The Singing Patient (Carla): Journal

Carla Ulbrich LiVE!
XM15 is proud to present Carla Ulbrich live from XM Satellite Radio Performance Theater before an audience. Get ready for Carla unleashed - one hour of PG-13 comedy. And you may find this performance on a CD sometime in 2008.

Eastern Time:
Tuesday Aug 19, noon,
Friday Aug 22, midnight

Don't have XM? Not a problem!
Go to
www.xmradio.com/villageoffer and listen on the internet for free!

What a thrill! I'll be singing a song or 3 in the "Licks and Laughter" concert at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention (CAAS) at the Music City Sheraton in Nashville. The convention runs from Wednesday night through Saturday night, July 9-11.

Also in the Licks and Laughter concert- the affable Antsy McClain of the Trailer Park Troubadours, and Todd Hallawell, a Winfield Fingerpicking Champion. Maybe a 4th person... we'll see!

I attended this convention several times before ever getting on stage last year (also for the Licks and Laughter concert). Chet was quite an icon, quite the country gentleman, and quite an entertainer. No wonder there is both an appreciation society and a convention. Like fingerpickin'? check out http://www.misterguitar.com/caas/

Be there or be... somewhere else!

Palliative Care is whole-person care. many of the folks who do this sort of work are in hospice (end of life care). I performed my wacky humor throughout the 2007 conference in Anchorage, and wrapped up the conference with this little thing I wrote for them:

10 ways you know you are at a palliative care
conference

10) the conference opens not with HEY EVERYBODY
WELCOME TO OUR 2007 SYMPOSIUM WOOOOOOOH! but "ok
everyone let's get started."

9) most of the powerpoints include slides of scenery
or dogs or both.

8) at no point has anyone said "After my presentation
I'll be signing autographs in the bookstore."

7) You learn at least one new way to administer a
narcotic

6) All the website addresses are forward slash bunch
of letters slash tilda letters underscore forward
slash tilda letter letter dot gov dot html

5) You're in Alaska

4) instead of free beer, free beads

3) evening activities do not involve drunkenness and
nudity (as far as I know)

2) one panelist uses the word "rectally" 27 times and
"suppository" 29 times and no one even blinks.

1) the room is filled with loving respectful people
who make a difference by giving of themselves

I'm grateful for the folks in healthcare who see how bad it is and try to make things different, but i am sad that the system makes it so difficult for them to do so, or that they forget to stop and care for themselves, that there is a high burnout rate. It's nice to know someone "inside" the system "gets it."

Hey I'm headed South to do some shows in Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I'll also be enjoying 10 minutes of fame on TV with "Good Morning Arkansas!" No, you can't call in and vote me off, but you can tune in and see just how many pounds the camera adds...

The Aiken Uu and Louisiana hospital fundraiser are "Sick Humor" shows The others will be a mix.

Stumble It!

Having just got some things cut off my skin (skin cancer runs in my family, so I was being proactive in getting it checked), I'm putting anbesol on my 5-stich wound and recalling fond memories of hospital and doctor visits...

15) catheter. I swear I should have filed for rape after that. I was in the hospital and they did a catheter, and got nothing (no pee), and wanted to do another one I said "I can get enough UTIs on my own without having a tube threaded up into my bladder. Tell your boss 'patient refused procedure.'" Did you know you could do that? yup. If they want pee, they'll just have to feed me water and wait for me to go in a cup.

14) cauterizing veins. Holy crap! how did i get talked into this one? I went to the dermatologist about something else and he talked me into getting all the little red veins on my nose cauterized- closed off for cosmetic reasons, so I'd have a nice smooth white skin around my nose. I hurt like the dickens (cauterizing= burning) and smelled like someone was grilling hamburgers on my face. Then afterward, for 2 weeks, it looked like I had lost a boxing match. My nose was completely purple. The worst part is, I got in a fight with my boyfriend long-distance over the phone, and he sent me a singing telegram to apologize. You should have seen the look on the singer's face, singing an apology song to a girl with a hideously bruised nose. Oh, yeah, and the little red veins returned within 6 months.

13) Iodine test. I can't believe they don't routinely ask people if they are allergic to iodine before they shoot it into their veins. This is what killed my grandmother. If you are allergic to shrimp, you should not get an iodine test. Unless you secretly wish to die of anaphylactic shock.

