Both our co-founders have been personally touched by cancer.  Ethan lost his father when he was young, and I lost my grandfather (and GiveForward’s first supporter) before GiveForward launched in July of 2008.   This personal loss makes us both extremely sensitive to the millions of brave people that are battling this illness every day.

While we know GiveForward can’t change the reality or prevalence of cancer.  We do believe that we can play a role in helping people understand new resources that are out there.

So, we’re starting this new section of our blog Cancer Resources to highlight interesting finds.    The first of which is a TED Talk about MBI-Molecular Breast Imaging.  This new way of detecting breast cancer is 3x’s more effective at finding tumors in dense breast tissue and is virtually pain free.

In this video Dr. Deborah Rhodes describes how her personal experience with a patient inspired this life-saving innovation.

For anyone interested in MBI screening, the Mayo Clinic is now conducting a study on the procedure.

One of our amazing GiveForward community members has started a new site called Food Tidings that makes it easy for friends and family to coordinate meals for loved ones during times of need.  Just sign up and you can invite friends and family to join your schedule.

While making a 112-day road trip he had always dreamed about, Joe re-connected with a woman he had met at a wedding several years prior, and the two agreed to keep in touch. Shortly after the road trip ended, Joe traveled to Asia for a while. He found Nepal to be especially eye-opening, and after deciding to help this poverty-stricken community of people who had been so hospitable, all he could think about upon his return to the US was: “how on earth can I raise money for a school half a word away?”

Joe mentioned this dilemma to his friend from the wedding and she told him that she had been using GiveForward to raise money for a friend with an ill daughter. “That was the first I heard of GiveForward, and the rest is history,” Joe says.

This month, Mr. Curtin will give $11,000 to the Nabin Primary School in the Kavre district of Nepal, enabling it to purchase a plot of land and to build a new building and playground.

Joe Curtin

“I told him I wanted to quit my job and join the Peace Corps, and he said you don’t have to wait for a government agency, just pack your bags, fly to a country and start working,” Mr. Curtin says.

So he did just that: He quit his job with aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. and flew to Nepal for two weeks.

“I didn’t think I was adding much value to the world by sitting at a desk, and I’d had enough of the corporate world,” Mr. Curtin says. “In Nepal, I met the most generous people in the world who have very little, and I wanted to do something to help.”

After visiting a number of organizations across the country, he came to the Nabin Primary School and learned of the school’s intention to build a new school and playground. Without purchasing the privately owned land, estimated at $11,000, he said, the school would not have been able to qualify for a number of government programs and grants.

A spokesman for the World Bank said Nabin is one of thousands of government-run schools across Nepal receiving funds and training from the United Nations Children’s Fund in partnership with the country’s Department of Education.

“Eleven thousand dollars is nothing in the Western World,” Mr. Curtin says. “In Nepal, where the average person lives on a few dollars a day, it seemed implausible.”

When he returned home in October, he says he solicited friends, family members and “anyone else he could reach” to collect money through the fund-raising Web site GiveForward.com.

Within two months, he had reached his goal of $11,000, and he intends to continue raising money through February. In the spring, Mr. Curtin will volunteer with the Peace Corps in South America.

The CLRC provides free information and resources on cancer-related legal issues to cancer survivors, caregivers, health care professionals, employers, and others coping with cancer.  They have a toll free hot line (866-THE-CLRC) where you can ask specific questions about your situation.

For me, one of the most interesting takeaways was the fact that states protect against discrimination based on preexisting conditions in different ways.  By talking with someone from the CLRC you may find out that you are entitled to coverage even if you currently do not have health insurance.   That is huge.

If you know anyone who is struggling with the cost of cancer treatment, please send them to the CLRC.

Here’s what she said:

Autism: What to do when the iPad is not in your holiday budget

“If I had to choose one story that lit up the autism community in 2010, it would have to be the launch of the iPad and the many ways that it helps children with autism.

Let’s all buy one for our children for Christmas!

They start at $499.

If you really, really wish you could get an iPad for your child, but don’t believe in spending money that you do not have, bay area “iPad for Autism” expert Shannon Des Roches Rosa some ideas of how you can get one:

1) Win one in a raffle

2) Download an application from HollyRod Foundation’s holiday iPad donation campaign to see if your child qualifies — the two primary bases are family income and communication delays. (Everyone else: please donate to the HollyRod Foundation’s holiday iPad donation campaign, either on their site or on CrowdRise.)

2) Set up an iPad fundraising campaign for your own child on ChipIn.com or GiveForward.com. These campaigns allow people to contribute whatever they can, directly to a fund that you set up. Then blog the campaign, tweet it, post it on Facebook, email friends & family — enlist as many people as you can, cite as many articles as you need to to let everyone who cares about your child know how much your kid could benefit from an iPad.

“Going hat-in-hand may not come naturally to you,” says Shannon “but consider that you can ask as many or as few people as you like, that any contribution will make a difference — and that you may actually be helping out all those relatives who wrestle with what to get your child for Christmas, Hanukkah, or birthdays.”

