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Please vote for mAss Kickers Foundation as "BEST NEW CHARITY"

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The mAss Kickers organization was founded in 2010 as a result of a Facebook group started by Eric Galvez named “Tumors Suck.” Their main goal is to provide articles and information for newly diagnosed tumor patients while unifying them around the cause and raising funding for research through donations and events.

Eric Galvez graduated from the University of Michigan-Flint in 2003 with a Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree. 23 months later, he was diagnosed with a meningioma brain tumor. In the following months he had brain surgery, radiation therapy on his brain, and months of rehabilitation with his former co-workers. In 2007 he started an advocacy movement on Facebook called “TUMORS SUCK!” The group, as well as a website created with the same name, went viral and eventually led to the creation of the mAss Kickers charity. mAss Kickers provides support and motivation to all newly-diagnosed patients, family, and friends affected by tumors or cancer.

MKF serves this mission through its website, fundraising, and select events throughout the year. They define a mAss Kicker as “noun. Someone who gets an intimidating diagnosis, hears the words “we found a mass in your ____(insert important body structure here)”, and refuses to let it control their life. ” The organization takes an approach they call “pugilistic,” which refers to the art of fighting with fists, and reflects their mission of empowering patients and families by uniting them against a common enemy. In addition to the “Tumors Suck!” awareness campaign, they encourage other mAss Kickers to “Use the K.U.R.E,” or K – Use KNOWLEDGE, U – Promote UNITY, R – Support RESEARCH, E – EMPOWER YOURSELF.

Through their unique and innovative approach, mAss Kickers will continue to bring the fight to these horrible diseases.

Here's to the Good Stuff

I hate cancer. I wish it would be completely annihilated and the only thing I have wished cancer on is cancer itself. I never, ever want to say anything good about such a vile, invasive, life-stealing disease. I do, however recognize that there are things that have come out of my situation that are actually really positive. I’d like to take some time to recognize those thing and I have listed them below. Here’s to the good stuff, the good life and the things that cancer has done to me that have made me better.

1. Opening my eyes - In some ways I used to be so blinded by life, so caught up in the he said, she said, I have to have name brand clothing, material matters kind of world. As cliche as it may sound, none of that stuff matters. Really. It doesn't. My eyes are wide open and I can see that now.

2. Showing me that I can do ANYTHING - Yes,anything. The emotional turmoil of a cancer diagnosis was almost too difficult for me to process. The sudden sickness I felt when I heard the words, "you have cancer" made my spirit drown in a sorrow that I never imagined. That in itself was something I never thought I would have to overcome. But I did. Since then, I have become more adventurous and willing to try anything. I test my limits all the time and I have a long list of things I want to accomplish. And I will.

3. Showing me how to love - I was never a touchy-feely type of person. Hugging was awkward and saying I love you was weird. I wasn't raised in that type of a household and I rarely told the people I love exactly how I felt. That. Has. Changed.

4. Revealing my true passions - I don’t think I was ever truly dedicated to anything until after my cancer diagnosis. I think cancer makes you do a double take, or even a triple take and say “what am I really doing with my life?” That has turned out to be a really incredible thing for me. Passion is poetry in motion. It is the things I love all balled into one and creating an upbeat motivated lifestyle. Whether I’m raising funds for cancer related causes or running my heart into sunset I know that I’m doing it because I feel passionate about it.

5. Teaching me to dance through life – Yes. Dance. I’m not all about waking up on Monday morning and wishing it would go away anymore. I’m about embracing it and dancing through the day. We have all heard the phrase, “enjoy every day because you never know if it will be your last.” People say it all the time. But do they really do it? And do they comprehend the fact that someday we will all have a last day?

6. Reminding me to breathe – Do you breathe fully? Do you allow your mind to relax and take in the air around you? I do. Paying close attention to the way I am breathing has taught me so much about myself. I never realized how much panic I was causing myself in the past until I took the time to slow down, breathe in for five, hold and breathe out for five. Breathing helped get me through my diagnosis, the nerve wracking scans and the anxiety that tagged along. Breathing changes everything and I continue to use breath control in every part of my life.

