What a beautiful day here in Barcelona.  It is 9:49 am here 4 AM at home.  It is sunny and 65 degrees.  Our flight was wonderful and we are on a city tour now of Barcelona.  We saw already the Olympic stadium.  You remember that Barcelona hosted the Olympics prior to Atlanta in 1992.

We saw our ship as the plane approached and will be boarding soon.

Wanted to share a few pictures and let all of you know we are here safe and sound.  WOW it is So beautiful!

  Every year you hear me go on and on about how great our Fair is.  I am not sure if it is the cotton candy, the lights, the rides or a combination of all the sights and sounds… but I am ADDICTED!  I truly get as excited as Edie Grace does.

Probably the main reason would date back to my childhood.  Each year, my Grandmother Edith (Edie Grace’s namesake) and her husband, my granddaddy Harold, would take me to the fair.  My granddaddy passed away the first week of my Senior year in High School which is sadly over half my life ago now.  He ALWAYS shared my excitement about the fair.  Something about being the first-born grandchild and still the only girl, may have played a little role in that.  Going to the fair transcends me back to those outings…holding their hands loving every minute of the experience.  I still wear a hand-carved "dog" necklace on a leather rope from time - to - time that my granddaddy bought me there one year.  Just holding it in my hand…oh the memories!  People always warned me that you get a little nostalgic when you get my age…guess they were right!

Anyway…be sure to visit our booth (the pics are a sneak peek…boy I need to clean the lens of the BLOG camera!!!) when you go to the fair this week.  And if you happen to see me with cotton candy in one hand and a corn dog in the other…just smile and remember some happy childhood memories of your own!

p.s.  the other reason I am so nostalgic about my granddaddy is that we made our annual pilgrimage to Memaw Edith’s church yesterday and to DeWayne’s family church last Sunday for both of their Homecomings.  I told you the story about the well my great-granddaddy put in at the grave-site on a BLOG last October.  Well, the wasps are STILL there…arrgghh!!!  Anyway..here is this year’s picture of Edie Grace visiting the cemetery.  (she is getting soooo tall!)

13 has always been my lucky number and today it doubled as my place in line to go into the brand new TJ Maxx that opened this morning at 8am.  I always work on the day after Thanksgiving so I never partake in the Black Friday craziness…but had always wanted to.  I felt like this was my chance to enjoy a little "shopping frenzy".                            You know…it was pretty fun!

Me and my fellow line-mates got to the store around 7:30ish.  I guess, since I was #13 some may have gotten there much earlier.  (not up to "that" much frenzy!)  We enjoyed watching the new employees go through some employee kind of things before the big moment.  They seemed as excited as we were!  The rain didn’t dampen any spirits.

Once the ribbon was cut, the mad dash was on.  I saw so many of you out shopping this morning.  The first 400 of us received free shopping bags.  Those were all gone by the time I checked out at 9:30am.  Speaking of checking out…I didn’t quite think through over 400 people trying to check out at relatively the same time.  That took a while but everyone had a great time chatting and comparing bargains. 

Statesboro has hit the "big time" now with Hobby Lobby, PetCo, Rack Room Shoes, TJ Maxx and soon…Books a Million.  From all the people in line checking out…it didn’t look much like a recession to me!    

Cervical Cancer Action would like to congratulate Dr. Harald zur Hausen on being awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine.  Dr. zur Hausen’s lifetime commitment to understanding the role of viruses in the development of human cancers and his breakthrough research in cervical cancer has shaped our efforts to eliminate cervical cancer globally. Dr. zur Hausen’s scientific vision and leadership has laid the ground work for the development of HPV vaccines and new screening tools that have the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives each year.

In addition to his Nobel recognized scientific achievements, Dr. zur Hausen has been an advocate for global access to these new tools.  He has been an outspoken leader in global cancer prevention through his role as chair of the International Union Against Cancer’s cervical cancer initiative and editor-in-chief of its International Journal of Cancer.  Whenever possible, Dr. zur Hausen has supported global advocacy efforts and called on scientists and policymakers to ensure that all women and girls have access to life-saving vaccines and screening tools.

