s are good. I just want equality for all, including women. I don’t care what color is racist, I just want racism to die, to cease to exist.
As far as your life story, thanks for opening up on my blog and sharing. What I like about this blog is that has turned into a venue where people feel they can open up. I’m happy that you feel the same. Hearing people’s stories, helps people relate to one another, it helps people to realize that we’re really not that different from each other. Enjoy being back home with your mother. I bet she is delighted to have you there.
In regards to your brother, I too have a brother and I can’t tell you how much I love and respect him. He is a bright solid light in my life. I am just as close to him as when we were were kids. And I would be miserable if something came in between us. I encourage you to send your brother to my blog – show him your entry. If he is a decent man, which I am sure he is, he will come around. Don’t let this thing come between you any longer. Life is too short.
Readers: Sorry my peeps, I needed to sleep in late this morning, hence the late post. I still have a few things I want to say in response to the comments but I will catch you tomorrow. Have a beautiful day!
PS: 10:49 am: Readers: I needed to come back and clarify something. In my rush this morning, I was not very thorough in my comment to Janet. Let me be clear that I do not want you clicking the ads just to give me revenue. That was not my point. If you see an ad that you are interested in, then I would appreciate you taking the time to let your fingers do the walking and click on it. That’s it – hope that I am clear now. Thanks!
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: Your Bad Ass Bitch Editor
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October 22nd, 2009 at 10:41 am
Hank:
What prompted you to answer David that way? Is that your idea of a joke? You have maligned the South with your asinine, racist remark.
It does not take a genius to understand what the CSA stood for. Those who try to imply that the war was not about one side wanting to continue to enslave human beings are disingenuous at best and deliberate liars at worse.
It does not matter that the North did not enter the war to free enslaved human beings. The fact is the South WAS fighting to continue the practice in the states that practiced slavery and to extend it in new states or territories that were added to the Union.
I, am white but I too feel it is a shameful practice for white movie producers to continue to produce movies portraying the South as having a different cause for seceding from the union without mentioning the plight of slaves and the cruelty of enslaving human beings.
When i returned to my home in the Tennessee, I was baffled at the insensitivity of white there who continue to fly or otherwise proudly display the confederate flag.
The hypocrisy in pretending that they don’t know what the flag stands for to “OTWS” is ludicrous. Yes, we as the dominant race in America are insensitive and sometime outright cruel to our other citizens.
Linda
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:42 am
I have been working on several fronts to help Nia’s tribe and others who are suffering at the hands of the arabs attempting to eradicate blacks in the Sudan.
The Chinese are the chief instigators because they stand to benefit from the clearing of the tribal lands. They already have their engineers poised to exploit the land for its natural resources.
President Obama will go to China in November. I would like to ask the readers of you blog Michelle to write to the President and urge him to talk with Hu Jintao, China’s president about the Sudan’s attempt at genocide.
President Obama has a program of incentives and pressures that he can use to persuade Hu Jinato to bring peace to the people of Darfur and Sudan.
So far it it we kill some of them and they kill some of us. The people or Darfur continue to die because when they are not the direct targets of the Sudanese backed marauders, they are the victims of the crossfire between us and the marauders.
They are being exploited sexually by the peace keepers when they make it to a “safe” camp. The camps are over crowded and unsanitary. It seems to be a no win situation for them.
I am committed to the cause, but I feel that we need to ramp up our diplomatic efforts to get relief for these people. President Obama needs to hear that we americans want him to emphasize the need to put an end to the human rights abuses and genocide in Darfur by Khartoum.
I am using my financial influence to pressure the Japanese to encourage the government in Khartoum to stop this genocide. President Obama has a much greater influence on the Japanese government so he should be asked to prioritize the Sudan when he talk with them too.
Thank you for all your help
Anonz
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 am
Hafa adai
It appears that the pressure is on the archbishop to curtail the rampant sexual abuse of minors by his priests on Guam is getting his attention.
