Endometriosis Is Real, Painful & We Need A Cure Now!

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month!

Endometriosis is a disease occurring very frequently in women of reproductive age, its prevalence being higher than breast cancer. It is also the most misdiagnosed disease.

Endometriosis is the abnormal growth of cells (endometrial cells) similar to those that form the inside of the uterus, but in a location outside of the uterus. Endometrial cells are cells that are shed each month during menstruation. The cells of endometriosis attach themselves to tissue outside the uterus and are called endometriosis implants. These implants are most commonly found on the ovaries, the Fallopian tubes, outer surfaces of the uterus or intestines, and on the surface lining of the pelvic cavity. 

They can also be found in the vagina, cervix, and bladder, although less commonly than other locations in the pelvis. Rarely, endometriosis implants can occur outside the pelvis, on the liver, in old surgery scars, and even in or around the lung or brain. Endometrial implants, while they can cause problems, are benign (not cancerous).

Who is affected by endometriosis?
Endometriosis affects women in their reproductive years. The exact prevalence of endometriosis is not known, since many women may have the condition and have no symptoms. Endometriosis is estimated to affect over one million women (estimates range from 3% to 18% of women) in the United States. It is one of the leading causes of pelvic pain and reasons for laparoscopic surgery and hysterectomy in this country. Estimates suggest that between 20% to 50% of women being treated for infertility have endometriosis, and up to 80% of women with chronic pelvic pain may be affected.

While most cases of endometriosis are diagnosed in women aged around 25-35 years, endometriosis has been reported in girls as young as 11 years of age. Endometriosis is rare in postmenopausal women. Endometriosis is more commonly found in white women as compared with African American and Asian women. Studies further suggest that endometriosis is most common in taller, thin women with a low body mass index (BMI). Delaying pregnancy until an older age is also believed to increase the risk of developing endometriosis.

What causes endometriosis?
The cause of endometriosis is unknown. One theory is that the endometrial tissue is deposited in unusual locations by the backing up of menstrual flow into the Fallopian tubes and the pelvic and abdominal cavity during menstruation (termed retrograde menstruation). The cause of retrograde menstruation is not clearly understood. But retrograde menstruation cannot be the sole cause of endometriosis. Many women have retrograde menstruation in varying degrees, yet not all of them develop endometriosis.

Another possibility is that areas lining the pelvic organs possess primitive cells that are able to grow into other forms of tissue, such as endometrial cells. (This process is termed coelomic metaplasia.)

It is also likely that direct transfer of endometrial tissues during surgery may be responsible for the endometriosis implants sometimes seen in surgical scars (for example, episiotomy or Cesarean section scars). Transfer of endometrial cells via the bloodstream or lymphatic system is the most likely explanation for the rare cases of endometriosis that develop in the brain and other organs distant from the pelvis.

Finally, some studies have shown alternations in the immune response in women with endometriosis, which may affect the body’s natural ability to recognize and destroy any misdirected growth of endometrial tissue.

http://blogs.mcgill.ca/gradlife/2012/03/01/endometriosis-awareness/

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Children’s Author, Dr. Seuss Turns 108!

Today marks the 108th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel more famously known as Dr. Seuss.

A wonderful children’s author, Dr. Seuss may have written in a type of English that didn’t always make perfect sense, but his universal appeal is unmistakeable. His 46 children’s books have been loved by pretty much any child and adult who picked one up. Today the good doctor would have turned 108. He passed away in 1991 after a battle with throat cancer and years of poor health.

His books are packed with imaginative characters and playful rhymes, some of his most celebrated titles include best-sellers like Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Dr. Seuss had a way with words that is for sure but his words had a way of changing his reader's lives and inspiring, encouraging and helping fans of all ages to feel good about themselves as they grew up reading his wonderful quotes. Here is a collage of 30 Dr. Seuss quotes that can change your life and a list of seven interesting facts about Dr. Seuss you probably did not know, enjoy!

7. Born Theodor Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 2, 1904, where the future bestseller’s German immigrant father worked in a brewery until it was closed during the Prohibition. As an adult, Dr. Seuss made his childhood neighborhood a household name in his first children's book, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street.

6. The literary legend’s pen name was born from an illicit drinking session! Geisel studied at the prestigious Dartmouth College and first tried his hand at journalism in the humor magazine Dartmouth Jack-O Lantern, where he rose to the ranks of Editor-In-Chief, until he got busted for drinking gin with some classmates in his room and was banned from all extracurricular activities. Determined not to give up his creative comical outlet, Ted began writing under the pen name, Seuss, which was both his middle name and his mother’s maiden name. Trying to fulfill his dad’s dream of him being a college professor, Ted traveled to England to study at Oxford University but quickly grew bored of the pomp and circumstance and opted instead to travel around Europe with pretty fellow student Helen Palmer, who went on to become his first wife. The couple was married in 1927 and Ted returned to the U.S., with a new bride but without a degree from Oxford.