If you want to learn more about the iPad and how it helps children with autism learn and play, Shannon herself, along with fellow autism/iPad expert Danielle Sampson, will be conducting a workshop on the topic in January. To learn more about it and to register, CLICK HERE.“
Read more:

As a fundraising site for medical expenses, we try to do our part.  But unfortunately,  in the two years since we’ve launched GiveForward, we have yet to see a single personal fundraiser set up for someone with HIV or AIDS. This is especially surprising when one considers the number of fundraisers we’ve hosted for diseases that are far less common.

We believe that part of the reason people do not create fundraising pages for HIV patients is out of fear–fear that publicly acknowledging their illness will hurt them instead of help.  When someone gets diagnosed with cancer, loved ones rush to their side.  When someone is diagnosed with AIDS, we wonder how they got it.

The purpose of World AIDS Day 2010 is to raise awareness of the disease, assist in preventing it from spreading further, and combat the prejudice that continues to surround it. While all three of these intentions are noble, we are particularly interested in the last one. We, GiveForward, want to do our part in relieving the stigma surrounding this terrible illness.

We welcome the friends and family of patients living with HIV or AIDS to put up fundraising pages for their loved ones without the fear of encountering any sort of judgment or backlash. As if the existence of this disease weren’t awful enough, the fact that people are still unable to ask their friends and family for help is tragic.  We hope to help change that.

To make a free, verbal pledge or to donate money to the National AIDS Trust, visit www.worldaidsday.org.

They have maid services in all 50 states, so tell everyone you know about this amazing service!

Eventgoers can then search for tickets to their favorite events getting seats without paying crazy overhead prices like other ticket reselling site and they have the feel good knowledge of knowing that the money they spent went to charity!

The company started here in Chicago, but they have tickets for activities all over the country.

If you know any charities looking for an easy way to boost donations, let them know about this site.  And next time you’re looking for a fun thing to do over the weekend, check out Tix4Cause to plan your night.

Erica at our NCONN Booth

Last week Erica and I made our way down to Branson, MO for the 2nd annual nurse navigating conference hosted by the National Coalition of Oncology Nurse Navigators (NCONN).  The conference’s title, “Changing the Face of Cancer Care” may sound familiar to any GiveForward veterans who remember our old tag line “Changing the Face of Philanthropy.”  Needless to say, we had to go.

And we are so glad we did!  Not only did we enjoy the sites (Elvis impersonators, rather lifelike King Kong, and of course the Dixie Stampede), but we also got to rub elbows with the real people making a difference in the lives of cancer patients all over the country.

Sharon Francz (@NurseNavigator) led the conference that was focused on bringing together nurse navigators from around the country to discuss the challenges these new pioneers face in cancer centers around the country.

For those unfamiliar with the term Nurse Navigator, these are nurses assigned to recently diagnosed patients, often cancer patients, and they are literally the gatekeepers for all information pertaining to treatment, recovery, and the cost of care.  They are an invaluable resource as patients try to understand and navigate the confusing and often lonely battle they face against illness.

Desiree, Erica, & the World's Largest Rocker

GiveForward had the amazing opportunity to learn from this compassionate group about how we can continue to serve our users and reach out to patients at hospitals around the country.

We also made  great connections with NavigatingCancer.com (@NavCancer), a website dedicated to helping patients through their journey with cancer; I’m too young for this Cancer Foundation (@stupidcancer); and our friends at MyLifeline.org.

But perhaps the most memorable part of our adventure…the World’s Largest Rocking Chair we passed on the old Route 66.

Finding out that a close friend or family member has been diagnosed with cancer is one of the hardest things a person can go through…it can be harder at times than being the person battling cancer.  Fortunately there are resources available to teach us how to help a friend with cancer.

In his book Life Over Cancer, Keith Block talks about building an A-Team to help a friend beat cancer.  The A-Team should provide a cancer patient with five basic areas of support–emotional, practical, informational, coaching, and decision-making.  Each of these roles should be taken by a different person.  And here are the questions you should ask when you’re figuring out who should play which role:*

The Comforter: Will this person be able to support our friend’s emotional ups and downs? Can they listen without feeling compelled to resolve or purge our friend of all distress?

The Go-Getter: Are they comfortable with being asked to perform various tasks even if they seem repetitive or mundane?  Will they admit when they feel overloaded?

The Researcher: Are they willing to spend at least a couple of hours per week digging through the internet for tips, news, and information?  Are they confident that they can translate and explain their research to your friend?

The Interactive Coach: Are they willing to push your friend while being sensitive to your friend’s vulnerabilities?  Can they handle it if your friend rejects their help?

The Strategic Planner: (This is typically someone familiar with cancer treatment with medical expertise or personal experience). Are they comfortable dealing with your friend questioning the plan?  Can they support your friend without judgment? Will they agree to follow the plan laid out by the doctor, your friend, and any other advisers?

If you have a friend battling cancer and you want to figure out a way to be involved in their treatment and recovery, start by figuring out which role you would best play.  Then, talk to your friend about finding the other members of the A-Team.

You should also find a person to take the role of updating friends and family about your friend’s progress.  You can use cancer patient blog sites, like our friends at MyLifeline.org, or you can use a caregiver collaboration tool like our friends at Lotsa Helping Hands.

And of course, you can always help them through the financial challenges of cancer by creating a personal fundraising page for their medical expenses on GiveForward.org.

*All is summarized from p. 38 of Life Over Cancer by Keith Block find it here.