Ellyn Davidson’s Weblog

I’ve been with my agency, Brogan & Partners, for 15 years, and I’ve had lots of clients over the years.  But one client in particular, the Michigan Department of Community Health, remains a constant from day one.  I’ve had the opportunity to work on so many really great programs—anti-smoking, abstinence, AIDS Prevention and the list goes on. 

But by far the coolest program started in November of 2008 when my breast cancer and professional world collided in a great way.  The State of Michigan added a voluntary tax contribution for breast cancer and one for prostate cancer too.  And yesterday we launched a social media program with our sister company Ignite Social Media.  We are asking taxpayers to pledge $5, $10 or more when they do their 2008 taxes.  It’s not a lot of money but it will go a long way.  The breast cancer fund will provide mammograms to low-income women who could not afford them and we know that early detection is key when it comes to this disease.  The prostate cancer fund will go directly to research.  Please help support this great program, by clicking here, adding your name to the pledge, grabbing a badge for your facebook page and joining our facebook fan page.  Ask your friends and family to help in the fight.  And thank you once again for your support.

The other night I got a phone call from one of my 3-Day team members.  She wasn’t sure if she was going to walk again this year but some bad news over the weekend prompted her to think seriously about doing another walk. She had just learned that two women had died of breast cancer—one was 40 and one was in her 30s, and both women left behind small children—a total of 5 kids between the two.  I had trouble sleeping last night thinking about these young women and what they are leaving behind.  That could have been me if I hadn’t found my lump when I did.  It could have been me if I had ignored the lump hoping it would go away.  And it could have been me if I had listened to the radiologist who told me to come back in 6 months.  Instead I am here today celebrating life with my family.  I’m so lucky!  Yet, I am saddened deeply that breast cancer continues to steal lives.  While I don’t know the individual stories of either of these women, I do know that I can’t stop fighting, spreading my message, and urging everyone I know to step forward in this battle.

You can help by joining my 3-Day team, making an online donation,or shopping through shoptoearn.net/breastcancer.  We cannot sit back and let breast cancer steal one more precious life.  We must fight this battle together.

On Wednesday, we had another great FORCE “Positively Empowered” meeting. The weather was terrible, the roads were terrible and the turnout wasn’t great but those of us that were there had a really nice time. We could have stayed for hours. In fact when the meeting was over, we reconvened in the bathroom for a show and tell and ended up chatting an additional 20 minutes. I’m happy to show off my new perky breasts to anyone considering a mastectomy. I was never one to go to support group meetings but these are so much fun and I’ve met so many super women.

I’m so thankful for Whitney Ducaine at Beaumont for working so hard on these meetings. She gave a really great overview on the new diagnostic test for Ovarian Cancer—OvaSure. While some researchers felt this was the best invention since sliced bread, there is lots more work to be done. Whitney agrees completely and feels this is not yet a recommended diagnostic test. In the one study that was done, they did not look at any BRCA women which would have been a critical component in determining the effectiveness of the test. Whitney did a great job of showing us the limitations at this point.

From a patient’s point of view, it’s always hard to know who to trust, who to listen to and what studies to read. It’s especially difficult when well-respected research centers put out information that is highly contested. And the more questions you ask, the more confusing it can get. Luckily, research plunges forward and the more studies we have, the more we will know.