5. After publishing humorous articles for magazines such as Vanity Fair and Life, Geisel’s first career of creating advertising campaigns for Standard Oil, NBC and General Electric lasted 15 years until the onset of World War II shifted his focus to bigger issues and he began contributing weekly political cartoons to liberal publication PM magazine. He then joined the Army in 1943 as a Captain and Commander of the Cartoon Department of the First Motion Picture Unit, where he fell in love with the art of animation, developing a series of training films featuring a character called Private Snafu.

4. A collection of children's sayings called Boners led to his big break in children’s literature with the eventual publication of And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, after it was rejected a whopping 27 times by Vanguard Press. Geisel and Helen moved to La Jolla, California, and he penned If I Ran the Zoo, Horton Hears a Who! and If I Ran the Circus. Next came the title that would mould the dreams of generations of children to come, when Houghton Mifflin asked Seuss to write and illustrate a book with just 225 "new-reader" vocabulary words and challenged him to "bring back a book children can't put down,” and The Cat In The Hat was born in 1957 to phenomenal success and rave reviews. It was closely followed by How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Green Eggs and Ham, and his latest to make it to the big screen,The Lorax in 1971.

3. Dr. Seuss’ signature style is based on anapestic tetrameter, a poetic meter used by many poets. It consists of four rhythmic units each composed of two weak beats followed by one strong beat, and often the first weak syllable is omitted, or an additional weak syllable is added at the end. A classic example is found in the story, Yertle The Turtle. "And today the Great Yertle, that Marvelous he “Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see.” When it comes to his fabulous illustrations, Dr Seuss’ characters such as the Grinch and the Cat are known for their familiar round and droopy shapes, as are his buildings which melt and bend around free-standing staircases, ramps and platforms.

2. Geisel’s life story wasn’t all about brightly drawn pictures and rhyming verses, it was also marred by tragedy and scandal. After fighting a long battle with cancer and the emotional trauma of her husband’s affair with Audrey Stone Dimond, his wife Helen committed suicide in October 1967, her ‘mourning husband’ married his former mistress six months later. Despite two marriages and a bibliography full of children’s classics, Dr. Seuss never had children of his own, instead living by the motto, "You have 'em; I'll entertain 'em." After several years of bad health, Seuss died of throat cancer on September 24, 1991 at age 81. He was cremated in La Jolla and Dr. Seuss Enterprises was left in the careful hands of ‘Mrs. Seuss,’ Audrey, including the rights to 44 books that had been translated into 15 different languages and sold more than 200 million copies. During his career, he was honored with two Academy Awards, two Emmys, a Peabody and the Pulitzer Prize.

1. Dr. Seuss’ legacy continues to live on in countless modern-day versions of his work, from eleven TV speicals, the Broadway musicals Seussical and The Grinch, to Hollywood blockbusters, The Cat in the Hat with Mike Myers, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey, and CGI animated works Horton Hears A Who, and opening Friday, The Lorax. Fans who want to jump into Dr. Seuss’ fantasy world feet-first can visit Seuss Landing at the Island Of Adventures theme park in Orlando, Florida.

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/03/dr-seuss-lorax-green-eggs-and-ham-birthday

Lillia Rose Whittle Needs Our Support & Prayers!

At the age of 22 months Lillia was diagnosed with cancer!

Lillia has Retinoblastoma (RB), a fast growing eye cancer of early childhood. This cancer develops in the cells of the retina, the light sensitive lining of the eye. In the UK about 98% of children survive retinoblastoma; this is true for both unilateral and bilateral disease. Nearly all of those with unilateral disease survive without further tumour.

Natalie and Craig Whittle, Lillia's parents are on a mission to raise awareness of this rare childhood cancer that is diagnosed in only 40 to 50 children in the UK each year. If this aggressive eye cancer is caught early enough the child's life can be saved.

Lillia was diagnosed with unilateral (one eye) Retinoblastoma in her left eye at the age of 22 months. It was picked up by the squint and white reflex in her eye. If caught at a late stage a child may face loosing their eye.

Lillian's, her parents as well as myself want to tell her story to the world and raise awareness in the hopes of helping other children with symptoms to be tested in order to catch the cancer in it's earliest stage to save children from losing an eye or their lives. You can join our mission to raise awareness by clicking on the links listed below to show your support for Lillia and children around the world affected by childhood cancer.

A note from Lillia on her website at: http://lilliaretinoblastoma.co.uk/about-me

My name is Lillia Rose Whittle, I was born on 13th January 2010 at Kettering General Hospital. I weighed 3.135 kg (6lb 14oz). My life was relatively normal until 26th October 2011 when my life was about to change. 

A note from Lillia's parents from her website at: http://lilliaretinoblastoma.co.uk

This website is all about Lillia, who was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer called Retinoblastoma when she was only 22 months old. Retinoblastoma is an aggressive cancer or the eye. She is currently having Chemotherapy to preserve her eye and save her life.

The website is in its infancy and we will try to make it bigger and better as Lillia's treatment progresses.