7. Connecting me to the most amazing people on earth – The first thing I did when I was diagnosed was hunt down every single cancer survivor that I could find. I wanted to talk, vent, cry and physically see people surviving and thriving. I am glad that I did because I have been in the company of some really breathtaking individuals. I know amputees that are training for marathons and half marathons, people were not supposed to survive and did, survivors that remind me every day that we must continue to fight. There is always someone in my corner and for that I am beyond grateful. I am never lonely. Ever.

8. Giving me permission to feel sorry for myself every once in a while – I think lots of us put on a façade. We want to feel and be strong, no matter what. Cancer has taken me on a road full of potholes that I thought would never end. It has beaten my spirit down into a place called self pity time and time again. In some ways I think that’s been a good experience for me. I don’t think we ever reach our full potential until after we’ve been knocked down a few times. I know now that feeling blah about my situation and allowing myself to grieve is a totally acceptable and normal experience.

9. Letting me see the power in something like a good song - Power in a song? Yes, of course. After my cancer diagnosis, a fellow survivor emailed me some Youtube videos that helped him with his experience. Sharing both his experience and the music that helped him endure it was therapeutic. It was music that altered my mood at some of my low points. It is music that pushes me when I’m in the middle of a long distance run and all I want to do is quit. It is what I call “feel good” music that makes me think about the good stuff.

10. Showing me LIFE - Life isn’t just living. It isn’t just breathing and getting through the day. It isn’t waking up in the morning, going to work and going to bed at night. Life is the sunrise on the way to work, the people you interact with at at work, the relationships you form throughout the days and making sure to say I love you to the people that make your heart feel good. That’s life. And I can thank cancer for showing me that.

Did I forget to say "Thank You"?

Breast cancer sucks. But I gained much more from it than I lost. Here are my top 10:

1. Realizing just how truly amazing my family is...not just my husband and kids, but my parents and brother and sister too. We grow up and have our own lives we sometimes forget to reconnect with the loved ones we grew up with.

2. All of the events for cancer! It's always fun to ride, fundraise, party, run, walk...for a good cause.

3. With all the cancer events I can now justify shopping for the new dress and the new running shoes.

4. Having a voice to share a story that I know will help someone.

5. Improving my lifestyle and my family's to avoid known cancer carcinogens.

6. Becoming a member of the Pink Ribbon Cowgirls. My sisters keep it real.

7. Taking an active role in the community to help others.

8. Fighting the fight just months before my dear friend had to do it too. If she'd have been diagnosed first, we'd have fallen to pieces. :P

9. Having my husband become more social and attending all things cancer with me.

10. Finding a light and strength that I never thought I needed.

TUMORS SUCK! Paintball Benefit 2011

Slow it down you move a little too fast

Ya take a deep breath and make it last
These should be the best days of your life

American Bang, Wild and Young,

American Bang 2010

I attended the 3rd annual TUMORS SUCK! Paintball Benefit last Saturday at Hell Survivors Paintball Playfield in Pinckney, MI, and had a BLAST for the second year in a row. Every single person there had smiles on their faces, and the adrenalin rush you got on the field was incredible. The best thing about the event is how it perfectly embodies the fighting attitude that the mAss Kickers Foundation promotes. Last year’s benefit was my first time ever playing paintball or attending a MKF event, and I loved every minute I spent on and off the field. However, I had to depart around noon last year to take my sister back to college, so I missed out on all of the fun after lunch including the raffle and gauntlet challenge. This year I was able to stay and kick mAss all day! My Dad and I filmed a news segment for Fox 2 Detroit last week to promote the event, which brought in some new friendly faces and got the MKF some deserved publicity with the help of Andy Wlodyga setting everything up and Sean Lee producing.

