Philadelphia Salon Hosting Fundraiser For Indonesian Child With Rare Cancer

By Chelsea Karnash of CBS Philly 
[Source Link: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/01/29/philadelphia-salon-hosting-fundraiser-for-indonesian-child-with-rare-cancer/]

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A little boy is fighting for his life, and one local salon is trying to help.
Pieter, a two-year-old from Indonesia, is battling a rare form of eye cancer called bilateral sporadic retinoblastoma. The cancer already caused him to lose his left eye shortly after birth; now, the disease has reappeared in his right eye.

Luckily for Pieter, his parents were able to bring him to the United States to undergo treatment at Philadelphia’s Wills Eye Institute. Unfortunately, they had to sell their home in Indonesia and use most of their savings to pay for that treatment – over $50,000, with almost $25,000 more still needed to finish Pieter’s treatment.

That’s where Laurentius Purnama, owner of Philadelphia’s well-known Laurentius Salon and a native of Indonesia himself, comes in.

Purnama, who met Pieter and his family at the Church St. Thomas Aquinas in South Philadelphia where his son, Jude, goes to Sunday School, was touched by the family’s story and decided he wanted to host an event to help fund the boy’s treatment.

On Sunday, February 9th, Laurentius Salon will be donating the entire day’s proceeds to Pieter’s family so that they can continue his treatment here in Philadelphia. Customers can make an appointment for any service – cut, color, blowouts, manicures and pedicures – and the cost will go towards Pieter’s battle with cancer.

Additionally, Laurentius will host a silent auction for several mint condition designer handbags, including a Louis Vuitton Mary Kate bag and an Yves Saint Laurent Mombasa bag, as well as other great prizes.

For those unable to attend the one-day fundraiser, Laurentius has also set up a kickstarter fund for Pieter and his family.

“No donation is too small, and each and every donation adds one more ray of hope for Pieter,” the page says.

So far, online donors have contributed nearly $13,000, but more is still necessary to ensure Pieter is able to continue receiving treatment.

“If it’s determined on February 5th that Pieter needs additional treatment, or if another retinoblastoma appears,” Purnama writes, “Pieter’s family has no more options.”

To donate to Pieter’s cause online, visit: www.gofundme.com/6c11os. Or, to make an appointment for the Feb. 9th fundraiser at Laurentius Salon, visit: http://laurentiussalon.com/contact-us.

Retinoblastoma: New Type Discovered in Babies

Sent from my Samsung smartphone on AT&T

Cancer researchers discover new type of retinoblastoma in babies ... Not all forms of retinoblastoma, a pediatric cancer of the eye, may be inherited, a discovery that would spare children years of medical evaluations and offer the ... communications.medicine.iu.edu/.../cancer-researchers-discov...

Get involved! Join the Project Pink program by PUMA.

Having problems seeing this email? Click here Glogster is always in support of great causes that can change people's lives. Now we ask you: Who do you wear pink for? Get involved! Join PUMA's Project Pink to raise breast cancer awareness. Visit the "Project Pink Glog" to show that you have the back of every person who has been affected by breast cancer: Project Pink is my project! Through the influence of soccer as well as the courage and support of young women around the country, Project Pink works to raise breast cancer awareness by inviting everyone to contribute to the cause. Not only do 100% of the profits* from Project Pink gear get donated toward breast cancer charities, but PUMA will also donate $1 every time a fan tweets the hashtag #projectpink. Visit the "Project Pink Glog" to support the campaign! **PUMA will donate 100% of the profits up to $120,000. If you wish to unsubscribe from this G-letter service please click here View in HTML

Who do you wear pink for

Visual Impairments Specialist Scotlandville Magnet High School of Excellence http://lee.ebrschools.org/kathynicholslee
http://www.kathyskids.org
http://teacherweb.com/LA/RobertELeeHigh/MrsMichael/t.aspx
http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com

A Small Request

One I certainly don't mind recirculating. I've a personal interest. Thanks, E.C. http://www.kathyskids.org Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/ --- On Mon, 7/12/10, E. C. Sibille wrote: From: E. C. Sibille Subject: Fw: A Small Request To: Undisclosed-Recipient@yahoo.com Date: Monday, July 12, 2010, 9:11 AM   Cancer   is a strange cell . You can go along for years in remission and then one day it pops its head up again. If you ever have it you will never be free of it. Pray for the day there will be a permanent cure.   A SMALL REQUEST...     93% won't forward, but I'm Sure You Will.   A small request....Just one line     Dear God, I pray that You will guide someone to find a cure for cancer. In Jesus Name,   Amen     All you are asked to do is keep this circulating. Even if it's only to one more person. In memory of anyone you know who has been struck down by cancer or is still living with it. A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle.   Please Keep This Candle Going

Interferons and Interleukin 6 Suppresses Phosphorylation of the Retinoblastoma protein

Interferons and interleukin 6 suppress phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein in growth-sensitive hematopoietic cells.