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Guam – Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron has released a letter to the media in response to Vice-Speaker BJ Cruz’s[Read the Archbishops Letter]
assertion that there are currently priests within the Archdiocese of Guam who have sexually abused children.
Archbishop Apuron has chosen not to respond directly to questions from the media about these allegations.
Instead, he released a letter to the media Thursday evening in response to the media reports.
In the letter, the Archbishop writes “I want to assure everyone that the Archdiocese takes seriously its responsibility to ensure a safe environment for all minors who are in the care of Archdiocesan personnel.”
He goes onto to say that “a policy with clear procedures for action is in place and will be quickly enforced when reports of an improper behavior on the part of an Archdiocesan personnel are received.”
“Proper investigative authorities will be immediately notified if and when allegations of abuse or improper conduct are imposed. Again, the Catholic Church does not and will not tolerate any kind of sexual abuse.”
On Tuesday of this week, Vice-Speaker Cruz told the K-57 Breakfast show that he had been sexually abused by a priest when he was a boy growing up in Los Angeles.
He said his aim in revealing his own abuse by a priest was not to gain support for his Domestic Partnership Bill, but to prompt Archbishop Apuron to, in Cruz’s words “clean up the clergy here on Guam.”
The Vice Speaker said “there are still people running around with roman collars here” on Guam that are abusing children.
He has not provided details.
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Keep up the pressure. The archbishop thinks he can hide behind the church’s cloth to continue to evade the issue of serious reform. He seeks to impugn a select group so as to avoid addressing the crimes being committed by his priests on the defenseless children of Guam.
Regardless of your religion, stay on his ass until he does something concrete about this abuse.
Peter
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:51 am
Michelle once again you have affirmed your commitment to the idea that principle is more important than profit. Your quick action to make sure your readers didn’t think that you wanted them to click on your ads to drum up profits dishonestly got my attention.
I hope it gets the attention of the likes of the Howies who were so against you making an honest living off of the long hours you must put into organizing and continuing a blog site so many of us have come to depend on to give us an outlet for expression and gathering information.
Howie, what’s wrong with making money from a good idea. Did Apple give away the Iphone idea to its competitors? If you started a talk show and advertisers wanted to run ads on it, who you say no.
Does it automatically mean that you will be corrupted by the ads? Have you no faith in your own integrity?
As you can see Michelle has kept hers. Her ads have not influenced her independence and she has not encouraged her readers to just click for her profit. If they have an interest in an ad or product, why not show their loyalty and support a blog that they enjoy by clicking that ad on her blog.
We here in Copenhagen will be doing as much.
Ursla
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:06 pm
ONE LETTER SOLVES MOST PROBLEMS
One of the most common questions people ask life coach Lauren Zander is how to move past areas of their life where problematic issues or emotional blocks are holding them back. These issues can be broad and heavy — fear of death, for example.
They also include more mundane matters, such as weight problems, sibling rivalry, relationships with the opposite sex and even personality characteristics, such as being flighty or grouchy.
Given how significantly these problems can block people from having the life they really want and how deep the feelings related to the issues are, it sometimes takes some out-of-the box tactics to get past them.
To get to what we think and feel on an unconscious level, Lauren has developed a technique she calls the “Dear Issue” letter, where clients actually sit down with paper and pen and write a letter addressed “Dear Fear” or “Dear Success” or “Dear…” referring to whatever problem area(s) pose difficulties in life.
Talking about these matters can be helpful, too, but sometimes it is hard to verbalize all that you’re feeling. Writing a letter, rather than having a conversation, allows you to tap into the very quiet areas of the unconscious that drive your day-to-day feelings. Some might feel this is awkward or even silly. Lauren says it is “incredibly useful and very deep.”
The process of writing to this invisible foe provides greater awareness of yourself and your philosophy — this, in turn, will show you the many limitations that you put on yourself. “People can benefit from writing letters to every domain,” says Lauren, who does this regularly in her own life.
