Ebb & Flow

Ebb & Flow - Storytelling For Cancer Survivors from Hands On Films on Vimeo.

"Breaking Away"

My name is John Abbate.

I was a junior at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. I was a "good" student majoring in secondary education...and was very involved in the Little 500 bicycle race...maybe you have seen the movie "Breaking Away"...well,it is sooo worth seeing.

One night in late February of 2007 I was at the library late again (class & riding my bike...etc cut into my day) I was walking from my car to my apartment, slipped on ice fell backwards & hit the back of my head. I did not think much of this,I kind of laughed it off and was feeling concussion symptoms, but not at all what was really going on. Feeling a bit woozy or concussed,I did not go to bed right away.

Waking up the next morning was not too bad...I had a headache, but I went along with my day. Legend exists among some family & friends that I rode like 100 miles, but that is BS...I rode 30 miles & felt better actually. Slowly, but surely the headache came back. Friday turned to Saturday & I felt weak...too say the least...I tried riding the bike,usually that was a form of therapy for me,well I rode a bit & finished an easy 15 miles,but felt awful. So, I wake up Sunday, I am really struggling by now manage a shower then I drove myself to the E.R. (I did not tell my roomies...sorry guys)

I have a few tests ran on me & long story short they had found a low grade astrocytoma on my brain stem,some of the cerebellum that had been growing for 6 or so years.  (Dr's always told me symptoms were sinus related) The walnut sized tumor was smack dab in my fourth ventricle. So, my brain was essentially drowning in CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) and I had two neurosurgeons saying if they did not operate within a week,I would possibly comatose & die. Anyway, the fluid that should have been draining was backing up because the fall had "jarred" the tumor blocking the CSF flow.

This is heavy stuff for a 22 year old.  Well, talk about a quick decision. I decided on a different Doctor @ Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.

March 2nd of 2007 I had surgery, stayed @ the R.I.C. (Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) for almost 3 months. I came home June 15th of 2007 as an entirely different person...well, physically anyway. (be your own advocate, try not to be ignorant to warning signs, I kind of was) In August of 2008 I managed to get back to school @ a local campus...IU Northwest. Fast forward to December of 201, it has been a rough road to say the least,I am almost done with school and am already thinking about grad school(I am excepting donations...jj...ha) I have accomplished some pretty "cool" things in my wheelchair and I am just getting started/ trying to break away from stereotypes that disability is a "bad" word.

2011-2012 Winter Fundraising Drive

THANKS FOR MAKING 2011 A GREAT YEAR FOR MASS KICKERS FOUNDATION! We are planning exciting, fun events for continuing our campaigns in 2012.  We are also planning two new unique events in 2012. See our awesome plans below, but WE NEED YOUR HELP!! Organizing these super fantastic things cost money and we need some to keep up the mAss Kicking momemtum going!  

We are hosting 4 major events in 2012:

Spring 2012 - "The mAss Kickers Charity KICKBALL Tournament" in San Diego. Have fun helping us Kick some mAss! Spaces are limited to 12 teams. Look for updates on the website soon!

Summer 2012  - in San Diego: "The RIC, Research Is Cool Seminar" for patients and loved ones! There are a lot of organizations that support tumor/cancer research. We want people to understand it AND use it! The seminar explains what research is, how to participate, and the benefits of participating in research studies. THIS WILL BE A UNIQUE TAKE ON RESEARCH! Website coming soon!

August 2012 - "TUMORS SUCK PAINTBALL BENEFIT", PINCKNEY, MI @ Hell Survivors Paintball Field http://www.tumorssuckpaintball.com

October 25 - in San Diego "International TUMORS SUCK DAY Celebration" Let the world know you think TUMORS SUCK! PLAN A GET TOGETHER WITH YOUR FRIENDS LET THE WORLD KNOW THAT TUMORS SUCK! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tumors-Suck/145877928814836?sk=wall

We have a very ambitious 2012 planned and we need your support to host these events! Please consider a tax-deductible donation to mAss Kickers Foundation. The funds raised from this drive will support our 2012 activities AND fund tumor/cancer related research.
PLEASE BOOKMARK OUR WEBSITE: http://www.mAssKickers.org HELP US KICK SOME MASS IN 2012!!! JOIN IN THE FUN!  MAKE A DONATION AND WE'LL HELP YOU CREATE YOUR OWN PAGE! PLEASE PASS THIS ON!!!

Let's Rai$e the Roof This Holiday Season!

Two Door Cinema Club, Something Good Can Work
Tourist History 2010

You gotta step up your game to make to the top.

So go!
Gotta little competition now.

Tis the season to be jolly, tra la la la la, la la la la. Do you know what would make me jolly? If you joined in the MKF holiday giving drive by hosting your own bake sale or donating online! Check out the MKF Holiday Drive page, read what each mAss kickin' fundraiser has to say, watch their videos, and pick a member's page to support!

Last winter I held the first ever MKF bake sale at my high school. Hungry high school students loved the homemade cookies, brownies, and red velvet cupcakes - the bake sale was a huge success. The support from students was so overwhelming that we sold out in less than seven minutes! This year I’m hoping to double our profits, with the incentive of TUMORS SUCK! stickers for every purchase or donation of $5 or more. The bake sale will take place on December 9th, so stay tuned for pictures, videos, and other updates regarding fundraising progress!

Although I have a feeling that the majority of my fundraising this winter will come from my bake sale, I would love to have some support from everyone else out there. The more, the merrier! Bake sales are easy to arrange, and you can always save some of the goodies that you bake to eat for yourself. Check back in on here or on my fundraising page in two weeks for an update!

