Those of you who know me–or have gotten to know me through my blog or comics–know that I have a handful of health issues. I’m one of the healthiest “sick” folks you’ll ever meet. I see specialists regularly and we monitor all sorts of levels to make sure the 2 rare disorders and the handful of other annoyances are all at acceptable levels. Honestly, it’s more of a pain in the ass than anything else.

But I’m lucky. My problems fall under the manageable heading, either through medication or lifestyle changes. I had to give up a few fun things because I just didn’t have the stamina, but nothing I’ve got is going to kill me any time soon.

Others aren’t quite so lucky. Some of them have cancer.

Cancer is a menace. Some folks can hardly stand to say the word, fearful of jinxing themselves with the diagnosis if they play fast and loose with its name.

Cancer runs rampant through the body, no respecter of the individual it invades.

Cancer leaves families with empty places at the table and broken-hearted.

In short? Cancer Sucks!

And what really sucks is the feeling of helplessness at the very mention of the word. The wonder of who’s next and what can we do to prevent it? Can we prevent it? Can we fight it?

You know what? We CAN!

Granted, we’re not all scientists or researchers, we can’t all be in the lab making the discoveries, but we can always do something. I don’t like feeling frustrated, do you?

How I’m Helping

The annual American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk is Sunday, October 24, 2010, and once again I’ll be joining up with some very brave ladies to do what we can.

Twins Sarah and Elizabeth, knowing that every woman on their mother’s side of the family had been diagnosed with breast cancer, made a tough (but proactive!) decision to have bilateral prophylactic mastectomies in their 30s to avoid such a diagnosis for themselves. Last year I walked with them as part of the tWINs team and this year we’re FORCE Tallahassee. (FORCE stands for Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered and exists to help those facing a risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers.) Our team goal is to raise $2500 between now and October.

I’ve set my own goal to raise $250 for our team.

This is Where You Come In

It’s nice to get fun things in the mail, isn’t it? Something other than a bill or bits of junk mail? And, while I still believe in the power of the thank you card, I like to go a little farther than that when the stakes are as high as this.

While brainstorming just what I could do for my wonderful friends and readers who are able to contribute to the cause I remembered a story from one of my chef-instructors…

Apparently chocolate-dipped strawberries just weren’t special enough for a particular client. To appease Miss Picky they dipped hundreds of fresh raspberries into dark chocolate–just the barest tip–and called them Aphrodite’s Nipples.

Raspberries don’t ship well, my friends, and making those little jewels takes absolutely hours for any serious payoff. Instead, I did what any self-respecting mixologist would: I created a cocktail version!

As a thank-you for donations made through my Making Strides page of $10 or more, I’m sending out embellished prints of the Aphrodite’s Nipple cocktail art–just send me your mailing address after you make your donation and out it will go.

Or, if you’ve been thinking about ordering your own Character Cocktail, do so before October 15, 2010, and 22% of the $47 purchase price will be donated to the cause plus you’ll get a copy of the the thank-you print when your cocktail art ships.

Two Ways to Help

Just click the button that works best for you!

Just Want to Make a Donation?	Have Your Cocktail and Donate, too!
The image is 8×10, the art is hand-drawn but digitally colored and printed. The picture, above, shows approximately where the ribbon and badge will be applied (the ribbon will be real, not printed, the circular badge embellished and affixed with adhesive–expect a little bit of depth but not so much that it won’t fit into a standard frame). Each will be signed, dated and numbered by the artist.	A cocktail recipe based on your personality! With art! Once your payment has been processed you’ll receive a brief questionnaire so that the mixologist (that’d be Scraps) can get an idea of who you are and how to mix your drink. Once fully tested, the artist (that’d also be Scraps) puts the recipe and a cartoon of you onto an 9×12 sheet of high-quality bristol art paper [image size is 8x10 to fit in most commercial frames or mats (mat and frame not included)]. Non-alcoholic recipes are also available. The whole process takes 2-3 weeks, on average. Cost is $47, shipping included. Image shows a previous cocktail–yours will be different because it’s specific to you!
Make a donation through my Making Strides page.	Order Your Character Cocktail via PayPal

Maybe breast cancer doesn’t run in your family. Maybe–like me–you’ve never had a loved one go through chemo or die of this disease and can’t really fathom it. But the more we know about any cancer is one more step towards curing and eradicating the whole mess of them.

Thank you for your support. I raise my glass to you!