Boyd Silver Works' Blog http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/index.html Mary Pat Boyd en admin@fortunecity.com Copyright 2008 Pivot Pivot - 1.30 RC: 'Rippersnapper' Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:25:03 -0400 60 Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry8.html http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry8.html#comm The Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act, H.R. 1078 and S. 2790

The Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act (CCCIA), H.R. 1078 and S. 2790, bears that name because it aims to ensure cancer patients access to care that combines primary therapy with symptom management. The Act itself is also comprehensive because it offers an aggressive and thorough set of recommendations for reform of the system of cancer care.

Over the past twenty-five years, the number of cancer survivors has increased from three million to eleven million. The growth in this population is due largely to progress in the treatment of cancer. However, this system of advanced treatment has often failed to provide survivors with care that addresses the side effects of both cancer and its treatment, which have a significant effect on their quality of life. Cancer survivors may not receive appropriate management of pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and depression, and may not have access to psychosocial services. Many cancer patients do not receive a treatment plan at the beginning of therapy, or a summary of their care and plan for monitoring and follow-up care at the end of treatment.

The Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act (CCCIA) includes a number of proposals that would advance a system of integrated cancer care and improved communication between patients and their health care teams regarding treatment options and follow-up care. By reforming Medicare reimbursement, enhancing training of professionals who treat cancer survivors, and testing and expanding model systems of integrated care, the Act would advance a system of quality, comprehensive cancer care.

Read the full text of the CCCIA.
Speak up and let your voice be heard in Congress regarding this bill.

]]> 8@http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/ default Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:13:00 -0400 Prayers in Pink http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry7.html http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry7.html#comm There’s one particular Bible verse that has spoken to me very clearly during the difficult times in my life and I’d like to share it with my readers because the verse offers us great hope.  It’s Jeremiah 29:11, and I’ve relied on that verse during the most trying times of my life such as my first cancer, my divorce, and then again when I faced cancer the second time.



This is an excerpt from that verse:        



“For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity."



I’ve come to realize that I am where I am supposed to be and that I have been delivered from the grief of my past. 



I get many letters from cancer patients, families, and friends who ask that we keep them in our prayers.  I believe in the power of prayer, and I am starting a prayer chain because of the touching letters that I receive.





If you would like to be part of this prayer chain, please contact me at prayersinpink@yahoo.com



Please, also feel free to send any prayer requests that you have and I’ll gladly send your requests to our prayer network.



Happy Spring Days to All of You,



Mary Pat



Boyd Silver Works

]]> 7@http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/ default Sun, 04 May 2008 15:22:00 -0400 Important Legislation for Cancer Survivors http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry6.html http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry6.html#comm The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship is once again on the forefront regarding legislation for cancer survivors.  The following link will take you to the NCCS site where you can view the proposed legislation.  (You will have to copy and paste it.)

http://www.canceradvocacy.org/news/press/2008/cancer-survivors-support-landr.html

This bill is intended to work in conjunction with H.R. 1078 and, among other things, it will ensure that cancer survivors have access to health care plans.  This is important legislation and I urge you to read the proposal.  The NCCS site also allows you to reach your local legislator through an easy access link on the NCCS site.  Your involvement in this cause and your support are truly appreciated.

As always, my best regards,

Mary Pat

]]> 6@http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/ default Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:02:00 -0400 New Health Information Site http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry5.html http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry5.html#comm There is a new online site that separates medical facts from the hype and marketing.  The name is WEGO Health and the link is http://www.wegohealth.com/index.html

I know what it's like to be ill and be faced with all the medical confusion so I'm very excited about this site.  Please take some time and visit the site, navigate around, ask questions if you desire. 

Wishes for a wonderful spring.

]]> 5@http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/ default Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:19:00 -0400 Winter Wishes http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry4.html http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry4.html#comm I've found myself sometimes making wishes during the cold winter months.

I wish I could golf NOW.

I wish I could rollerblade NOW.

I wish I could view the green trees NOW and smell the freshly cut grass NOW.

Twelve years ago at this time, my NOW was breast cancer and my wish list was much shorter then: Dear God, I wish to live. 

During the past 12 years, I've had the luxury of hitting a lot of bad golf shots (and a few good ones).  I've also viewed the green trees many times while I was rollerblading.  And every year since, I've enjoyed that lovely scent of freshly mowed lawns.