12) Wisdom tooth extraction. The drugs and laughing gas are good enough that I don't remember the procedure but oh do i remember the aftermath. I was in bed for 2 weeks. Gaping holes in my mouth where 4 teeth were cut out, and antibiotics I was allergic to. I was 19, and my parents were out of town, so when I got a full-body rash from the drugs, I kept taking them because I didn't want to get an infection. 2 weeks of hot swollen full-body rash. And, I waited until I was in a lot of pain to take the pain pills. Don't do that!! Its too hard to control then, and you end up taking more or running out. I remember that my parents were out of town, because I was alone in their huge old house with cats and central air (which makes for lots of weir noises at night). I slept with a crowbar and told myself to sleep lightly. I woke up the next day and the crowbar had fallen on the hard floor and I hadn't woken up.

11) Hospital roommate getting an enema. Me, I feel better after a good enema. But I feel much worse after the person in the next bed, who has blockage and hasn't taken a dump in months, has an enema. Geez! I was in with nausea and stomach flu that time, not at all alleviated by the toxic brown cloud wafting in my direction. Oy! Private room, anyone?

10) Transfusions. Yuk, ew, gross. But sometimes really necessary. I got them twice in '02. I had a really bad reaction to one of them- cramps, aching, itching. I mean what if the donor ate shrimp or something else that gives me hives? Not to mention the diseases in some blood. And the weird karma. Takes forever, huge needle, feels like a railroad spike in my arm, freaks me out. Again, in the hospital all day, hard to match blood type (AB+), no diet orders = no food.

9) Getting marked with a sharpie. OK, if I mark myself with a sharpie to keep the doctor from lopping off a leg by mistake while I'm knocked out, that's one thing. But when the nurse puts big permanent marker Xs on my swollen feet where she found my pulses, that's dehumanizing.

8) Glaucoma test. I don't like having drops in my eyes at all, but certanly not some yellow crap that means I can't safely drive myself home from the eye doctor. But I *really* don't like having some hard plastic thing stuck up against my eyeball. I swear he's been doing this test on me since I was 16. Who gets glaucoma at 16? The last 2 times I said "no thanks, I'm the designated driver."

7) kidney (or other) biopsy. I've had 2 kidney biopsies. The first one, I told them I was a bleeder- I have a long bleeding time (takes me a long time to clot). There are lots of major vessels in the kidneys, so they cut me open so they could see what they were doing and make sure they didn't hit a major artery and have me bleed to death for a dumb test. They put me under (not everyone wakes back up from anesthesia so I was nervous, but my doctor mocked me for being nervous. this was just before she "fired" me for "challenging her authority." Please.), stuck a tube down my throat (didn't warn me about that either. I'm a singer. Not good.), cut me open and grabbed a piece of tissue. Instead of sewing me up they put some weird see-through adhesive gauze on the gaping hole in my right side and of course it got infected. I'm allergic to so many antibiotics that I decided to kill it by taking 50 garlic pills a day., This was during the hot humid summer, so all that garlic killed my social life as well. No vampires though. End result? Tissue sample too small to be conclusive and my drug regimen remained unchanged. 8 years later i got another biopsy. I was in the hospital all day waiting for coagulant, with no food (no diet order from teh Dr). They didn't have to cut me open, but again the sample was too small and my treatment was unchanged. When they asked me about doing a biopsy last year of my kidney I told them "You can biopsy me when I'm dead."

6) Prostate exam. Or as my hubby calls it, "Prostrate exam." (just for men. I've been spared this one). To those guys who have yet to experience it, it's a finger up the wazoo. OK guys, I'll admit this can't be pleasant. They could at least warm up their hands for you. Of course we women have been subjected to a similar humiliation since puberty, but let's not let that take away from your pain. Esp when you can't see the doctor's hands and you're just taking his word for it that that's a finger in there. Which is bad enough.

5) EMG. should be called OMG! Holy CRAP! who the *%^# came up with this test? Especially for someone with nerve damage. Hello?! I'm already in pain! Zapping me with electrodes in increasing amounts of voltage, you can't be surprised when my legs jerk around in reflex. "Stop jerking!" "Stop zapping and I'll stop jerking." I never got past the first area of testing, my left ankle. Apparently they do both ankles, both knees, hands, elbows, maybe some other parts. I stood it as long as I could, but I was in so much pain I didn't even get 20% through the test. Apparently, I missed the big finale where they stick a gigantic needle in your arm and zap the daylights out of you. I never even saw the neurologist. I told me rheumatologist how awful it was and she said "Oh I had one. it wasn't that bad." Do you have neuropathy? Then shut up!) Avoid this one if you can. My friends who did make it to the big needle at the end of the tunnel tell me their treatment was unchanged afterward. I can't see any benefit to the "OMG!," unless you are a dominatrix.