We salute Dr. zur Hausen and thank him for his extraordinary contributions.

Cervical Cancer Action

***Press Release***

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2008/press.html

6 October 2008

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet http://www.mednobel.ki.se/   has today decided to award The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2008 with one half to Harald zur Hausen for his discovery of "human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer" and the other half jointly to Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier for their discovery of "human immunodeficiency virus"

Summary

This year’s Nobel Prize awards discoveries of two viruses causing severe human diseases.

Harald zur Hausen went against current dogma and postulated that oncogenic human papilloma virus (HPV) caused cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women. He realized that HPV-DNA could exist in a non-productive state in the tumours, and should be detectable by specific searches for viral DNA. He found HPV to be a heterogeneous family of viruses. Only some HPV types cause cancer. His discovery has led to characterization of the natural history of HPV infection, an understanding of mechanisms of HPV-induced carcinogenesis and the development of prophylactic vaccines against HPV acquisition.

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier discovered human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Virus production was identified in lymphocytes from patients with enlarged lymph nodes in early stages of acquired immunodeficiency, and in blood from patients with late stage disease. They characterized this retrovirus as the first known human lentivirus based on its morphological, biochemical and immunological properties. HIV impaired the immune system because of massive virus replication and cell damage to lymphocytes. The discovery was one prerequisite for the current understanding of the biology of the disease and its antiretroviral treatment.

Discovery of human papilloma virus causing cervical cancer

Against the prevailing view during the 1970s, Harald zur Hausen postulated a role for human papilloma virus (HPV) in cervical cancer. He assumed that the tumour cells, if they contained an oncogenic virus, should harbour viral DNA integrated into their genomes. The HPV genes promoting cell proliferation should therefore be detectable by specifically searching tumour cells for such viral DNA. Harald zur Hausen pursued this idea for over 10 years by searching for different HPV types, a search made difficult by the fact that only parts of the viral DNA were integrated into the host genome. He found novel HPV-DNA in cervix cancer biopsies, and thus discovered the new, tumourigenic HPV16 type in 1983. In 1984, he cloned HPV16 and 18 from patients with cervical cancer. The HPV types 16 and 18 were consistently found in about 70% of cervical cancer biopsies throughout the world.

Importance of the HPV discovery

The global public health burden attributable to human papilloma viruses is considerable. More than 5% of all cancers worldwide are caused by persistent infection with this virus. Infection by the human papilloma virus is the most common sexually transmitted agent, afflicting 50-80% of the population. Of the more than 100 HPV types known, about 40 infect the genital tract, and 15 of these put women at high risk for cervical cancer. In addition, HPV is found in some vulval, penile, oral and other cancers. Human papilloma virus can be detected in 99.7% of women with histologically confirmed cervical cancer, affecting some 500,000 women per year.

Harald zur Hausen demonstrated novel properties of HPV that have led to an understanding of mechanisms for papilloma virus-induced carcinogenesis and the predisposing factors for viral persistence and cellular transformation. He made HPV16 and 18 available to the scientific community. Vaccines were ultimately developed that provide ≥95 % protection from infection by the high risk HPV16 and 18 types. The vaccines may also reduce the need for surgery and the global burden of cervical cancer.

