The LIVESTRONG Summit is bringing together delegates from across the country to be inspired, empowered and trained to lead community-centered efforts to help make cancer a national priority.
The LIVESTRONG Summit is taking place July 24-27, 2008, at the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio.
And I am so excited to be going to the LIVESTRONG Summit.
At the Summit, LAF will be hosting the LIVESTRONG Presidential Townhall on Cancer. Senator John McCain will participate by sharing his cancer plan with delegates and the Columbus community. Senator McCain is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 24, and all of us who are LIVESTRONG Summit delegates have been invited to attend! LAF has also invited Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama to participate and they have both confirmed.
LAF also announced the following esteemed keynote speakers for the LIVESTRONG Summit: Dr. Richard Carmona, former U.S. Surgeon's General; Dr. Harold Freeman, Ralph Lauren Cancer Center; and Stefanie Spielman, cancer advocate and wife of NFL linebacker Chris Spielman.

I look forward to this experience and I am expecting great things this year between LAF's mission and the mission of "Stand Up To Cancer" in September.
Keep believing with me and "expecting."

Stand Up To Cancer

This is so exciting...and just before elections. "Yeah"

Watch on September 5th when all 3 of the major networks presents "Stand Up To Cancer" with no commercial breaks.

They are going to deliver some hard core facts about cancer.
This is what they are calling the beginning of the end of cancer.

You can also purchase a star for $1.00 in honor or in memory of someone you know who has battled cancer.

Click on the link below to learn more.
http://www.standup2cancer.org/

"Paint the Town Yellow" was a Success!

Livestrong Day was a total success. There were about 200 attendees and we raised around $1556.35. We collected many letters, video testimonies, and signatures for our petition and banners to take to our SC government. We managed to recruit new army members and we celebrated survivorship with music, laughter, and yellow foods. We wrapped our day up with dinner at a local downtown restaurant who had been participating in Livestrong Day by having the dinning room decorated in yellow, the servers wearing our Livestrong Upstate logo t-shirts and featuring yellow foods.

We raised money and awareness so I would have to say that "Paint the Town Yellow" was truly a success.

You can see more photos from our event and other events that were held around the country at http://www.flickr.com/groups/livestrongday/ .

To learn more about South Carolina's Livestrong Armies or to read more about our Livestrong Day events please log onto http://www.livestrongarmiesofsc.org/.

WHY: Unacceptable gaps exist between what we know about preventing, screening for and treating cancer and what we do. These gaps in action are responsible for 180,000 of the 560,000 lives we lose to cancer each year. United we will make cancer a national priority and end needless death and suffering from the disease.

I am a survivor of two different cancers that were both in stage 4. I was only in my thirties both times when I faced this enemy. I am free from cancer and became a Lance Armstrong Foundation Delegate so that I could take the fight to cancer and not wait on cancer to bring the fight to me. I marched up to Capital Hill last year along with 199 other survivors and caregivers to ask Congress to make cancer a national priority by sponsoring The Cancer Screening, Treatment, and Survivorship Act, which is dedicated to substantially reducing death and suffering due to cancer by increasing access to early detection and care. Further, the bill calls for strategic investments in research and in the cancer control infrastructure that would multiply those survival gains over time.

Every two days we lose the same amount of lives to cancer as we did on 911 and it is estimated that one day 50% of the population will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime. There can be no victory if there is no fight!

As part of the Lance Armstrong Foundation's national work, they began organizing local LiveSTRONG armies across the country. A local LiveSTRONG Army is defined as "A dynamic group of people who unite to make cancer a priority in their community, at the state level and across the country.
LiveSTRONG Army Upstate SC was actually one of the first armies across the country to birth. As the local LiveSTRONG army leader, I have had the opportunity to participate in teleconference workshops hosted by the Lance Armstrong Foundation and have been able to share ideas, challenges and hopes with other army leaders which are made up of cancer survivors, caregivers and professionals from all over the country and Canada.

WHAT: "Paint the Town Yellow" will support LiveSTRONG Day, the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s (LAF) one-day initiative to unite people affected by cancer and raise awareness and funds for the cancer fight. "Paint the Town Yellow" is one of 600 events in 49 states and 9 countries being held to raise awareness and funds to support cancer survivors on LiveSTRONG Day. We anticipate 200+ event participants. Local businesses will be participating by featuring yellow items of the day, wearing yellow, hanging yellow ribbons, and donating a portion of their profits to LiveSTRONG Army Upstate SC.
Survivors and caregivers will be able to learn more about how they can get involved with the Lance Armstrong Foundation by enlisting in the LiveSTRONG Army Upstate SC and our plans to engage this army throughout the Upstate of SC. Survivors and caregivers will be able to share their own stories in a private videoing which our army will take to our State Representatives, along with a banner and petition. There will be a white and yellow paper chain that will honor and remember loved ones, kid's LiveSTRONG activities, yellow refreshments, a LiveSTRONG raffle, hot air balloon rides for a $5.00 donation, and you will be able to make a donation to receive your yellow LiveSTRONG wristbands - and a lot more.

Photo opportunity: Photos of guest standing inside of our gigantic LiveSTRONG wristband.

WHERE: AnMed Health Campus North

WHEN: Tuesday, May 13, 2008, at 2:00 – 5:00

Special Guest: Mayor of Anderson to attend to present a proclamation declaring May 13th as LiveSTRONG Day in the county of Anderson.

Staff member, Lindsey Bullock, of the Lance Armstrong Foundation located in Austin, Texas will be joining us for our event.

Governor Sanford has proclaimed May 13th as "LiveSTRONG Day" in South Carolina.

To learn more about LiveSTRONG Day, visit www.livestrong.org/livestrongday.