4) Mammogram, better known as slam-a-gland. I'm sure you can find a great description of this on the web somewhere. Or ask any woman over 40. I haven't had one yet. Some folks even think too many mammograms can increase your risk of cancer by exposing those tissues to radiation every time you get tested. If a man had to get his you-know-what slammed between 2 cold steel plates and then squished flat as a pancake, they would be storming capitol hill.

3) a bad phlebotomist. That means, they can't find a vein with a needle. I swear, some of them can't find a garden hose with a shovel. But those are not the phlebotomists- those are the doctors playing phlebotomist, who are rusty (not literally!) and out of practice. Never let a doctor stick you. Get the expert. If the doctor tries to stick you himself, say "Doctor, I think someone's beeping you. Send the Phlebotomist, please." Important rule: 2 sticks and you're out. If a nurse can't get a vein in 2 tries, she is supposed to call for someone else. It's an unspoken rule, but you as the patient can speak it. Only 2. it's not baseball.

2) drawing blood from my fingertip with a spring-loaded needle. OW! is there no other body part they can pull blood from? All my nerve endings are at my fingertips! Do they do this to POWs to get info out of them? I'd squeal in a second! "I'M A GUITAR PLAYER! STOP POKING HOLES IN MY FINGERTIPS! WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW???? I did it! I confess! go AWAY!"

1) Bone Marrow test. holy crap this was painful. OK I admit I had a crush on my hematologist, so I wore some cute flowery cotton victoria's secret undies to my bone marrow test. don't do this! They got blood all over them. They put a big hole on one side of your back, just above the hip, stick a gigantic needle into your bone and draw marrow from the inside of your leg and you can feel it all the way to your tip of our big toe. There is no painkiller that can stop the sensation. I used up every cuss word I'd ever heard, went through the Fred Flinstone cussing vocabulary, and then had to make some more up. I'm sure it wasn't cheap, either, but at the time I had Medicaid and it paid for everything. Which may be why I had this (for me, at the time) unnecessary test. Once again, nothing about my treatment changed. Except for me doing contortions trying to clean and change a wound near the middle of my back.

The following, however, are not so bad:
X rays (quick and painless, though probably not harmless)
MRIs (I just go to sleep, but I wonder about that dye they inject me with)
Bone density test (non-invasive, slept through it)
Dental exam. Just the exam mind you.
sonograms (they get slime all over your abdomen, but it doesn't hurt at all)

Beware of doctors who are "test-happy" and remember you have the right to say no, especially if you are informed.

After sitting around for several hours at my parents' house enjoying
my favorite Christmas present (besides being alive), a Van Halen
Pictorial history book, I began waxing philosophical (Van Halen does
that to me- well, VH with David Lee Roth. Sammy Hagar, not so
much)... I have been reflecting upon the gifts that 2007 brought me.
Which included seeing Van Halen on tour, with Diamond Dave, at
Madison Square Garden. I screamed for 2 hours and smiled for a week.
Also, getting married to my lovemuffin (www.joegmusic.com) and going
to Hawaii on honeymoon (and surfing!). Not necessarily in order of
gratitude, but definitely in increasing order of likelihood (as in
not-a-shot-in-H-E-doubletoothpicks, whodathunkit, and maybe
someday).

It's hard to believe that just over a year ago I had canceled our
wedding due to illness (last October, my 3rd episode of kidney
failure since 1993. I got sprung from the hospital on Halloween-
hospital robe- instant costume!). I'm feeling much better now, partly
because I scaled back my concerts for 2007 and have been more
conscious of preserving my Qi (energy/ life force). For example, I no
longer sleep in the van (partly because I traded it in), and I try to
fly more and drive fewer hours. I also gave up Diet Coke and began
getting acupuncture again (it's been a while). I've felt less
zombie-esque this past month than I have in probably 18 months. So,
who knows, I may even feel human in 08! I just hope it doesn't ruin
my comedy. ;)

Every year i do some holiday parties in December (and sometimes January for the companies who are too busy to have one in December). These company parties are illuminating. I almost feel like it's a sacred place that I, the interloper, somehow have the privilege of visiting. Sometimes it is joyous celebration of folks who truly love being around each other, and when that is the case, they usually have a charismatic, caring leader. Sometimes they are suffering as a group- maybe some folks have just been laid off and their absence is painfully obvious at the party this year.