I fought breast cancer again in 2002, and once again, my wish list was simple.  I wished for life.

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in life's little annoyances such as bad weather.  It's easy to forcus on winter temperatures and forget how lucky we really are.

I'm very grateful for my life in spite of the cold weather; and I'm looking forward to golfing, rollerblading, and green lawns again this spring.  I'm not going to make any more idle wishes but, instead, I will count my blessings.  I am alive and my blessings are many indeed.

]]> 4@http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/ default Sat, 01 Mar 2008 11:09:00 -0400 Stones in the Stream http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry3.html http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry3.html#comm If you’ve ever had the pleasure of standing near a stream of rushing water, you know the wonderful music that the water creates as it splashes and slaps against the stones.  And when a single stone is removed, the water’s music changes ever so slightly and a different melody emerges. 
Our mother was a kind and funny little woman. She spent her entire life tending to wayward children and nurturing ailing animals.  Once she rescued a sick piglet and nursed the animal back to health.  As time passed, the piglet matured into a very large hog that Mom allowed to sleep on the front porch.  The hog, confusing himself for a dog, escorted my siblings to the school bus in the morning and he greeted them at the bus in the afternoon when they returned home from school.  Mom loved that fat old hog, and the hog probably loved Mom.  Our mom was just that kind of a lady---loved by all.
Mom was diagnosed with cancer in her early 60’s and she endured grueling surgeries and chemotherapy until her frail little body could not take any more.  At the age of 62, she passed away, leaving behind a large grieving family and many loving friends. 
The water’s music changed on that day in December when Mom’s stone was removed from the stream.  Today the cascading waters and remaining stones continue to create beautiful music together; but if you listen very carefully, you can hear the lull of a silenced voice in the stream that once housed our mother’s stone. ]]> 3@http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/ default Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:10:00 -0400 New Years, Valentines, and Chocolates http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry1.html http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/entry1.html#comm I’ve thought about writing a blog for awhile now but it’s been a tedious task because I tend to over-analyze things and, as a result, I process things slowly---very slowly.



With that said, Hello, I’ve finally arrived in Blogsville.



The New Year with its resolutions is behind us and probably forgotten by now, and Valentine’s Day, with our desires for chocolates and hearts, is right around the corner.  I’ve been a recovering chocolate addict for some time now, and while it’s probably not the worst social addiction that I could have, it is one of the worst cancer related addictions that I can lay claim to.



I concocted my own chocolate holiday, February 15, many years ago.  That’s the day when all those yummy valentine’s chocolates are put on sale for 50% off.   My daughter and I used to rush from store to store in search of the best and most delicious half-priced chocolates.  Then we rang up huge chocolate bills, feeling all the while that we’d hit the chocolate jackpot.  We also included two issues of the latest People magazine in our purchases because you just gotta have People if you’re going to eat chocolates properly. 



We hurried home after our chocolate cash out, cut the chocolates in half, and we devoured mounds of chocolates as we each read our own People. 



Ah, the good old days of People, chocolate, and my very favorite un-holiday.



I’ve been a vegetarian for at least ten years now and I’ve been a recovering chocolate addict for nearly as long.  The conversion to a meat free diet was relatively easy but my road to a non-chocolate existence is littered with various candy bar wrappers. 



Chocolate candy is delicious because it’s packed with sugar but sugar is a major cancer feeder.  If you cut sugar from your diet, you’ll also cut off an important food supply to cancer cells. 



My chocolate urges are a constant struggle for me.  I’ve tried to satisfy my cravings with various broccoli recipes, but broccoli doesn’t taste as sinfully delicious as chocolate.  And I wouldn’t recommend giving a bouquet of broccoli rather than a box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day.



I retired my unofficial chocolate holiday some years back but I miss it, and I’m sure the candy makers miss my chocolate cash layout too.  



So I’ll see you in the produce aisle.  I’ll be the one picking out broccoli but thinking of chocolate.    





Mary Pat Boyd is a two time breast cancer survivor and the owner of Boyd Silver Works.  She designs handcrafted sterling silver jewelry and cancer awareness jewelry.



You can view Mary Pat's jewelry designs at www.boydsilverworks.com


]]> 1@http://boydsilverworks.myblogsite.com/ default Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:21:00 -0400