It was great to see the families that I met at last year’s event as well as the dozens of professional paintball players who helped out from the Great Lakes Rangers and team F.U.B.A.R back again and ready to kick some mAss on the field! The professional players let my friends and I borrow their pads, jerseys, guns, and masks for an unforgettable day on and off the field. In the morning I was welcomed by Derrell, my personal body guard from team F.U.B.A.R., who presented me with an honorary team F.U.B.A.R. t-shirt! When the time came to pick teams (red or yellow) I teamed up with F.U.B.A.R. on the yellow team while some of my friends joined the Great Lakes Rangers on the red team. We played 5 rounds in the morning before lunch and then spent an hour or so raffling off prizes, eating, and dancing in the rain. There was a FREE massage table open all day, so I took advantage of my recovering back (I had surgery towards the end of March) and squeezed in some time on the table while it rained. As if the day couldn’t get any better after playing paintball and receiving a massage, a volunteer decided to give me the paintball gun that she won in the raffle, and a man gave me his CO2 tank so that I could continue the paintball fun at home in my own backyard.

My favorite part of the day was running through the gauntlet. It’s basically an open field with a few blow up blockades to hide behind while people line up along the side of the field to open fire at you. Usually the people who run through the gauntlet are the professional players who are used to getting pelted every weekend and don’t mind the welts and bruises. This year I decided to join them! My first two runs across the field were a little scary, but when you’re running around and having the time of your life you barely even feel the sting of the paintballs hitting. The fact that I was running through the field was a big deal – after having back surgery 4-5 months ago and not running for about 9 months I have to admit that I was a bit out of shape. My bodyguard and buddy Derrell assisted me across the field for the next few runs as we skipped and held hands :).

I’ve still got bruises on my legs and booty a week later but they were all worth it! :D I chose the picture of what I call the “fab 4” for this post because without those 3 guys the event wouldn’t be possible! Go Andy, Sean, and Eric + everyone else who made this year’s TUMORS SUCK! Paintball Benefit a success!

mAss Kickers Foundation nominated for "2011 Best New Charity" in Classy Awards

HEY YOU GUYS! Please cast your vote for mAss Kickers Foundation as "BEST NEW CHARITY" in the Classy awards!

STAY CLASSY MY FRIENDS.

Top 10 "Thank Yous" After My Cervical Cancer Diagnosis

Cancer changed my life but I kicked its mAss. On the other hand I have to thank cancer for:

1. Showing me that I have an amazing husband that has determination and dedication and would not allow this horrible disease to defeat me.
2. Re-evaluating my priorities and opening my eyes to the beautiful world around me.
   
3. Becoming a warrior and meeting many other warriors, advocates and many new friends that understand what I had to endure.
4. Finding Tamika and Friends, Inc. - my new family.
5. Making me realize that I am stronger than what I thought.
6. Having a new mission that I tackle with passion and determination.
7. Making me aware of my health and learning to listen to my body.
8. Valuing my family and friends and telling them how much they mean to me all the time.
9. Making me a voice for those who don't have one.
10. And most of all, Thank you for making me the person I AM TODAY.
    

2011 TUMORS SUCK PAINTBALL BENEFIT

A TEASER FOR THE 2011 TUMORS SUCK PAINTBALL BENEFIT VIDEO BY Forever Cherished Productions.

Top 10 Blessings Since Being Diagnosed With A Brain Tumor

Well, I started out down a dirty road

Started out all alone

And the sun went down as I crossed the hill

And the town lit up, the world got still

Tom Petty, Learning to Fly, Into the Great Wide Open 1991

1. Discovering the mAss Kickers Foundation and all of the incredible advocates, patients, survivors, and other organizations that are tied in with the MKF

2. Meeting the most dedicated doctor that I know, my neurologist, who will answer any call, text, or email no matter what time of the day or night I need her

3. Meeting the loving, energetic men and women that make up the Great Lakes Rangers and F.U.B.A.R. paintball teams

4. Gaining a greater understanding of the medical world around me which includes technology, doctors, treatment options, facilities, and diagnoses