Women in Cancer Treatment - Cleaning for a Reason]

If you know anyone – please pass this on to them. This is a great idea and very helpful for those that need it. If you know any woman currently undergoing Chemo, please pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides FREE housecleaning - 1 time per month for 4 months while she is in treatment. All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a note confirming the treatment. Cleaning for a Reason will have a participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service. http://www.cleaningforareason.org/ Please pass this information on to bless a woman going through Breast Cancer treatment. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women. It’s our job to pass the word and let them know that there are people out there that care. Be a blessing to someone and pass this information along.

Diego Martinez Named 2009 Li'l Wrangler

A friend, mskathy, has sent you an e-mail link to a story on the Tyler Paper's Web site.

Your friend says, retinoblastoma

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20090524/FEATURES01/905210335

Lucky Dog.... why everyone needs 0ne

One of my e-buds from Ireland sent this to me.

---

Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like it even if you don't and you may even decide you need one!

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.'

Lucky was a real character.

Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy.

Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.

Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite toys Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer.

Something told her she was going to die of this disease....in fact; she was just sure it was fatal.

She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders.

The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky.

A thought struck her...what would happen to Lucky?

Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through.

If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought.

He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him!

The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.

Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital.

When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom.

Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap.

Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called.

It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong.

She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot.

But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem.

She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned!

While she had slept,.........

the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life

He had covered her with his love.

Mary forgot about dying.

Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day.

It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free.

Lucky .....

He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Remember....live every day to the fullest.

Each minute is a blessing from God.

And never forget....

The people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most Credentials,

The most money, or the most awards.

They are the ones that care for us.

If you see someone without a smile today give them one of yours!

Live simply.

Love seriously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God

_________________________________________

All you are asked to do is keep this circulating.

and say this simple prayer

Dear God, I pray for the cure of cancer.
Amen

All you are asked to do is keep this circulating,

Even if it is only to one more person,

In memory of anyone you know that has been struck down by cancer or is still fighting their battle.

Brother Neville

This is my Brother Neville. This picture was taken by another brother, Jim Lambert, as they made their way home to Lafayette from a Kairos meeting in Baton Rouge.



Brother Neville is very active in Kairos Prison Ministry and he is an inspiration. You can see that he has a sense of humor, but what you cannot see is that when Brother Neville was in college, he was in a horrible car crash which put him in a coma for a time and left him with traumatic brain injury, or TBI. Sometimes he is on a walker or a cane and sometimes on long stretches he is in a wheelchair. When the guys go into the prison they have to walk a distance so they make sure they take a wheelchair for him.

Because of the TBI, sometimes Brother Neville may not remember that he's already asked a question of you. Sometimes he can't remember if he telephoned or a word he was thinking of or how he was going to end the sentence he started.

What he doesn't remember is not as important as what he does remember. He knows God loves him so much that he saved him on more than one level. He knows what a blessing the Kairos Ministry is for the prison residents and for those of us who serve. He knows we love him and he loves us very much. He has claimed my husband and myself and we claim him.

When I asked for prayer after discovering I had lymphoma, Brother Neville went into action. He let his church family know to be in prayer and he contacted a sister who had been through the same thing and had her contact me. He would call every other week from Lafayette to keep up with my treatments and he'd keep me in the forefront of the minds and prayers of others. I truly appreciated that.

Now when you are ready to complain when someone asks how your life is going, remember my brother, whose favorite saying is: "It's all good!" Then he points up.
I

Ben Underwood

I'd found a video about Ben and was trying to relocate it to post here when I found out that Ben Underwood passed away in January. Here is the link to the web site his mom started about him.I will continue to look for the video as kids who are blind due to retinoblastoma are often amazing in their use of echolocation. One of my former students could skateboard and ride a bike as he snapped his fingers while another used to play hide and seek with me while stretching out her hands and listening for me breathing and sniffing the air for my location. She now teaches braille to the deaf-blind and is raising her own little girl.

Ben had retinoblastoma which is a cancer that attacks the eyes of babies and toddlers. His eyes were removed when he was three-years old. I first saw a news story on him about three years ago. Last year I read where the cancer had returned but I was not aware that he'd passed this past January. Click HERE to go to the web site Ben's mom has started about him. Meanwhile, I will be on the lookout for that amazing video.

Oh, yes! There's a place to send condolences and donations to Ben's family. I will certainly be sending up my prayers for them. I am comforted that Mrs. Underwood and her son were saved and that she sheds no tears in knowing where he is.