Walz Supports Women's Health Bills.

U.S. Representative Tim Walz, D-Minn., has agreed to cosponsor two important women’s health bills, according to his spokesperson.

Walz will add his name as a cosponsor of the Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act of 2009 and the reauthorization of Johanna’s Law, said Meredith Salsbery, director of communications for Rep. Walz.

“The Congressman has been and continues to be a tireless advocate for cancer research in hopes of some day finding a cure,” Salsbery said. “He closely evaluated these two bills and decided they deserved his support in addition to the other cancer research bills and efforts he supports.”

Salsbery stated Walz decided to support the bills after being contacted by a concerned constituent.

Constituent participation in the legislative process is important, according to Salsbery.

“Every Congress there are thousands of bills introduced, which is why it is essential for constituents to share with us which bills are important to them,” Salsbery said.

H.R. 1816, the Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act of 2009 is to provide additional funding for research into an early detection ovarian cancer test.

There is currently no early detection test for ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer has a survival rate of more than 90 percent if detected early. Only 19 percent of ovarian cancer cases are found early, according to the American Cancer Society.

H.R. 2941 will reauthorize Johanna’s Law, which will expand the national gynecologic cancer education and awareness campaign.

Setting the Stage for a Battle of Epic Proportion.

I had a wide range of emotions while watching the NBC Nightly News report on ovarian cancer last Tuesday.

The most prominent of those emotions were anger and guilt.

I was angry because of the lack of development of a test to detect ovarian cancer in its early stages. That anger quickly faded to guilt.

I was guilty of ignorance. I was guilty of failing my own education. The cardinal rule of mass communication is to ask questions. I never asked questions. I took my mom’s diagnosis and went along for the ride.

I was guilty of blaming my mom. For years I had assumed there was a test she had never undergone. I assumed her cancer was diagnosed at a late stage because of something she had failed to do.

I was guilty of being a bad son because deep down inside, I blamed her. Had she undergone the test, she would still be here. I was mad at my mom because she died. The guilt of being angry with my mom since she died was unbearable.

Towards the end of the report, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams advised viewers to go to the website for more information. I needed to know more. I had to clear my conscience. I had to know more.

I soaked it all in like a sponge.

I watched the videos on the website intently. Many of the videos were personal stories from women with ovarian cancer.

I followed a link to the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute website. I learned that there is no early detection test for ovarian cancer. I learned that ovarian cancer has a survival rate of more than 90 percent if detected early. I learned that early detection of ovarian cancer happens in less than 20 percent of cases. In women age 35-74, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. An estimated one woman in 58 will develop ovarian cancer during her lifetime. I learned that the American Cancer Society estimated that in 2008, there would be 21,650 new cases of ovarian cancer and 15,520 women would die from ovarian cancer. I needed to learn more.

A quick search led me to the website of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. The information I learned further reinforced the facts that I had learned on the news and at the NIH website.

The NOCC website has a legislative action page. It was on this page that I learned about a few bills that had been introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

A light clicked on.

I may not be able to beat ovarian cancer or develop an early detection method but there was something I could do. My college degree was in public relations and my minor was political science. I spent two years working around politics and some of my best friends still work for Members of Congress.

I decided on a course of action. I needed to research the bills and see how many cosponsors each one had. Once I knew that information my next goal would be to recruit more Members to sign onto these bills.

There are two bills in the House of Representatives and one bill in the Senate. The bill in the Senate (S. 755) is a companion bill to one in the House (H.R. 1816).