This year, among other things i played for an Army hospital staff, and at some point we were all asked to remember fallen comrades, with a beautiful ritual where an empty table, with an upside down glass, an empty chair and a few other symbolic things were all given explanation. 7 or 8 toasts were given, the color guard presented the colors... it was all quite meaningful (except for the macarena and chicken dance contest where people competed for grab bag presents). Before i performed we were also asked to remember those who were on shift that night at the hospital, and had to miss the big party. They rotate so no one has to miss it every year.

Someone reminded me today of all the folks who have to work on Christmas- firemen, hotel workers,
policemen and ambulance driveres, and clerks in the few drug/ grocery stores that remain open.

You know who else that makes me think of is my Aunt (who has brain cancer), and all the other folks who are spending their holiday in a hospital bed- especially those alone. I thought I had been to the bottom, lying in the hospital bed wondering if I'd live or die, but it wasn't my birthday and it wasn't the holidays. I just can't imagine how that adds to the loneliness.

I think we all go through, at one time or another feeling "I should be happy but I'm not" at the holidays- my heart goes out to those patients, and their families, as well as our soldiers, who are not living in a time or situation where they can call a Christmas truce and play soccer together. May they find some comfort somehow.

One of the toughest parts for us gals with health problems is how disease and the drugs prescribed to us affect our looks. Last year in the hospital, I mentioned to the doctor how I hate the way the prednisone makes my skin and hair all dry and sickly. He started in on the typical lecture about saving my kidneys (heard it before) and I cut him off and said "I know I HAVE to take it. But I don't have to LIKE it!"

He was put off by my frankness and thought I was being obstinate (his words), but since I was trapped on the hall (they don't allow you to wander the hospital) and full of drugs that make me not just unattractive but extremely anxious, to the point of near psychosis, and they don't have any available counselors or psychologists in the hospital... well, how surprised can he really be that once in a while someone blurts out the truth about how they feel?

Alright, so prednisone. Can't live with it (or another human being if you're on 40 mg or more), can't live without it (if you have an autoimmune disease or an organ transplant). At least it's generic and therefore cheap. But short-term it has some horrible side effects: weight gain, mood swings, nasty skin, hair loss, moon face, hump back; and long term, some even worse ones: osteoporosis, cataracts, high blood pressure, diabetes. Swap in one disease, get 4 more, and look and feel like crap in the process. All for only $4 (generic) a month at WalMart! What a deal!

I've been on this stuff 3 times now, for about a year each time. I'm on it right now, so if you don't like this blog, don't tell me about it, because I can't be responsible for my reply. Hey- if someone can get acquitted on the twinkie defense or PMS, why not the prednisone defense? It's much more valid than twinkies. For one thing, I doubt the twinkies were forced on anyone as part of a "take this or die " prescription (more like a “do this often enough and you will die”warning). Think about that.

So anyway, I don't know which causes me to lose more hair- being ill or taking prednisone. All I know is I gotta frequently pull out a blob of hair the size of a small rodent from my shower drain cover. My hair looks frizzy and damaged (probably because it is), and as someone who had long luscious blond hair most of her life, this is hard on my self-image.

So here are a few things I've done to improve my hair situation during my stints of illness/ prednisone hair melee:

1) Leave-in hair conditioner. I get this pantene stuff you can just spray in your wet hair before putting a comb through it. It helps the comb run smoothly through my hair without getting snagged, which reduces a lot of damage. You can also buy Paul Mitchell "detangler" which you use in the shower. Works as well.

2) Air or towel-dry hair before blow-drying, to cut down on blow-dry damage.

3) Do not wash every day.

4) Deep-conditioning like hot-oil or 3-minute deep conditioners. they say do it only once a week but I do it twice a week because my hair is so damaged.

5) Cut off the dead ends. Dead, dry split ends do not make your hair look longer, just more dry and unhealthy.