Discovery of HIV

Following medical reports of a novel immunodeficiency syndrome in 1981, the search for a causative agent was on. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier isolated and cultured lymph node cells from patients that had swollen lymph nodes characteristic of the early stage of acquired immune deficiency. They detected activity of the retroviral enzyme reverse transcriptase, a direct sign of retrovirus replication. They also found retroviral particles budding from the infected cells. Isolated virus infected and killed lymphocytes from both diseased and healthy donors, and reacted with antibodies from infected patients. In contrast to previously characterized human oncogenic retroviruses, the novel retrovirus they had discovered, now known as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), did not induce uncontrolled cell growth. Instead, the virus required cell activation for replication and mediated cell fusion of T lymphocytes. This partly explained how HIV impairs the immune system since the T cells are essential for immune defence. By 1984, Barré-Sinoussi and Montagnier had obtained several isolates of the novel human retrovirus, which they identified as a lentivirus, from sexually infected individuals, haemophiliacs, mother to infant transmissions and transfused patients. The significance of their achievements should be viewed in the context of a global ubiquitous epidemic affecting close to 1% of the population.

Importance of the HIV discovery

Soon after the discovery of the virus, several groups contributed to the definitive demonstration of HIV as the cause of acquired human immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Barré-Sinoussi and Montagnier’s discovery made rapid cloning of the HIV-1 genome possible. This has allowed identification of important details in its replication cycle and how the virus interacts with its host. Furthermore, it led to development of methods to diagnose infected patients and to screen blood products, which has limited the spread of the pandemic. The unprecedented development of several classes of new antiviral drugs is also a result of knowledge of the details of the viral replication cycle. The combination of prevention and treatment has substantially decreased spread of the disease and dramatically increased life expectancy among treated patients. The cloning of HIV enabled studies of its origin and evolution. The virus was probably passed to humans from chimpanzees in West Africa early in the 20th century, but it is still unclear why the epidemic spread so dramatically from 1970 and onwards.

Identification of virus-host interactions has provided information on how HIV evades the host’s immune system by impairing lymphocyte function, by constantly changing and by hiding its genome in the host lymphocyte DNA, making its eradication in the infected host difficult even after long-term antiviral treatment. Extensive knowledge about these unique viral host interactions has, however, generated results that can provide ideas for future vaccine development as well as for therapeutic approaches targeting viral latency.

HIV has generated a novel pandemic. Never before has science and medicine been so quick to discover, identify the origin and provide treatment for a new disease entity. Successful anti-retroviral therapy results in life expectancies for persons with HIV infection now reaching levels similar to those of uninfected people.

Harald zur Hausen, born 1936 in Germany, German citizen, MD at University of Düsseldorf, Germany. Professor emeritus and former Chairman and Scientific Director, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany.

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, born 1947 in France, French citizen, PhD in virology, Institut Pasteur, Garches, France. Professor and Director, Regulation of Retroviral Infections Unit, Virology Department, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.

Luc Montagnier, born 1932 in France, French citizen, PhD in virology, University of Paris, Paris, France. Professor emeritus and Director, World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention, Paris, France.

Sarah Goltz Shelbaya

Interim Coordinator

Cervical Cancer Action

sarah@cervicalcanceraction.org

+1 646 623 4462

Can I Borrow $25?
A  man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his  5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON:  ‘Daddy, may I ask you a question?’
DAD: ‘Yeah sure, what  it is?’ replied the man.
SON: ‘Daddy, how much do you  make an hour?’
DAD: ‘That’s none of your business. Why do  you ask such a thing?’ the man said angrily.
SON: ‘I  just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make  an hour?’
DAD: ‘If you must know, I make $50 an  hour.’
SON: ‘Oh,’ the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: ‘Daddy, may I please borrow  $25?’
The father was furious, ‘If the only reason  you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself  straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don’t work hard every day for such childish frivolities.’ The little boy quietly went to his  room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started  to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?  After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed  to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn’t ask for  money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door. ‘Are you asleep, son?’  He asked. ‘No daddy, I’m awake,’ replied the boy. ‘I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier’ said the  man ‘It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on  you. Here’s the $25 you asked for.’
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. ‘Oh, thank you daddy!’ He  yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some  crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had  money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly  counted out his money, and then looked up at his father. ‘Why do you want more money if you already have some?’ the father  grumbled.  Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,’ the  little boy replied. ‘Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy  an
hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I  would like to have dinner with you.’
The father  was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and  he begged for his forgiveness. It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours.  But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