TWO LEVELS OF LIFE
Life exists on two levels for all of us, says Lauren. First there is the micro level — your specific feelings about someone or something that are generally well-known to you, for instance how you feel about your ex-husband or father.
Beneath that is the macro context, the level that is mostly unconscious yet really drives your attitudes on a given topic — in this case how you feel about men overall. These — your feelings and thoughts at the macro level — are the target of the “Dear Issue” letters.
A letter to “family,” for instance, is not about your mother, father, sisters, brothers and children, but rather to what the concept of family means to you. “The bigger picture determines how you function moment to moment, on the micro level,” says Lauren. “People always live in the greater context but often don’t realize it.
Your conversations with the larger context through your “Dear Issue” letters will bring an understanding of why the little things in your life are the way they are.”
HOW TO WRITE A LETTER
Lauren encourages clients to write their first letter to an area about which they are fearful — perhaps their health, or a domain that is particularly troublesome, maybe the challenge of managing time.
You are looking to surface negative thoughts so that you can figure out how to get rid of them. For instance, Lauren coached a singer who has enjoyed enormous success but has also lived as a slave to his voice.
His “Dear Voice” letter described how angry he felt toward his voice and the care it demanded of him — all the fawning, and the soothing treatments and special teas, and his anxiety about how it responded to all this.
In fact, he said his relationship to his voice was like a relationship with the “worst girlfriend” he ever had. The letter-writing process led him to see that he was the one creating this drama and he alone could choose to make it different. As a result, he continues to care for his voice, of course, but the fear and anger he had heaped onto it is gone.
The way to approach a “Dear Issue” letter is as though you are writing to another person. Try to personalize the issue by picturing it as a real presence who will listen to what you have to say.
For example, let’s imagine writing a letter to money. Again, you are addressing the way you feel about money as a concept, not the number on your tax statements or how much is in your wallet.
You might say things like, “I always wanted to have lots of you, but you scared me when I was little because it seemed that the work it took to make lots of you was so hard. I still have some of those feelings even though I am an adult and working…” etc.
Tell money what you love about it, what has annoyed you about it… how it has influenced or changed your life. Be very direct in confessing all of your thoughts and feelings about it — or about fear or your career or whatever issue you choose to address.
Include memories of situations regarding the issue that affected your life — for example, how embarrassed you were that you didn’t have the sneakers others had in fifth grade because your family couldn’t afford them… or how proud you felt when you could impress a woman on a first date because you had money to spare… or the arguments you and your spouse have because one of you is a spender and one a saver. These examples will help you get comfortable thinking about and talking to the macro issue.
The first few minutes of engaging in this exercise may feel odd and unnatural. You will be surprised, however, at how quickly the experience becomes easy and comfortable, to say nothing of how enlightening it turns out to be.
The letters open up insights having to do with what made you angry… what you haven’t forgiven… what is holding you back… and what and whom you are blaming for your problems and misadventures.
Lauren notes that “these are insights that are deep and that you are not expecting — but they will reveal a voice in you that is connected to being alive and what you really think and believe and feel.”
If you’re comfortable with it, one way to solidify and make real the findings in your letters is to read them to someone close to you. “When you share your truth and your anger and your feelings about an area, what’s not really true — and why — becomes apparent,” says Lauren.
“Dear Issue” letters are a great tool to use throughout your life — not only to help reveal how you limit yourself but also to see what really makes you happy and how you can expand it even more.
“Are you having a ball with being alive?” Lauren asks, “Or are you only having a decent time?” Writing these letters will help you energize your life with insight that will lead you to the next step and ask, “What now?”
You may decide the answer is to leave a domain as it is, to tweak it a bit or to make big changes. Through your letters you arrive at what Lauren says is “the beginning of creation — it puts you in charge of making your life what you want it to be.”
Source(s): ??Lauren Zander, cofounder and chairman, Handel Group, http://www.handelgroup.com.