6) Use control paste (a dab smaller than a dime) to make the ends less frizzy. Rub it between your palms, then work it into your hair, starting from the ends. If you get too much of it near the roots, it makes your hair look greasy and unwashed.

7) Use "shine" or other hair gloss. Again, a dab'll do ya, work it in from the ends. This gives your hair back the "shine" it loses when you're fulla drugs and not metabolizing nutrients normally.

8) Use curlers (NOT hot curlers, but the kind you just put in when you hair is damp and leave in 'til it's dry) for special occasions to make your hair look fuller.

9) Use natural products as much as you can. I use healthy shampoo and conditioner that I get at the health food store or through mail order that has no perfumes or other chemical crap, and instead has tea tree oil/ aloe/ other things that are good for your skin

10) I put a water purifier (this is even better than just a filter- a purifier removes more stuff than just chlorine and lead) for my shower. My hair is softer, and is not being exposed to chlorine and other chemicals. it took me 30 seconds to install.

11) Get a GOOD swim cap (like a speedo racing cap) if you swim in a chlorinated pool. Swimming is good for you. Chlorine is not. Anyone remember green hair from childhood summers in the pool?

12) Get a wig. if you're in a stage where you've lost so much hair that you can see your scalp, or you have curly hair growing in under your straight hair and it's making the hair stick straight up (been there, done that!), get yourself a wig. Unfortunately, as of now, "Locks of Love" (the free wigs of donated human hair) are only for cancer patients. But some health care plans may cover at least part of the cost of a wig if your doctor prescribes it as a "necessary cranial prosthesis" (I am not making this up). I was not in such a position (though I did have prescription compression panty hose). So I went shopping with my most princess-y adult friend and got myself a nice discount synthetic wig for $40. I still have it. I was nervous that everyone would know it was a wig. The first day I wore it out, the clerk in the store commented on my great haircut!

13) Then, of course, there are hats and hairpieces. One of my friends who has thin hair - not ill, just born with thin, lifeless hair- had an especially cute 'do one day. I complimented her on it and she told me it was a hairpiece she bought- at the dollar store! For a dollar!

14) Color it. Sometimes certain drugs keep your hair from absorbing the dye. And some folks will tell you shouldn't be exposing yourself to more chemicals while you're sick (what do you think all those drugs are?). Maybe they're right. But, looking in the mirror and hating my hair every day isn't good for me either. The way I feel emotionally affects the way I feel physically. And not wanting to leave the house because I feel so unattractive is also bad for my mental health. So for a $10 bottle of highlighter and an hour or so of my time, I go sit outside or in the garage so I don't stink up the house, and change the way I look. It makes me feel more in control of my looks, and I think it came out pretty good this time!

15) take flax seed/ flax seed oil. it makes your hair grow faster and gives it shine. And, it helps keep your regular! Wahoo!

One thing I regret is not having the brass to tell my family I did not want to have my picture taken the Christmas I was wearing a wig. we only get them done every 10 or so random years. Why did it have to be the year I was sick? Why immortalize that? I say this for my own ears/ eyes as much as for yours: it is your right to say "I'd rather not have my picture taken today. Can we do it on a day when I feel better so it will be a good memory?"

Many good hair days to you all. If you have ideas, please leave a comment!
Carla

It really shouldn't seem like some radical notion that being happy enhances the immune system.

I read a study a while back that said a negative stressor like getting yelled at can negatively affect your immunity for up to 12 hours, whereas a positive experience, such as getting together with friends for fun, can positively affect you immunity for up to 3 days.

In fact, in the DVD "The Secret," this same principle is touched upon: we have 60,000 thoughts a day (!). Thankfully, the positive ones have more power to affect your reality than the negative ones. Of course if there are no positive thoughts... that could be a problem.

The lesson? it's more important to have fun than it is to avoid stress.

My still newlywed husband and I (not quite 6 months yet) were invited to a big family gathering. We were extended family, as in Joe's sister-in-law's family. We've met a number of these folks before at birthday parties, etc.

So the Patriarch of the Day was Florio, who every year rents a big party bus, gives all his grandkids some money, and we go into New York City (from Yonkers) and go to Toys R Us. Then we go see the big tree at Rockefeller Center. some of us, including me, also stopped into St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is beautiful and has a life-size nativity scene in he sanctuary. I lit a candle ad said a prayer for my Aunt, who is struggling with cancer and related problems.