The first bill is known as H.R. 1816 in the House and S. 755 in the Senate, The Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act of 2009. The Congressional Research Service summary states:

Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Cancer Institute to enter into cooperative agreements with, or make grants to, public or nonprofit entities to establish and operate Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Centers of Excellence to conduct research on biomarkers for use in risk stratification for, and the early detection and screening of, ovarian cancer, focusing on translational research of such biomarkers. Permits federal funds to be used for research on: (1) the development and characterization of new biomarkers and the refinement of existing biomarkers; (2) the clinical and laboratory validation of such biomarkers; (3) the development and implementation of clinical and epidemiological research on the utilization of such biomarkers; (4) the development and implementation of repositories for new tissue, urine, serum, and other biological specimens; and (5) genetics, proteomics, and pathways of ovarian cancer as they relate to the discovery and development of biomarkers. Requires the Director to: (1) make available for research banked serum and tissue specimens from clinical research regarding ovarian cancer that was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); and (2) establish an Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Clinical Trial Committee to assist in designing and implementing national clinical trials to determine the utility of using such biomarkers. Requires a national data center to be established in, and supported by, the Institute to conduct statistical analyses of trial data and to store such analyses and data, which shall be used to establish clinical guidelines to provide the medical community with information regarding the use of validated biomarkers.

The second bill is H.R. 2941, To reauthorize and enhance Johanna's Law to increase public awareness and knowledge with respect to gynecologic cancers. The Congressional Research Service summary states:

Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend through FY2012 the current authorization of appropriations for the national public awareness campaign for gynecologic cancers (Johanna's law). Authorizes appropriations in subsequent fiscal years at levels necessary to carry out such campaign. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) collaborate with nonprofit gynecologic cancer organizations to provide gynecologic cancer information and outreach services; and (2) make grants to nonprofit private entities to carry out demonstration projects to test outreach and education strategies to increase the awareness and knowledge of women and health care providers regarding gynecologic cancers.

I read all the information I could on these bills. It was while researching them on the Library of Congress website that I looked to see who had signed on as cosponsors.

Much to my surprise, not one member of the Minnesota delegation had signed on as cosponsors to H.R. 1816 / S. 755.

Two members of the Minnesota delegation, Reps. Oberstar and Ellison were cosponsors of H.R. 2941.

I was surprised that no one else was on these bills. I promptly fired off an email to Rep. Tim Walz’s state director, Meredith Salsbery. I asked her why the congressman wasn’t on those bills and if there was anything I could do to persuade him to sign them. She stated that she would look into it and would let me know promptly.

I felt like I had taken the first step in waging a war against my mom’s killer.

I would pick up the torch where she dropped it when she fell.

I have decided the next step is to raise an army of fighters. One voice can be ignored. An army of hundreds can quickly multiply and cannot be ignored.

Without early detection this disease will continue to kill thousands of women every year. We cannot waste any more time.

The time for war is now.

This is a righteous fight that we cannot afford to lose. Please join me – in honor of my mother and the thousands who died before her and the thousands who will die after her.

Knocking The Rust Off

It feels strange sitting down to write.

This used to feel natural. I can feel rust binding up the gears as I attempt to put words on paper. I hope I can knock the rust off. I haven’t really written anything since my mom’s funeral a year ago.

I was a good writer. If you gave me an hour I could put together my thoughts on just about anything. My college professors and friends would all be shocked to learn that the loss of my mom took away my voice and my ability to write.

I have tried to write but my mind couldn’t handle it. The depression made it too hard. A good friend, Sally Jo Sorensen, asked me to write something for her. She tried to help me out of my funk. She pushed me to write. It took weeks to put out a decent piece. I would turn in some half-hearted manuscript and she would return it and ask for more. She expected better and knew it was in me.

Writing became hard because it was my outlet when my mom died. Every time I sat to write, it brought back the feelings of losing my mom so I stopped doing it.

I spent the past year feeling guilty. I hid behind the depression and found ways to push away the people closest to me. I even managed to push away Heather. She recently told me that she left because she didn’t know what else to do to snap me out of the depression.

In time, the depression faded and became a memory – at least until the holidays arrived.

I was not a person you wanted to be around during the holidays. When I saw a calendar I was reminded that the anniversary of mom’s death was approaching. I became unbearable. I started pushing people away again.

Close friends and my girlfriend didn’t let it happen this time. They made me talk and open up about things. Along the way something strange happened.

The world did not end on January 1.