From my house to yours:
‘The light of God surrounds us.
The  love of God enfolds us.
The power of God protects us.
The presence of God watches over us.
Wherever we are God is and all is well.’
From my  home to yours - enjoy.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

My Thoughts…The world as we knew it has changed dramatically in the past three weeks but aren’t we so blessed to know that the love that we share with our kids is constant.  They love us just the same if we are a CEO or a cashier…the president or a waitress.  In these changing times let’s all hold on to the things that matter most and make the most of the things that matter.  Thank you for letting me witness daily just how much you all love your kids!  You guys are great role models for me!

Last year the Boys and Girls club of Statesboro commissioned me to create a portrait for their use in an abstinence campaign.  One of the images is featured on the banner behind development director Mike Backus.   You have seen the ads on TV, billboards, magazines, brochures, posters and newspapers.  The campaign recently won a very distinguished award for being one of the best abstinence campaigns in the country. 

The 21st Annual MAC AWARDS were presented at the Boys and Girls Clubs National Convention in SAN Franciso, Cal. the boys and girls clubs of Bulloch county won the gold award in marketing for our entry; PRESS PAUSE-ABSTIENCE TIL MARRIAGE.

Mike also wanted us to share with you the information on their annual fund raiser for the club.  The 3rd Annual Steak and Burger Dinner will be held September 18th, 6:00pm at the First Baptist Church; our speaker will be KELLY WRIGHT- FOX NEWS ANCHOR and former host of the 700 CLUB, Kelly will deliver a message of hope, redemption and salvation for all to hear.  Corporate tables with six seats are $750 and single seats are $100. All contributions are tax deductible. For more information call Mike Backus at 912-515-4051.

  for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.  Twenty years ago on September 3, 1988 - DeWayne and I repeated these vows before God, our family and friends.  There is no way we understood the magnitude of these vows or how hard it would be to honor them - for LIFE!  The two best pieces of advice we received during our engagement was from my grandmother Edith and DeWayne’s father Herschel.  His dad told us that getting a great education, making a living, raising a child would be easy - the most difficult thing we would have to face in our life was being successful in our marriage.  He said the secret is working hard at it every day.  Never stop talking and never go to bed mad.  Even though that will mean a few sleepless nights.  And the most important thing - the husband should always have the last word - no matter what - and those words should always be "YES DEAR!"  Pretty good advice.  It worked for him for 57 years - until death he did part.  My grandmother Edith (Edie Grace’s namesake) advice was to hide several pair of clean underwear for DeWayne.  As long as he has clean underwear - everything else will be fine.  I can not tell you how many times I have opened a fresh pack of underwear and placed in his drawer.

We were married in a beautiful double ring ceremony at First Baptist Church in Statesboro.  It was my dream wedding and the next day we stepped onto an airplane (my first commercial plane ride) and DeWayne whisked me away for a honeymoon more fabulous than I could have ever dreamed.  We spent two weeks in Europe.  The first in London, the second in Paris.  What an unbelievable way to begin our life together.  I have included pictures here from the wedding and the trip.  The round bed was in our suite at the Royal Westminster in London.  We enjoyed staying in the royal suite for the week.  The bathroom was bigger than our house at the time.  It was the first hotel I had ever stayed in that had original artwork in the room. (and it was not nailed to the walls)  In Paris, we stayed at the Hotel Louvre Concorde across the street from the Royal Opera.  Of course, I had to do a little shopping at the famous Harrods department store.  One of our clients worked for Harrods as a personal shopper for the royal family.  We need to get him to write a blog entry about that experience.  We did get to see Princess Diana on the trip.  Of course, I was so star struck that I did not think to take a picture.

I was only 19, a college student and working full time in my photography business.  DeWayne was 22 and was starting his first business along with my dad.  We had the world before us.  What an exciting, challenging and blessed 20 years it has been.

