The Putnam Scoop

One of the sad facts about life in West Virginia is that we have a pretty high cancer rate. According to the National Cancer Institute, Putnam County has an average of 34 women annually who are diagnosed with breast cancer. We’re not such a big place. It’s likely that you know and love one of them. It’s even possible that you are one.

If breast cancer (or really ANY type of cancer) has become an issue in your life, I’d like to introduce you to Susan Reynolds. Susan is a normal person who just happened to find a lump in her breast one day. The next day she was at the doctor hearing those scary, dreaded words. Yes, she has cancer.

Susan has one advantage that has enabled her to have more support than she ever dreamed — she’s comfortable online. She was already a blogger and started a new blog called Boobs On Ice, where she keeps family, friends and strangers up to date. She is on Twitter, a fun little online stop that lets you communicate in quick little 140 character bursts. (Twitter is amazingly effective — very little really needs more than 140 characters to get the point across. Example, this whole post could just say, “Cancer? Read Boobs On Ice. Trust me.”) Visit Susan’s Twitter page here.

Susan reached out with honesty and humor, and people responded in droves. Susan mentioned how frozen peas made a great ice pack after surgery, and had the added benefit of letting her wake to the smell of fresh peas. The Frozen Pea Fund was born! Donating the cost of a bag or two of frozen peas, along with the donations of others, can really make a difference! (Your donation helps fund cancer research.)

Susan’s Twitter friends also show support by changing their pictures on Fridays to fun pea Pictures. Fridays have been deemed Frozen Pea Friday — watch Twitter turn green on Fridays when all of Susan’s “Peaple” show their support! Supporting Susan has even helped my family stay in touch — my cousin in DC wrote me after he saw me on a map on his local news in a story about Susan!

So why am I telling you all this? A diagnosis of cancer kicks the world out from under your feet. Family and friends want to help, but often don’t know how. I would like you to feel the support given to Susan and received from her, and I want you to know that there are MANY ways to reach out for help when you need it.

People do want to help, but they don’t want to be a bother. They need to know what to do to make things better, anything they can do to help. Don’t be afraid you’re asking for too much. I bet you’d be surprised, much like Susan was, by how much can be done by people who want to help.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 5:32 pm and is filed under Charities, WV Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.