I woke up on January 1st and I felt good. I missed my mom and mourned her passing but I felt good.

A few short days later something happened to wake me up and help focus my energy. A random moment that educated me on something I thought I knew about.

An NBC News special week-long report on women’s health issues happened to be on while I was playing with my daughter. The subject of the report that evening was ovarian cancer. I stopped what I was doing and watched the report. It was then that I learned there is no early detection test for ovarian cancer.

I had always been under the assumption that there was some test my mom could have undergone to save her life. I thought it was somehow missed or that she had never had the test. I urged the women in my life to see their gynecologists and to be tested to make sure they didn’t suffer the same fate my mom did. I was wrong.

At that moment, I found a new purpose in life. Until a test exists that can provide early detection for ovarian cancer I will not stop. If detected early ovarian cancer has a more than 90 percent survival rate. The problem is only 19 percent of ovarian cancer is detected early.

This must change.

With your help, perhaps it can.

For our girlfriends, wives, moms, aunts, sisters, nieces and daughters – for every woman I know I dedicate this fight.

I will not lose another person to this disease. This I swear.

I'm back and I'm Pissed Off.

Yeah, you heard me right.

It has been a hell of a year. I lost my mom, lost my girlfriend faced the terrible economy and had heart surgery. I am done whining now.

It is time to focus on an issue and force change.

The issue:

Ovarian Cancer.

The basics:

There is currently no early detection test for ovarian cancer. Pap tests do not detect ovarian cancer. Until there is a test, the key to early diagnosis is awareness. And the key to awareness is knowing the subtle symptoms of ovarian cancer and urging women to take early action and live.

In women age 35-74, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. An estimated one woman in 58 will develop ovarian cancer during her lifetime. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2008, there will be 21,650 new cases of ovarian cancer and 15,520 women will die from ovarian cancer.

Because each woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer has a different profile, it is impossible to give a general prognosis. If diagnosed and treated early, when the cancer is confined to the ovary, the 5-year survival rate is more than 90 percent...9 out of 10 women are cured. Unfortunately, due to ovarian cancer's non-specific symptoms and lack of early detection tests, only 19 percent of all cases are found at this early stage. If caught in stage III or higher, the survival rate can be as low as 29 percent.

Good Hours and Bad Hours.

It has been a week. Things should start returning to normal, right?

I got up this morning and prepared myself for my big day in court. I arrived early and had a brief discussion with my attorney. She informed me that I would be sworn, would answer a few questions and that would be it. That seemed far to simple, I thought to myself. She was right. A few questions about parenting time and that was that. Basic yes and no answers was all that was required of me. The judge granted everything as drawn up and based on the irretrievable breakdown granted dissolution – with one catch. I must complete a class on parenting after a divorce. I wouldn’t mind, but it is Thursday evenings from 1830 to 2030 and costs $50. There are four classes I must attend and then it is all done. My last class will be Feb. 12. Almost 12 years to the day this whole mess started.

I guess I have something to celebrate on Feb. 14 this year.

My attorney said something to me before she left. She stated that she lost her mother a couple of years ago. She said, “At first you will have good minutes and bad minutes. That will soon be followed by good hours and bad hours, followed by good days and bad days. Eventually you will have good weeks and bad weeks. Over time you will heal, like I did.”

Prophetic words.

In an effort to return to normalcy, I have my daughter tonight. I will drop her off at the daycare in the morning and go to work. It will be my first day back at work since mom died. I need to return to a routine.

Every week I took my daughter down to my mom’s house so they could spend time together before the end. She would go into mom’s bedroom, where mom pretended to sleep, and wake her up. They would sit there and watch tv and eat snacks and play.

My brother from Wyoming is still in town. His wife and three kids are with him. My daughter is quite fond of her cousins, so I decided to take her to Spring Valley tonight.

Our first stop was my grandparent’s house. She kept them entertained for nearly and hour before I got her into the car again. I told her we were going to see the cousins and she got very excited. She asked if they were at “Granny’s house.” I told her they were there. She said, “Granny is dead. Her is gone. Her is in Heaven, right, dad?” I told her yes and drove up to mom’s house. (Up never seems right. Mom’s house is south of my grandparent’s house, but it is up a hill, so I will let it be.)