At the tree, which is also where the ice skating rink is, I was so fortunate to have ended up at that place during the very time that a Tuba Christmas was going on! Every year, for many years now, a bunch of tuba players gather under the Big Tree and play Christmas carols. Only tubas allowed! there were 450 tubas this year! I had heard of this because I played tuba in high school. I never thought I'd see it in first person!

We also saw the friendly neighborhood Spiderman on the sidewalk, 2 cops on horses, and Santa driving a stretch limo.

We all then had a huge Italian dinner at an authentic Italian place that feeds you for 2-3 hours straight. whew.

To top it off, we arranged for our neighbor to visit our little dog with her little dog for a little while and she kept them together for 5 hours! So even our dog had a great day.

We shold be immune to anything tomorrow, always a good thing on Monday!

from the Editors or E/ The Environmental Magazine:

"University of Michigan researchers reviewed numerous studies conducted between 1980 and 2006 and concluded that anti-bacterial soaps that contain triclosan as the main active ingredient are no better than plain soaps."

Not only that, they may pose health risks such as killing beneficial bacteria and reducing the effectiveness of some antibiotics. (this study was published in the Journal Clinical Infectious Diseases).

Apparently this active ingredient has also beben reported to have converted into dioxin when exposed to water and UV radiation. Dioxins have been linked to cancer, weakened immunity, decreased fertility, altered sex hormones and birth defects. Germs are starting to look less scary all the time, compared to chemicals.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also frowned upon for stripping the skin of beneficial bacteria and its outer layer of protective oil.

So, after all these studies, which probably cost sombody (us?) millions of dollars, what's the best advice?

"washing hands thoroughly for 20 seconds or more with plain soap and warm water is by far the most effective way to reduce harmful bacteria, and as such remains our best defense against getting sick."

I have some topics to suggest for their next study: "drinking water: is it good for us?" and "an apple a day- will it cause or prevent illness?" "common sense: a fad?" "Is an ounce of prevention really worth a pound of cure- an updated study using milligrams and kilograms."

(Sarcasm aside, it's sad we have to be educated away from all these products that we've been brainwashed into buying. Maybe we really did learn all we needed to know in kindergarten).

"The Institute for Healthcare Improvement research, corroborated by academic colleagues, suggests there are between 40 to 50 incidents of medical harm to patients for every 100 admissions. With roughly 37 million hospital admissions per year in the United States, this means that approximately 15 million incidents of medical harm per year in the US, according to IHI." -CBS news 2/6/07

"We're relying on data that hospitals submit, and that might be a reason to under-document" the actual number of errors and resultant in-hospital deaths, Collier told Medical Device Daily."

http://www.alternativehealth.co.nz/articles/hospital.htm

Tips on staying safe in the hospital:
http://www.consumersunion.org/campaigns//learn_more/001735indiv.html

http://apps.facebook.com/ilike/artist/Carla+Ulbrich

Me and Joe spoofing the Snickers commercial. No animals were harmed or fed chocalte in teh making of this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA9gW-sTPHk

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, and is one of those "things that don't go away by ignoring it." In fact, it never really goes away and stays away.

Why would I "out" these people?
1) they're already "out"
2) to point out that many of these folks have continued their demanding career in show biz, despite being diagnosed with a serious illness. I think it even made some of them funnier. Not Neil Cavuto, though.

Annette Funicello
Teri Garr
Clive Burr (Iron Maiden drummer)
Neil Cavuto (Fox news)
Lena Horne
Jonathan Katz (comedian)
Hal Ketchum
David Lander ("Sqiggy" from Laverne and Shirley)
Richard Pryor
Clay Walker (country singer)
Montel Williams

http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/

There are so many famous folks who have cancer, have had cancer, or have died of cancer.

I bet a number of them were very secretive about it, especially in the "old days" when cancer was generally not spoken about at all and referred to, if at all, as "the big 'C.""

But these days, celebrities seem to feel pretty comfortable talking about having cancer. Thank goodness they're providing some substance to the celeb mags, between the "which 2 divas wore the same dress?" column and the "Guess whose cellulite-ridden butt this is?" photos.

The point of my posting this list is this:
Notice the great variety of people on this list. If the Founder of the Peace Corps, Don Knotts, Mr. Wizard, and 2 serial killers get the same diagnosis, then I must conclude that cancer, and disease in general is not doled out on a "who deserves this most?" basis.

