Celebrating Cancer Survival With Susan

On Friday the 7th, Susan invited me to be her guest at an annual luncheon held by Cedar-Sinai for cancer survivors. 

It was very touching, humbling, and invoked a lot of gratitude. 

 There's Susan laughing at me being a photo journalist. 

An "In Memory Of..." Billboard. It was almost full by the time they took it down. 

Another booth showed examples of how big tumors could be. Susan pointed out the one size that was closest to hers. 

 What we were slated for. The special guest speaker Susan Schnell has survived 5 different cancers since 1966. 

Our fancy salad and bread. We ate at the Sofitel hotel. Food was delicious, especially the sorbet we had for dessert! 

Susan, taking a pic of her lucky little talisman, Pogo. He's been on every appointment with her since he was gifted to her by one of her art students.  

Here is Susan Schnell. Quite a remarkable woman. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. We gave her a standing ovation by the end of her speech. 

This is one of Susan's doctors, Dr. William Audeh. He shared stories of other patients and their survival. A very warm, sweet man. Susan says he listens to her, takes his time, and really cares about what she's going through. From what I've learned that isn't always the case for cancer patients. 

We sat a table with survivors, their companions, and it was wonderful to see them support each other in their same but different journeys. The closing speech was very moving as the last doctor told us what Cedars is up to, and their plans for cancer research. It's quite amazing, really. 

It was especially poignant as I sat there with Susan. It's even more so as I hung out with my friend Jen last night, who I haven't seen in awhile. She recently lost her mother to breast cancer. 

The numbers of those affected by cancer is astounding. All I can say to you, if you or a loved one is diagnosed, is to go out and gather as much information and research as possible. Make sure you ask questions. Make sure you find support, it's a scary time, but truly, you are not alone. 

New pictures of Pogo, before and after lunch. Hee. These are from Susan's phone. 

Delicious sorbet!

A Grateful, Goofy, Geek

In the middle of last month, inspiration struck.

I was sitting in my car, quietly lamenting to myself how I didn't want to go into my dayjob. I had been struggling with that feeling for quite some time, (who doesn't), and I was making myself write down what I was grateful for, before I walked through the door. Then it hit me: why don't I just make a quick video each day of what I'm grateful for? It'll be something fun to do, and I can do it through the end of the month, taking me into the new year.

In the midst of the holiday season, some people feel lousy. In the midst of the mentally ill taking lives, you can feel devastated. In the midst of feeling ever so broke, you can feel crushed. When you combine that into December 2012, oh, what a triple whammy of crap to go through. So I thought doing a video each day of what I'm grateful for might just be a good thing not only for myself, but maybe, I can reach someone and make 'em giggle at my goofiness, even for a moment.

Trust me....there's some goofiness.

So if you have about 26 minutes, turn it on, listen, and laugh while you're doing the dishes, or have something inane to do.

I think there is always something to be grateful for - that's what I've learned. It may not feel like a big deal, but there is an awful lot to be grateful for. So go out there and tell me what you're grateful for.

Happy Frickin' New Year!

Susan Update!

Today Susan goes into her LAST CHEMO TREATMENT. Hooray!!!!

Having just hung out with her last night, I can easily say that she is ecstatic about her last round of chemo.

Susan being greeted by Scruffles & Punky,
the pups I get to live with. 

Susan's been doing great. Throughout the ups and downs of Life being heightened by the outrageous fortune of fighting cancer, she's hanging tough, for sure. She's been working on a children's book, taking commissions on art, and has two gigs through Fiverr.com. (Links are at the bottom). For those of you who don't know, Fiverr is a great resource where people hawk their wares and services for $5. I think everything you can think of is on that site.

Susan has become friends with renaissance man, Adam Emperor Southard, and got to be part of his series, Id, Ego, and SuperEgo.  In the L.A. Theater scene, Adam is a writer, musician, photographer.... I think he pretty much does everything. It makes nothing but sense that they found each other and hit it off. Susan was previously part of Adam's series, Body & Soul.