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:19 pm
We’ve got a fight on our hands. Powerful insurance companies are pulling out all the stops to defeat the President’s plan for health reform.
They’re spending seven million bucks a week on lobbyists, blanketing the country with deceptive TV ads, and just funded two high-profile “reports” to distort what reform would mean for you.
I know their game. I was in the Senate the last time health reform came around, and I saw the special interests savage our efforts. Frankly, under the old rules of Washington they were nearly impossible to beat.
But now, thanks to you, the rules are changing. All the lies, scare tactics and lobbyist shake-downs in the world are no match for the incredible work of Organizing for America supporters like you. That’s exactly what frightens them so much — and it’s what Barack and I are counting on.
After decades of false starts, we’re now just a short time from finally passing real reform. Every member of Congress will soon have to cast their vote. As real change draws near, you can bet the insurance companies will hold nothing back.
That means OFA will need the extra resources to beat back whatever attack they can dream up next. Here’s the bottom line: it’s not time to let up — it’s time to double down.
Can you donate $25 or more to power OFA’s fight for change as we head into the final round?
When I talk about you changing the rules in Washington, here’s what I mean: This week, crucial negotiations on Capitol Hill are shaping a comprehensive reform proposal. At the same time, the insurance companies’ phony reports are grabbing headlines and their lobbyists are twisting arms. But your work is keeping them from setting us back.
On Tuesday, OFA supporters around the country organized more than 1,000 local outreach events and generated an astounding 330,000 calls to Congress from constituents telling their representatives that “it’s time to deliver.”
From my years in Congress and my conversations with Senate colleagues this week, I can tell you with confidence that your message broke through and you helped keep us on track.
If this fight were only about guaranteeing the choice of secure, quality, affordable care for every American, it would be worth everything we could throw at it.
But as Barack reminded us this week, this fight for change is now about something even bigger: a test of whether or not “we as a nation are capable of tackling our toughest challenges, if we can serve the national interest despite the unrelenting efforts of the special interests; if we can still do big things in America.”
I believe we can. And Barack believes we can. But what really matters is whether you believe we can. If you do, now is the moment to make it happen. Please contribute today:
https://donate.barackobama.com/FinalRound
Thank you,
Vice President Joe Biden
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I made my contribution. I received this.
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Dear William,
Thank you so much for your generous contribution of $50.00.
You’ve just made an important contribution towards making sure health insurance reform becomes a reality in 2009.
Thanks,
Mitch
Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I made my contribution
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:39 pm
After I finished watching Dr. Nancy’s on the web talk about breast cancer, I looked additional information. I thought you would find this interesting.
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CUTTING AWAY BREAST CANCER CONCERNS
Significant advances in diagnosis and treatment mean that we now find far more breast cancers at early stages when they’re highly curable. However, in a surprising trend, more women are opting for very aggressive treatment — double mastectomy — rather than breast-conserving surgery and radiation. That’s what researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health discovered in a recent study.
Acknowledging that the decision-making process is extremely complex, study coauthor Beth Virnig, PhD, MPH, a professor at the university, said it’s important for every patient to keep in mind that while just removing the breasts may seem to solve the problem of spread and recurrence, major surgeries also bring greater risk for complications and a longer recovery time. And, in fact, many women may not realize how many surgeries — and the associated time and discomfort involved in recovering from them — are required for reconstruction.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
One in five new breast cancer cases is “ductal carcinoma in situ,” or DCIS, a form that is highly curable. Dr. Virnig and her colleagues used the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database to identify more than 51,000 women who had either lumpectomy or mastectomy for DCIS between 1998 and 2005. Of that group, 30.1% underwent mastectomy after DCIS was found in one breast — of these, 13.5% had both breasts removed. The percentage of women undergoing mastectomy who chose this aggressive approach nearly tripled over the course of the study period, rising from 6.4% to 18.4%.