She was quite excited to see her cousins and they had a great time together. There was one thing I noticed though. Every time we went to mom’s house, as I said earlier, she would go straight to mom’s bedroom to wake her up. She went into mom’s bedroom when we got there. I assume it was to make sure she was gone, but she went in there anyway.

A while later, I caught her carrying this little stuffed dog around. My mom kept it on her dresser and she always let my daughter play with it as long as she asked first and put it back when she was done. I don’t know where she found this dog, but it brought back a wave of memories.

I mentioned that to my brother’s wife and we decided to tell her that Granny asked us to give that to her before she died. We made her promise to take care of the stuffed puppy and she promised (like a four-year-old’s promise means a whole lot).

She has held that little dog tight all night. She is sleeping right now and still squeezing it tightly. My mom, daughter and this stuffed dog had some kind of bond, and it is still there. It has been a week, and I thought I was all cried out. Seeing this and hearing my daughter tell me that Granny in Heaven gave her the puppy proved me wrong.

Now I sit hear, quietly crying, watching my daughter share another moment with my mom.

I wish she were here to see it too. I am sure she is watching over this scene and smiling somewhere. Right now I wish she were somewhere much closer…

“Good hours and bad hours.” I guess if nothing else, my retainer paid for the best non-legal advice I have ever been given.

A Funeral, Regrets and Awkward First Meetings.

Not as much to say today.

I started having what I am referring to as “flashbacks” today. I can be sitting here, on my couch, or driving down the road or doing anything and I will have one. They are vivid recollections of those last few precious hours. One of the flashbacks is of my mother sitting in her recliner, comatose, struggling to breathe. The other flashback is the moment when we moved mom from her recliner into the hospital bed about an hour before she died. The hospice nurse slid a sheet under her and five of us lifted her from the chair and into the bed.

I don’t want to compare these flashbacks to those that people with PTSD suffer, but from what I know they sound similar. I hope they don’t last long.

The funeral was nice. So many flowers and plants. TJW sent a plant.

Mom always told me that she wanted to meet Tim and I always said that we would get around to it. I feel guilty for not arranging that meeting now. She was a little nutty and I always felt like he dealt with enough of that, he didn’t need to get stuck in a room with her. I wish I had done that for her now. He would have done it, had I asked. I should have asked...

Heather and my VERY soon to be ex had that first awkward meeting today. They didn’t actually meet, but they knew who each other was. Heather and I had talked about how they would meet and I always figured it would be bumping into each other in a Target/Wal-Mart type setting. I never thought it would be at my mom’s funeral.

Heather had the chance to meet my mom a few times, but their first meeting really sticks out in my head.

Mom travelled to California this past summer and saw a doctor. That doctor prescribed her medicinal marijuana. She was issued a card, which permitted her to go to the “weed store” and buy marijuana products. Mom stocked up on cannabis before she came back to Minnesota. She brought home a few ounces of the biggest, fattest, hairiest buds I have ever seen. The label called it “Grape Ape” and stated it was for medicinal use only. The label also advised against operating heavy machinery while under the influence. It wasn’t just buds she transported home. She brought home weed cookies (laced oatmeal, chocolate chip, etc), marijuana made caramel, and reefer chocolates.

Mom kept asking my brother to pick her up a bong so she could smoke her weed. The only places in and around Rochester to buy bongs are more famous for their sales of sexual toys and videos. My brother was absolutely mortified by the thought of taking his mom into an “adult book store” so he refused to buy her the bong.

Heather and I were sitting at my place and mom called and mentioned his refusal to buy her a pipe. When I was done on the phone, I told Heather about all of this and told her I was half-tempted to go buy her one and take it to her. She supported my decision, so I asked her if she wanted to ride along. She did, so off to the porn store we went. I don’t think the guy behind the counter believed me when I said it was for my mom, but who cares. We bought the pipe and hauled it down to my mom in Spring Valley. Mom had my brother set her pipe up and proceeded to burn a doobie in front of my new girlfriend.