Ty Cobb - Baseball Player
Gary C. Comer - Founder of Lands End clothing company
Joseph Kauffman - Peace Corps Founder
June Pointer - Singer (Pointer Sisters)
Patsy Ramsey - Mother of JonBenet Ramsey
Rudolf Vrba - Auschwitz death camp escapee

Queen Hatshepsut - Ancient Egyptian Mummy (cancer is not a new invention!)
Don Herbert - TV Host ("Mr. Wizard")

Terry Jones - Actor ("Monty Python")

Lee Atwater - Chairman, Republican National Committee
George Gershwin - Composer
Bob Marley - Reggae Singer
Frank Edward "Tug" McGraw - Baseball Player
Bobby Murcer - New York Yankees' Announcer
Pat Paulsen - Comedian
Slim Pickens - Actor
Pete Rozelle - NFL Commissioner
Wilma Rudolph - Olympic Gold Medalist
Gene Siskel - Movie Critic
Deke Slayton - Astronaut
Robert Swanson - Founder of Genentech

Ingrid Bergman - Actress
Shirley Temple Black - Actress
Erma Bombeck - Journalist
Julia Child - Chef
Sheryl Crow - Singer-Songwriter
Bette Davis - Actress
Elizabeth Edwards - Wife of US Senator
Melissa Etheridge - Musician
Edie Falco - Actress
Peggy Fleming - Figure Skater
Betty Ford - First Lady
Kathryn Frost - Major General in US Army (Highest Ranking Woman in US Army)
Nanci Griffith (Breast Cancer, Thyroid Cancer) - Singer
Ruth Handler - Barbie Doll
Kate Jackson - Actress
Ann Jillian - Actress
Susan Komen (Her sister, Nancy Brinker, founded the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.)
Patti LaBelle - Singer
Juliette Gordon Low - Founder, Girl Scouts of the USA
Linda Eastman McCartney - Wife of Paul McCartney
Olivia Newton-John - Actress/Singer
Sandra Day O'Connor - Supreme Court Justice
Nancy Reagan - Former First Lady
Lynn Redgrave - Actress
Cokie Roberts - Journalist
Carly Simon - Singer
Jaclyn Smith - Actress
Suzanne Somers - Actress
Gloria Steinem - Founder, Ms. Magazine

Sharon Osbourne - Wife of Ozzie Osbourne
Ronald Reagan - US President
Charles Schultz - Peanuts
Tony Snow - White House Press Secretary
Darryl Strawberry - Baseball Player
Ann Richards - Texas Governor

Desi Arnez - Actor
Jack Benny (Lung Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer) - Comedian
Leonard Bernstein - Composer
Yul Brynner - Actor
Nat "King" Cole - Musician
Gary Cooper - Actor
Joe DiMaggio - Baseball Player
Walt Disney - Animator
Jimmy Dorsey - Musician
Morton Downey, Jr. - Comedian
Duke Ellington - Musician
Susan Hayward - Actress
Nancy Gore Hunger - Al Gore's Sister
Peter Jennings - ABC Anchor
Don Knotts - Actor
Roger Maris - Baseball Player
Dean Martin - Actor
Wayne McLaren - Marlboro Man
David McLean - Marlboro Man
Steve McQueen - Actor
Tammy Faye Messner - Televangelist
Robert Mitchum - Actor
Claude Monet - Painter
Edward R. Murrow - Journalist
Vincent Price - Actor
Lou Rawls - Soul Singer
Dana Reeve - Actress
Cal Ripkin, Sr. - Baseball Player
Ed Sullivan - Entertainer
Will Thornbury - Actor (Camel TV Ads)
Spencer Tracy - Actor
John Wayne - Actor
Carl Wilson - Musician
Warren Zevon (Mesothelioma) - Musician

Paul Allen - Cofounder of Microsoft
Gene Autry - Singer/Actor
Ed Bradley - CBS News Anchor (60 Minutes)
Robin Bush (Leukemia, age 3) - Daughter of President George H.W. Bush
King Hussein - Jordanian King
Arte Johnson - Actor
Charles A. Lindbergh - Aviator
Mickey Mantle, Jr. - Baseball Player
Roger Maris - Baseball Player
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Nobel Laureate
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - First Lady
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi - Shah of Iran
Joey Ramone - Musician/Singer
Fred Thompson - US Senator
Paul Tsongas - US Senator
Mr. T (Laurence Tureaud) - Actor
Gene Wilder - Comedian

Coretta Scott King - widow of Martin Luther King Jr.