The Island of Misfit Mos 2011

In honor of Movember, a crack commando unit was formed when they each were separately affected by a tumor mass that they were not willing to accept. In 2010, these men promptly joined forces to combat these horrible diseases. Today, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The Island of Misfit Mos. (Cue the A-team theme song...)

JOIN US! ADD YOUR PICTURES ON THE WALL OF THE FACEBOOK GROUP! WE HAVE MEMBERS OF VARIOUS CANCER ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTED ON THE ISLAND WITH A COMMON PURPOSE TO FIGHT ALL TUMORS AND CANCER... IS YOUR ORGANIZATION REPRESENTED?

LiveSTRONG YOUNG ADULT ALLIANCE 2011

AUSTIN, TX

All the videos will play continuously. Here is a link to each separate video.

Seen Through My Eyes: Reflections on the YAA Conference

From the moment our plane touched down in Austin, Texas, I experienced a busy and meaningful time of connection with the Young Adult Alliance (YAA)! I observed and participated in this conference with unique eyes as I live in Calgary (Alberta, Canada) with my (Canadian) husband, Mike; am a supporter to him and the other young adult cancer survivors I’ve met; and am also an advocate for young adult cancer awareness. Although it sounds cliché to say it, both my husband and I were very honored to attend this annual meeting and hit the ground running with new-to-us faces, organizations, and a fervent zeal that was refreshing to engage in with others.

After a long day of traveling from Ottawa but a beautiful last flight, we arrived at the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin for the event. I did what any self-respecting traveler would do after a long day: tried out the bed!

It was nice, let me assure you.

After exploring the hotel we decided to grab a late-night dinner, chatting with a few people around the hotel but mainly getting excited about the event officially beginning soon.

Our initial impression of Austin was that it was a fun, thriving, “young” city, and the Omni Hotel left a similarly positive impression on us both as we enjoyed some food (fresh fish tacos! When in Rome…) and hit the hay for a full upcoming day. Wednesday began, after a short morning workout in their spacious gym, with our favorite meal of the day downstairs: breakfast! I’m always on the lookout for accommodations with healthy breakfast foods, and the Omni Hotel did not disappoint! I was thrilled to see steel cut oatmeal, fresh fruit options, strong coffee, my favorite nut butters, and even fage yogurt alongside the hot options like omelettes, waffles, and French toast. A healthy, delicious breakfast makes for one happy supporter!

Speaking of options, throughout the conference I was very pleased with the amount of optional breakout sessions that have were available to attendees to choose from and attend. Not wanting to miss any opportunity for learning and new information, my husband and I went to “How to Speak to the Media” by Jen Mills, Emily Peterson, and Amy Berry. It was jam-packed with information about public relations, including very practical “how to” moments with the opportunity to write down your own strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats as a company or individual. It also highlighted the elbow work that has to go into solid PRC for a company – it’s labor intensive, requires hard work, and thrives best off of building into relationships with the media around you. This was extremely helpful for my husband with his new job at the Tom Baker Cancer Center in Calgary as well as for me personally as I begin to re-establish my job as a mobile personal trainer. I especially liked how engaging the session was, cancer or not, because it was practical and gave me tools to walk away with as I left.

The second session we attended and loved was entitled, “R2iSMASH: Tapping the Social Web to Reach Potential Members and Donors.” This session, run by Brock Yetso, Craig Lustig, Chris Chodnicki, and Samantha DeVita, was also full of relevant information because in the new field of young adult cancer, learning how to engage with and utilize social media goes a long way. Those affected directly (young adult survivors) are plugged into sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, and knowing not only how to work those sites but how to engage in and build a community using those sites is extremely beneficial. Some key points to share that benefit everyone using social media:

1.) Get your house in order. In other words, perform a social media “audit” on yourself or your company in order to know how much of an influencer you are and whether or not you are truly engaging with your followers. (Helpful tools include Google Analytics, Hootsuite for Twitter, Facebook Insights, Klout, YouTube Insights, and Radian 6.)

2.) Publish audience-centered content that’s relevant. If the information isn’t applicable, then it doesn’t really matter! We all want to be spreading news as advocates, but we have to make sure what we’re spreading is information that those in the community want to hear. And lastly,

3.) Engage members and build relationships with influencers and brand advocates. Although the workshop was set up with a company’s social impact in mind, the information can certainly be brought to a personal level too as most of us today are using many, if not all, of the social media platforms out there. The truth is that if we are pumping information out, updating pages, and happy with the number of “likes” or “retweets” we’re seeing, if we’re not intentionally engaging with the social communities we’re helping to create then no true change is going to come from it. Those relationships must be maintained throughout the year and grown so they can take off on their own, member to member.

I was also reminded that it’s important to use each resource to its fullest advantage. For example, Twitter might be a great place to repost fast-acting, timely news targeted toward your demographic, while Facebook might work better for people posting photos and engaging with community events through your page. At the same time, a website or blog might lump them all together while streaming videos through YouTube is probably the most effective place to post film.

There was so much to take in, and as both a supporter and an advocate I got a lot out of the sessions because cancer or not, they related to me personally. I was also encouraged to see the positive benefits of what being intentional with technology can bring and reminded of how we can really use it to affect greater change than we perhaps ever could have before.

The power of social media: “Movember” in action.

From large group sessions to breakout workshops, from strolling the streets with new friends to networking over drinks, I learned so much throughout this conference and am so thankful we were able to interact with this thriving, passionate community in the United States. It’s a reminder to me of why Mike and I do what we do – why we choose to be involved and how we can be more effective in our involvement. I savored every bite, appreciated every moment, and enjoyed each experience and left with a sense of renewed vision and purpose in my role as a supporter and fellow advocate.

Learning, living, and growing,

Bonnie