That is how Heather met my mom.

I have to cut this one short tonight. I have to get up early and get ready for my day in court. My mom’s funeral and my divorce hearing all in the same week. My lawyer asked if I would like to change the date when she learned of my mother’s death. It took months to get this date – I told her no way, I am ready to go now. At least I will finally be single again tomorrow – although single in title only. Heather might take exception to my use of the word single, but anyone who has ever been married before will understand what I mean.

 

Sorting Through the Mysteries of Bills and Crap

I always knew that U.S. Rep. Tim Walz was an honorable and caring man. From the first time I met him in March 2006, he amazed me with his ability to remember peoples names and the way he genuinely cared for the people he met. That is why I volunteered my time and resources to help get him elected. That is why I went to work for him. He reminded me of that this morning.

Congressman Walz called me this morning to express his condolences. Unfortunately I missed the call. I slept through the night and didn’t get out of bed until 0830. I was brushing my teeth when the phone rang and didn’t get to it until too late.

I am greatly appreciative of that phone call.

One of my few complaints with the Blackberry Storm is calls seem to go to voicemail much too quickly. Oh well, still love that phone.

Every day seems to bring some new learning experience. There are so many little things that we all do everyday and never think about what the people left behind would do or know if we were suddenly taken from this world.

I pay bills online and I think most everyone does. I have paper copies of the statements sent to me, but not everyone does. This has become a problem with trying to sort out my mom’s bills.

Mom embraced the electronic world and paid almost everything online. She set most of her bills up as automatic bill payments. Mom was scared of identity theft so she did not have paper statements sent to her home. We kind of knew what her bills were and discussed it with her, but now, we have no idea what these things coming out of her account are or who they go to.

In order to figure this out, we have instructed the bank not to honor automatic payments since she is deceased. When the company requesting payment does not receive payment, the thought is that they will send a paper statement informing her that the bank declined a payment. This will allow us to close out her various accounts and inform her creditors that she has died.

As I said, I get paper statements so if I died tomorrow, someone would be able to figure my bills out. Make sure someone knows what your automatic or online bill payments are. Write this information down and keep it somewhere. Someday it will prevent a lot of headaches for someone else.

My mom was a bit of a packrat. Ok, that is a true understatement - she saved a lot of crap. We talked to her repetitively about going through all this crap in her basement and she always said we would get around to it later. Unfortunately, later never came.

We didn’t want to push her too hard and perhaps we were too lenient. I don’t know how I would react with the news that I was going to die and with that in mind, we did not push her to do things. I regret not making her go through this crap with one of us now.

I am quite sure most of this stuff had some special meaning. Why else would she have two hope chests full of shit? The three of us boys can figure some of it out and have figured some of it out. I can figure out that the old report cards with my name on them were saved for a reason. I can figure out what the envelope labeled my first haircut with hair in it is. What I cannot figure out is what a blanket is. It is not labeled; there is nothing to tell us why she had it in the chest. What the hell are we supposed to do with this blanket?

Mom had literally thousands of photos in the chests and packed in 18-inch square boxes. Many of them are not labeled or written on. Some of them are black and white – obviously older than any of us. How are we supposed to figure out what they are or why she had them?

She had crap packed away that belongs with the family of the late asshole she married. We can try to figure it all out, but this would have been so much easier if she would have been willing to do this while she was still alive.

I started to take an inventory of my life and my possessions and it occurred to me – no one could really figure out what all of my crap is either. I need to start figuring out what I have and why I have saved it. I need to make sure that someone else knows why I have it as well.

You never know when it may be your time and there may not be a tomorrow to do it.

I will not make this same mistake twice. I am going to have this talk with my dad and with other family. We need to know what those “valuable” possessions are to prevent ourselves from having to ask, “WTF is this?” in the future.