5. Realizing how precious life is and how lucky I am to be alive

6. Providing me with experiences that taught me to be more patient with others

7. Teaching me to take charge of my life and make decisions that best suit my needs

8. Forcing me to listen to my body even if I'd like to pretend that I'm 100% healthy at all times

9. Allowing me to realize that no matter how bad a situation might seem, there is always someone worse off
10. Realizing that life is more than sports and school; it’s about relationships and the impact that you make on the world around you

Top 10 list of Brain Tumor "Thank Yous"

Hey Brain Tumor, Thanks For:

1. Introducing me to so many incredible survivors, organizations, and advocates.
2. Messing up my balance and coordination, allowing me to get The mAss Kicker Mobile
3. Making me realize there is no good strategy to fight ALL tumors. So we created one.
4. Teaching me that I can accomplish anything if I have a good plan.
5. Helping me appreciate all "the little things"
6. Allowing me to use my knowledge picked up in school to fight back against ALL tumors!
7. Forcing me to recreate myself and allowing me to use my creativity.
8. Pissing me off and forcing me to retaliate!
9. Making me more "immature" and allowing me to find humor in everything...
10. Giving me a new direction in life.

Here's to Not Moving On

Tumors have an incredible—maybe even ironic—sense of humor, timing. At least mine did. I’d had a six-month cough and who-knows-for-how-long lumps in my collarbone area before I finally saw a doctor. It was the same day that I rocked an interview for a new job and the day before I was headed to upstate New York for a month-long writing residency that I was awarded.

I thought I was in the clear when I told the Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist, “No, I haven’t had night sweats or fevers.” I thought that the lost weight, sleep, energy, and appetite were part of a post-lay-off depression. I thought the writing retreat would lift me up.

Not true.

I cancelled New York and turned down the job. I gave up writing. I did, however, get night sweats and low-grade fevers for the next twenty-two days. And just for fun, I got head-to-toe hives from a newly discovered allergy to amoxicillin the weekend before my surgery.

Well played, tumors.

I was officially diagnosed with Stage 2b Hodgkin’s in April 2010. I was 32, unemployed, uninsured, and poor, having cleaned out my savings just to get diagnosed. The irony? When I first noticed the symptoms, I had insurance and saw a PCP, but she wasn’t too concerned. More irony? I was denied emergency MediCal because my cancer wasn’t bad enough. (That’s a blog post in its own right.) After a financial freak out, I finally received emergency medical coverage, not insurance, through San Diego County. I had to swear that my net worth was zero.

But science is funny, too.

The original game plan was eight infusions of ABVD + high-dose radiation; then it was four infusions + low-dose radiation. Never mind that I was in remission after four. Stopping treatment then was unheard of for my case. In the end, I survived twelve chemo sessions but no radiation, give or take six months. I was hospitalized for pneumonia when I was almost finished, however—my ten-day Thanksgiving staycation at the ritzy Thornton in La Jolla delaying treatments for over a month.

While I make an effort to avoid speaking in hyperbole and sweeping—my god, the sweeping—generalizations, I must admit that hooking up with The Hodge was probably The Worst Day of My Humble Life. (See, I even inserted a “probably” to save myself the trouble of printing out this page and literally eating my own words.)

Forget heartbreaks and drama, discovering horrible secrets, house-shattering arguments with family, bad grades, ugly days, and the Boss from Hell. That April was exactly what T.S. Eliot described in The Wasteland as “the cruelest month,” kicking off a surreal and challenging year.

I think most survivors feel this way, having seen those dark places. Our initiation into this unknown territory feels lonely, even when our caregivers and friends stand by or carry us. I’ve discovered, though, the unparalleled support of fellow survivors and thrivers—a secret society of like-minded mAsskicking individuals who corroborate and collaborate, swap stories and show off scars. Instant bonding is known to happen, commiseration in masses (pun fully intended).

But it’s the “after” that’s difficult, when we need the most support and empathy. We must be patient with ourselves, remembering that healing is not about moving on. It’s about moving.

So I am. Slowly.