To give me an idea of who's been visiting here, you can write in the guestbook.

We have been working hard to raise awareness of Retinoblastoma and have taken part in TV, Radio and Newspaper interviews. To see more click here

Please help us raise more awareness of Retinoblastoma and 'Like' our Facebook page. Click Here

Source: http://lilliaretinoblastoma.co.uk

March Is Endometriosis Awareness Month!

Check your calendar, March is almost here!
* * S P R E A D   T H E   W O R D ! * *
M A R C H   I S   E N D O M E T R I O S I S   A W A R E N E S S   M O N T H ! !

As we come to the end of February it is time to start gearing up for March. March is Endometriosis awareness month and I will be blogging all month long to help raise awareness to this complicated and very real disease. If you don't have Endometriosis or do not know anyone who does you probably haven't even heard about it and that is why March is awareness month. We need to be made aware of this very painful and debilitating disease and find a cure. Those affected by Endometriosis have had their quality of life reduced by no fault of their own and for know known cause. This is a very complicated and confusing disease that attacks millions of women across the U.S. and everyone needs to be educated on it so that the sufferers can be supported and a cure can be found.

I recently had the opportunity to join some very supportive and wonderful Endometriosis Awareness Groups on Facebook. All of the women who belong to these groups know exactly what Facebook support groups are for. I see more support and caring in the postings and comments in these groups than anywhere else on Facebook, it is nice to belong to groups that show their purpose and support of their common cause - TO RAISE AWARENESS OF ENDOMETRIOSIS AND TO FIND A CURE NOW!

I would recommend the following groups to anyone who is in need of support, help, advise and friends who understand and know the pain of Endometriosis.

Endo. Survivors Group:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/Endo.SurvivorsGroup/

Endobook:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/EndoBook/

Powerful Sisters Fighting Against Endometriosis:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/308612272530884/

What is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a painful, chronic disease that affects at least 6.3 million women and girls in the U.S., 1 million in Canada, and millions more worldwide. It occurs when tissue like that which lines the uterus (tissue called the endometrium) is found outside the uterus – usually in the abdomen on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and ligaments that support the uterus, the area between the vagina and rectum, the outer surface of the uterus, and the lining of the pelvic cavity. Other sites for these endometrial growths may include the bladder, bowel, vagina, cervix, vulva, and in abdominal surgical scars. Less commonly they are found in the lung, arm, thigh, and other locations.

This misplaced tissue develops into growths or lesions which respond to the menstrual cycle in the same way that the tissue of the uterine lining does. Each month the tissue builds up, breaks down, and sheds. Menstrual blood flows from the uterus and out through the vagina, the blood and tissue shed from endometrial growths has no way of leaving the body. This results in internal bleeding, breakdown of the blood , tissue from the lesions and inflammation. Causing pain, infertility, scar tissue, adhesions.

Common Symptoms of Endometriosis

• Pain before and during periods
• Pain with sex
• Infertility
• Fatigue
• Painful urination during periods
• Painful bowel movements during periods
• Other Gastrointestinal upsets such as diarrhea, constipation, nausea, and IBS.
• Allergies or Chemical sensitivities
• Frequent yeast infections

Endometriosis symptoms are not limited to these, nor are they inclusive.

Diagnostic Criteria, Cause & Treatment
Diagnosis is considered uncertain until proven visually by laparoscopy, a typically minor surgical procedure done under anesthesia. A laparoscopy usually shows the location, size, and extent of the growths. This helps the doctor and patient make better treatment choices.

While there are many theories as to what creates the hostile environment in the female human body, there is no certain known cause.

Treatment options vary depending on the physician, the location, size, and extent of the disease, as well as cost. Typical treatments can include the following: surgical laparoscopy (either laparoscope/laparotomy) for the removal of lesions, scar tissue and burns via laser or blade, surgical removal of excessively impaired organs, including portions of the bowel, or a partial or complete hysterectomy, which can be accompanied with medications including either Depo-Lupon, Depo-Provera, oral contraceptives, or other hormonal delivery systems. Personally, I have found that anti-inflammatories and osteopathy techniques have assisted in keeping my endometriosis at bay for the last several years since my last surgery in February 2004.

Awareness – Yellow Ribbons & Brochures
Spread the word! Please wear a yellow ribbon to help spread awareness of this devastating disease! Leave informational brochures about this debilitating condition where women can find it – Hospitals, Pharmacies, Doctor’s offices, Planned Parenthood, Women’s Centres, Welcome Centres, and libraries. Note: always get permission from the local first!

The Endometriosis Association is willing to provide both ribbons & brochures for free upon request. Call the Association at 414-355-2200 or email them at support@EndometriosisAssn.org to order yellow ribbons and our “yellow” brochures on endometriosis. Be sure to include your name and address, which language, and the quantity.

The cost is free, the EA is a charity organization and donations are always welcome to cover the cost of postage.

Source:  http://www.kelliaellis.com/2011/03/28/endo-awareness/