In DCIS, cancer cells remain contained within a single duct and have not yet spread into surrounding fatty breast tissue. The 10-year breast cancer survival rate for women with DCIS is 98% to 99%, and the risk of developing breast cancer in the opposite breast is low, but it does increase over time — from 3.3% at five years to 10.6% at 20 years. Younger women, in particular, may be taking this increased risk into account when opting for double mastectomy after being diagnosed with DCIS in one breast, notes Dr. Virnig, who adds that fear of breast cancer recurrence plays a major role in decision-making. Also, breast reconstruction has improved in recent years, which may be a factor in the decision.
Results of the research were published in the March 20, 2009, issue of Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Women with DCIS who choose treatment in the form of lumpectomy and radiation have an excellent prognosis, but every woman must weigh her own priorities and fears. There are no right or wrong decisions. If you are diagnosed with DCIS, ask your doctor to clearly delineate the pros and cons of all your treatment options. Factors to consider include whether or not you have an abnormal BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, which increases risk… your age (in the study, younger women were more likely to choose double mastectomy)… family history of breast cancer… and the size of your tumor, which may have an impact on reconstruction options. You even may want to seek several opinions to make sure that you get a balanced understanding of all options before coming to a decision.
Source(s):
Beth A. Virnig, PhD, MPH, professor, Division of Health Services Research and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
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Oh, and Michelle, kudos from me also on your ethical stance for clicking ads on your blog answer to janet.
Evelyn
October 22nd, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Hi Mischa, excellent info and links, thanks…calling once a week is the least I can do, I’m a queen at emailing though so I’ll shoot a few of those in between : ) and Anonz, your request is on my list of things to do also, consider it done via phone and email.
Grace, I’m glad the facial accupressure is working, it is an amazing thing, that old blood flow thing, if we could think of exercising our bodies in that way – we’d all have improved blood flow everywhere(!) and that would add up to healthier lives (as per granny above in Mischa’s entry content) and improved blood flow also gives you the additional benefit of younger looking skin ala accupressure, better looking bodies via exercise (increased blood flow to muscles) and improved brain activity, dementia and other ‘aging’ illnesses only occur when we do not keep the brain muscle stimulated, and that blood flow thing also applies to a more abundant sex life, and that’s a beautiful thing, oui? See how powerful the brain is, you just thought a sexual/sensual thought of your own making just by thinking about what I wrote right there ; ) may it make you feel warm (or hot) enough to get you through the day (and night)…I’ll say no more.
Caio, Luv, Zen Lill
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Anonz we at the office have sent in our letters individually to the president. We even made the boys sign a giant 113 strong letter to the White House.
We are backing you sweetie. bet on it.
Sharon
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Anonz
I have gotten my father to get his firm to donate and send packages to Darfur. He is having members of his firm to get the people in their departments to write letters to their US Congressional representatives as well as individual letters to the White House.
Please let me know if I can be of any additional help.
Caroline
October 22nd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Hey Michelle,
I was speaking to my father about health care and the possibility of new tax laws hurting him. Much to my surprise he said that America had been good to him and he would be happy to pay his fair share.
Much like TK is proud of his son, I was very proud of my father’s willingness to help out.
I had no idea this could affect him, but happy to learn that he did not care and that his attitude was what it was.
I have been unable so far to phone my representatives (busy or full-up voicemails). Will try again tomorrow. Should have put more effort in contacting them. I have been receiving tons of e-mail from OFA and giving them all the support I can.
As far as FOX news goes, why stop at the end of the year? I plan on boycotting them permanently. F**ck em.
I will try these calls again tomorrow. I have the whole day free.
Al
October 22nd, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Before anyone chimes in about my Anonz’ greed let me point out real greed. T. Boone Pickens is claiming that American businessmen deserve to have access at Iraq’s oil because 6,000 americans have died there. And that we have spent a trillion and a half dollars defending them.
WOW!
Is this guy greedy or what?
Tina
Oh, Anonz, I have made my calls to the White House and my representatives and I am asking my friends and family to do so too.