I’m writing, driving myself around town, applying for jobs, re-watching The Wire with good friends, brainstorming projects, enjoying food, learning drums on a beat-up kit in the middle of a cramped living room, meeting and conspiring with new people, traveling, reflecting, remembering, sometimes slipping, sometimes crying—out of guilt, relief, astonishment, but mostly a quiet gratitude.

Even in the act of moving, one can and is allowed to stumble.

Yes, the business of having cancer is individualized. Yes, each story is unique. Yes, it IS lonely. But we don’t have to be alone. My story could be your story. Your story is my story. All of these stories intersect and have traversed the same ground. These stories are on a continuum, forging and adding to a narrative much larger than we expected, one with deep histories and global trajectories.

Yes. This…is Our Story.

Metro Detroit Girl with Brain Tumor Fighting Back with Paintball

Metro Detroit Girl with Brain Tumor Fighting Back with Paintball: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Inaugural TUMORS SUCK! Benefit Dinner

Last night I attended the Inaugural Tumors Suck Benefit Dinner at the Fenton Moose Lodge in Fenton, MI. The evening was highlighted by performances by two young bands, Easy Vibe and Expanse of the Unknown. The event was the first mAss Kickers benefit with live performances. Booth Bands ROCKED THE HOUSE and an impressive amount of money was raised for mAss Kickers Foundation thanks to the hard work and leadership of Sean and Terrie Lapham, Angel Bureau, and Andrew Wlodyga. It was great seeing these youngsters Rock Out to jams I would normally listen. It put a smile on my face hearing random people say "TUMORS SUCK!". It not something you hear very often. I think it is an attitude that is hard to find after getting an intimidating tumor or cancer diagnosis.

Tumors Suck! is an Awareness campaign by mAss Kickers Foundation, but I think it can be used to unite survivors and our loved ones against these horrible diseases. I think "TUMORS SUCK!" is an ATTITUDE that newly diagnosed patients and their loved ones need to effectively battle these horrible diseases. Fear of the unknown is very intimidating. People need to fight back. I believe that no one should give up or lie down when faced with an intimidating new tumor or cancer diagnosis. I believe in completely the opposite. We need to confidently stand up and "declare war on these diseases." Adopting the right ATTITUDE to fight these diseases is only the first step. Our TUMORS SUCK! Campaign is only the first step in a strategy to combat these horrible diseases.

This weekend is the 3rd Tumors Suck Paintball Benefit... Stay tuned...

originally posted 8-1-11 on ericgalvezdpt.com

NYC Walk to Beat the Clock 2011

On May 5^th, 2011, I marked my second year of being cancer free and God willing I will be cancer free for a lifetime. Cancer changed my life; I thank God for my second shot at life as my priorities have changed and I am proud to call myself a Cervical Cancer Survivor.

In September 2009, I did a cervical cancer walk for the first time (Walk to Beat the Clock!). At the walk, I found inspiration in seeing many cervical cancer survivors telling their stories to help other women understand that through awareness and prevention this disease can be entirely eliminated. So, I joined their movement and now I am the President of Tamika and Friends, Inc. -New York City Chapter. Tamika and Friends, Inc. is a national non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about cervical cancer and its link to the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). It was founded in 2005 by Cervical Cancer survivor and advocate Tamika Felder.

On September 17th, 2011 Tamika & Friends is having their 4th annual NYC Walk to Beat the Clock to help beat the clock on cervical cancer because timing is everything. We want to publicly celebrate women who have survived, remember those who have lost their battle, support those who fight cervical cancer today and educate women on how to prevent a cervical cancer diagnosis all together!

Cervical Cancer is preventable, yet 11 women die each day from this disease. I do not want any other woman to go through what I did and become another statistic. I am committed to the eradication of cervical cancer along with Tamika & Friends.

Please join us in the fight to end cervical cancer and either register to walk or consider donating to this cause very near and dear to my heart. You can visit the following link to register, donate or volunteer. www.walktobeattheclock.org