What a Marvelous Wedding!

Saturday was a beautiful day for Theresa and Andrew to get married.

The day started with the girls and Carol , Andy's Mom and I getting our hair done at About Faces in Tano Mall in Edison. They returned home for some pizza and to get dressed. Lauren Grabelle the photographer took some photos on the patio in the backyard. The limo picked up the guys at the Bridgewater Marriott and dropped them off at St Paul's in Highland Park. Then the limo and a white Bentley came to pick up Nick and Theresa and all the bridesmaids to take them to the Church .

The ceremony at St Paul's was touching and the pews were filled with family and friends some traveling over 800 miles by air and car to share their special day. Theresa's cousin Alycia did one reading and Andrew's Aunt Kass did the other reading while Crystal , a friend of Andy and Terry from Dickinson College read the petitions. Two grandmas and one great aunt attended and the happy couple took photos with them in the prayer garden behind the church.

Then it was off to the Bridgewater Manor in Bridgewater. We took photos out by the pond that I can't wait to see. All the food at the cocktail hour and the reception was delicious. We had a guitarist, Vinnie Carrao during the cocktail hour who was amazing . Then we moved inside to the Somerset room where DJ, Paul Anthony played Terry and Andy's first song and then Nick danced with Theresa- Ok I admit I teared up for that one -and then Andy danced with his mom. Everyone from the 8 year old to the 99 year old was on the dance floor having a good time and the time just flew by. I don't have many photos to share I was too busy enjoying myself. The one above is Terry and Andy cutting their unique cake. Both being math majors the cake was made up of 3 tiers- the bottom a square , second a circle and top one was a triangle. So before we knew it it was time for the last dance. Hard to see such a fun day end.

Nick and I decided to spend the night at the Bridgewater Marriott where we had 22 rooms booked for our out of town guests. The next morning we all had breakfast together.

It was a fantastic weekend and I am so happy to see so many family and friends share our joy.
Two years ago I was not sure that I would be around to share in Matt's graduation and Theresa's wedding so it made these past few weeks so, so special.

We are off in a few days to help Theresa and Andrew move to Texas. So if I am not doing much posting please don't worry I am just out there living life !

LivingStrong
Dee
OC survivor and mother-in-law
PS Photo by N.Fornaratto

WEDDING DAY

Well the day of Theresa and Andrew's wedding is finally here. 

Yesterday's rehearsal went well and dinner at Old Bay was delicious. I woke up this morning to the sun shining bright. Being here for this day is a true gift from God.

May Terry and Andy have many years of health, happiness , fun,  adventure and  love!

I love you both.

LivingStrong

Mom

"Fight Back Express Coming to NJ"

Info from CINJ:

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey will host the American
CancerSociety's CAN "Fight Back Express Bus" on Thursday, May 29th from
4:00pm - 5:00pm in front of CINJ at 195 Little Albany Street.  The
"Fight Back Express Bus"  is on a six month tour across the United
States to make cancer issues a national priority.  During it's stop at
CINJ, the only NCI Center stop in the tri-state area, individuals will
have an opportunity to sign the bus and learn about the American Cancer
Society's important issues including the need for increased federal
funding for cancer research and access to health care. As part of the
Bus's stop at CINJ, ACS will hold a brief press conference to bring
attention to their issues.  The details of the press conference are
still evolving but, we hope to have several public officials attend.We
hope you will take a few moments to attend the press conference and
visit the "Fight Back Express Bus" when it is at CINJ."

Dee

President Bush Signed Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

Today President Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. This law will prohibit insurance companies and employees from discriminating against people based on their genetic information.

Women can get tested for mutations in their BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes to see if they are at risk for breast or ovarian cancer. The test results will help them to make informed medical decisions and their employers and insurance carrier can not discriminate against them because of positive results. The BRCA 1&2 genes are responsible for 5-10 % of all ovarian cancers.

LiveStrong
Dee

A New Advocacy Group is Forming for NJ Cancer Survivors

In January Betty Gallo and I gave an Advocacy 101 Workshop at the Wellness Community of Central NJ. Betty is in charge of Outreach and Government Relations at the Dean and Betty Gallo Prostate Cancer Center at CINJ. There was so much interest in advocacy among the people who attended we decided to meet again. ( Our original meeting for March had to be postponed.)

Ellen Levine, Program Director of the Central NJ-Wellness Community, was kind enough to contact interested parties and allowed us to meet last night in the Wellness Community's building in Bedminster. Ellen also participated in the meeting. After introducing ourselves Betty reviewed a number of bills at the State and National level of interest to cancer survivors. The last bill she spoke of was HR 2676 and S 2999 Access to Cancer Clinical Trials Act of 2008. The Act would require group and individual health insurance plans to provide coverage for individuals participating in approved cancer clinical trials . ( Being a clinical trial participant myself I know how important participation in clinical trials can be.) Everyone in the room supported the bill and wanted to do something to insure the bill becomes law.

We agreed that the best way to make sure that the voices of NJ cancer survivors are heard would be to form an advocacy group. We will work on a name and mission statement via e-mail and snail mail over the next month or so. We are hoping to work with the CINJ Advocacy Commission of which I am a member ( and how I met Betty). We also will develop contacts with support groups , hospitals and other cancer survivor organizations throughout the state. If anyone is interested in being a part of this new group, please leave a comment for me and I will add you to our list of participants. We are still working out when and where we will meet but we hope that those who can not attend meetings can still join and receive e-mail's regarding bills, awareness campaigns, education etc. It really is exciting to be on the ground floor of an organization that can change the future for cancer survivors in NJ. Our Next Meeting is scheduled for June 30th.

LivingStrong
Dee

A Nike Gift / LiveStrong Challenge

I had a special treat waiting for me when I got home today.
My niece and nephew sent me a pair of Nike Air Relentless LAF Cross trainers. The shoes look great with LiveStrong on the tongue and yellow around the Nike swish. The greatest thing about the gift is that 100% of the profits from this shoe as well as other LiveStrong products go to the LAF. Now that is awesome!! Check out some other products here .

The best thing about this gift is that it came one day after I registered for the LiveStrong Challenge in Philly this August . I will be wearing them for the the Challenge and on my trip in July to Columbus for the Summit .

LivingStong
Dee

My Sister Was On TV

My sister, Melabee , a professional photographer was on TV this morning. I watched her on Cablevision channel 110 on "HOUSE TELEVISION" at 7:30 am. She was interviewed about her work with Adaptive Textiles which produced floorcloths using her images.  Her flower images looked fantastic on the cloths. I am so proud of the beautiful images she has taken. You can check our more of her work here. 

Congrats Mel!

LiveStrong

Dee