Count Basie - Jazz Musician
Jack Benny - Comedian
Former president Jimmy Carter lost four family members to pancreatic cancer.
Joan Crawford - Actress
Dizzy Gillespie - Jazz Musician
Steve Jobs (Islet Cell Neuroendocrine Tumor) - Apple Corp. CEO
Michael Landon - Actor
Henry Mancini - Musician
Margaret Mead - Anthropologist
Luciano Pavarotti - Singer
Mel Sachs - Attorney to the Stars

Harry Belafonte - Musician/Actor
James Brown - Singer, Godfather of Soul
Bob Dole - US Senator
Louis Farrakhan - Leader of Nation of Islam
Rudolph Giuliani - Former NYC Mayor
Andy Grove - Intel Corp.
Bob Hayes - Olympic Gold Medalist
Charlton Heston - Actor
John Kerry - US Senator
Timothy Leary - LSD
Nelson Mandela - Former President of South Africa
Roger Moore - Actor
Rupert Murdoch - Media Magnate
Jerry Orbach - Actor
Arnold Palmer - Golfer
Floyd Patterson - Heavyweight Champion of the World
Linus Pauling - Nobel Laureate
Colin Powel - US Secretary of State
Norman Schwarzkopf - Retired General
Joe Torre - NY Yankees
Frank Zappa - Musician

Wayne Boden - Serial Killer (Vampire Rapist)
Fitz Dixon Jr. - Owner of Philadelphia 76ers
Stuart Entwistle - Surfer
John McCain - US Senator
Elizabeth Taylor - Actress
Napolean Bonaparte - French Emperor

Lance Armstrong - Tour de France Winner
Richard Belzer - Actor/Comedian
Tom Green - Comedian
Scott Hamilton - Figure Skater
Dean Martin - Actor

Humphrey Bogart - Actor
Sean Connery - Actor
Sammey Davis, Jr. - Entertainer
Ulysses S. Grant - US President
George Harrison - Musician
Babe Ruth - Baseball Player
Lana Turner - Actress
Mary Wells - Singer

Isaac Asimov - Author
Rudy Bladel - Serial Killer (1978 Railroad Murders)
Gail Devers - Athlete
Roger Ebert - Movie Critic
Nanci Griffith - Singer
Joe Piscopo - Actor/Comedian
William Rehnquist - Supreme Court Justice
Rod Stewart - Musician

Fran Drescher - Actress
Archbishop Christodoulos - Leader of Greek Orthodox Church
Farrah Fawcett - Actress
Sigmund Freud - Psychologist
Francis George - Roman Catholic Cardinal
Bobby Hamilton - NASCAR driver
Aaron Spelling - TV Producer

source:
http://www.kantrowitz.com/cancerpoints/celebrities.html

Wow We got to be grownups this year! We had trick or treaters!
Our dog Easy was dressed as Spiderdog. There were 3 other dogs out in costume on our street- one in a harley shirt and harley hat; one in a giants t shirt, and one in a pumkin costume (whose owner, oddly enough also has a rabbit named pumpkin).

I gave out Snickers. Not healthy, but it is the #1 selling candy bar in the world. I even wrote a song about it. I'll post it on the web sometime this week.

I'm putting pix of spiderdog (I jsut couldnt' bring myself to put a pink snout on her and make her spiderpig. she would have hated it) in the photo section of this site.

Boo!

I had a beautiful time playing for the Bedside Harp Salon (meeting)- these folks go to patients' bedisdes and play for them. They are an amazing bunch of folks. I am in awe of caregivers who put themselves out on a limb all day long, every day, usually for not the biggest paycheck. God's hands and feet. I played my ridiculous songs about waiting room and IV needles and a disappearing butt for God's hands and feet. I believe God has a sense of humor. (I think I frequently test that sense of humor...)

The Avalon Nudist festival was really fun. Such nice people. I once again left my clothes on (except my shoes, but I'm always taking my shoes off- I'm a lifelong nudist from the ankles down). My beau won the rising star song contest (interesting name...) there that weekend as well! it really is beautiful in PawPaw, WV.