As Susan's a force to be reckoned with, she's also working on illustrating a children's novel called Zwoosh!. Below is the first layer of the cover. As I understand it, these things have several layers, (like a cake!), and here it is, right off the easel. I was lucky enough to see a draft, and it looks just delightful. As a big fan of picture books, (hello, I used to run StoryTime at Borders), I'm thinking this will be a hit.

And some of you are probably wondering how she's doing financially, as we had that emergency fundraiser a little while ago. Her Disability has finally kicked in! They lost her claim once, and I'm pretty sure, if she hadn't stayed vigilant and kept calling, it would've been lost forever, and I would've been trying to figure out other ways to help her raise cash monies. She luckily got a hold of someone who helped expedite the whole process, and it has kicked in. Finally. The relief has been palpable. She now can afford her rent and bills, but that whole food thing and you know, life, still needs a budget. So if you want to commission some art from her, or need some copyediting on your latest book, why not contact her? (Nudge, nudge).

 If you'd like to help out, you can kick in whatever you'd like, or even just simply share the links to friends.

If you need help with copyediting, go to here on Fiverr.com.

If you'd like to gift someone some handcrafted kanji necklace or Halloween Goodness, go here.

If you'd like to commission a painting from Susan, follow this link, and contact her at susan@lifeonitsside.com.

If you want to send Susan a note of encouragement and love, or even send her a buck, you can send it via PayPal at her email, susan@lifeonitsside.com

No matter what, chances are you know someone who has been affected by cancer. Give 'em a hug, ask if they need anything, and if they have an organization that's helped them. Share your stories.

Thank You For Helping Susan!!

I am pleased to announce that through the efforts of friends, and friends of friends, we raised just about $1200 for Susan this weekend. We paid for her August rent, and she can now get some groceries and pay some other bills.

SO THANK YOU!



While Susan's waiting for her disability to kick in, she's still got her many hats on, in the air, everywhere.

Find her art (oil and watercolor) here: http://art.lifeonitsside.com

Find her Fiverr copywriting/editing gig here: http://fiverr.com/side_life 

UPDATE: Find her handcrafted Kanji Jewelry here on Fiverr: http://fiverr.com/side_life/create-a-handcrafted-kanji-necklace-out-of-polymer-clay

You can still send her donations, if you'd like, via PayPal at susan@lifeonitsside.com. I know some people have mailed in contributions, and this effort is just truly touching. You're all a bunch of angels.

If you want to know what lead to this mass effort of fundraising, look at my last post: Help A Susan Out, Yo. 

Here's Susan on her first day of chemo, and where she become a BAMF in my eyes: Susan's First Day of Chemo.

Here's my post on Susan as The Bravest Storyteller I Know.

Alright, I'm Grateful, I'm Grateful, I'm Grateful!

Before my head hits the pillow tonight, I'm going to infuse my sleep with Gratitude.

I'm grateful:
-That my car was fixed
-That Mom & Dad could take care of it this time
-That my friends and co-workers didn't mind driving me around
-That work, Midas, and Jake's place were all within easy bus/walking distance to each other
-That Edelweiss didn't break anything as she just fell off of her window perch
-That Jake has allowed me to use his WiFi and I can type in bed
-That I've figured out how to record my lines and listen to them on my iPod
-That last night I got to bond with friends from my Project 22
-For my jobs at Actors Access and Freshi Films
-For my friends, new and old, they keep me going
-For the heater in Jake's room
-That Edelweiss has finally deemed me worthy of talking to, and allowed me to scritch her - even if it's late at night
-That I have friends that allow me to pet sit for them
-For being surrounded by good people on my birthday, despite that I don't get to spend it in Disneyland
-That I still have a chance to work towards a dream, despite how scary it is out here in the real world

And now, sleep.....