Five years ago, we returned to Paris with Edie Grace.  It was so much fun traveling back there and sharing this beautiful city with her.  We will be officially celebrating our 20th in October as we take a Mediterranean cruise from Spain through Italy.     

  Tonight, DeWayne and I began the first in a 13 week life group series sponsored by our church - Believers Church.  Dr. and Mrs. Guido hosted us in their home tonight for our first meeting.  We will be meeting every Tuesday night at 6:30 at my studio and each week we will dissect the biblical principles that Dr. Michael Guido used to build an internationally recognized evangelistic ministry headquartered in Metter, Georgia.  If you do not know their story, this is a great opportunity to learn first hand how unshakable faith can pay great dividends regardless of your definition of success.  This is not an exclusive group.  Anyone reading this blog is welcome - no matter what religious affiliation you are attached to.  We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday night at 6:30 at our studio in Downtown Statesboro.

The ten lessons are derived from directly from Dr. Guido’s ten pillars of success that his foundation is placed upon and they are:

1) A call, 2) Ability 3) Surrender to the Lord 4) A passion for prayer 5) A passion for souls 6) A love for the Bible 7) A willingness to Sacrifice obedience to the Lord 9) A love for Others 10) Faith

Last Monday I posted a blog about a client and friend of ours that was undergoing breast cancer surgery.  She is 30.  Many of  you tried to email her and the emails came back.  I had the email address incorrect in the original post which has been corrected now.  Here it is again: beverlybarr2@gmail.com

Please take a second and email them both.  I kept every email, card, note and letter from my cancer journey and have them in a note book.  When I am having a challenging day - I still go to these for inspiration.  You really do not know how much a few seconds of your time will mean to them.  Even if it is simple five word email - "I am praying for you!" this will touch them and encourage them by knowing that hundreds of people - even strangers are pulling and praying for them.

Here is an update directly from her husband Dustin:  "Hey guys, we got the pathology report back from the hospital today - Overall I was pleased with the news.  First of all, the report confirmed that the cancer did not spread to the lymph nodes on either side.  So we’re definitely thankful for that.  We also learned that due to the size and the grade of the tumor, it is very likely that she’ll have to undergo Chemotherapy at some point in the near future.  We really won’t be certain about the treatment plan until we have our first appointment with the Oncologist. 
Bev needs to do some recovering before that happens though.  These past 4 days following her surgery have been tough on her, but she’s hanging in there.  She’s been woozy, light-headed, very sore and tender, and has had some bad headaches.  Hopefully over the weekend some of these symptoms will start fading away and she’ll also start eating more. 
Also, I know it’s always an awkward situation when someone’s in bad shape and you think, "If i visit them, i’ll be a burden, but if I don’t visit them, they’ll think i’m a bad friend."  So I’ll make it easy for you (at least for the next few days) - give Bev some air until i send out an email giving you the ok that she’s up for visitors.  It means a lot whenever anyone offers to sacrifice their time and come over, but right now she needs uninterrupted rest all day every day until she gets better.
Finally, even though she’s had to give the computer a break for a couple of days because reading worsened her symptoms, Bev has not been deterred from enjoying all of her email and regular mail and all the other cool stuff that’s being sent.  So thanks again, all of you."  Her email again is: beverlybarr2@gmail.com

Late last week my schedule opened up and I learned that we would be able to attend the game today in Athens.  I posted a blog asking for tickets and WOW did you respond.  Thanks so much for everyone who offered.  DeWayne and Edie Grace had great seats in a shaded area in one of the upper decks and I observed the game from the sidelines.  This game was special because it was the first for UGA VII.  Great friends of ours, the Seilers in Savannah, are the care takers of UGAs present and past.  Their daughter, Swann, is a cervical cancer survivor also. 

It was special to be up close and personal with our great Eagles - football players, coaches, support staff, band, cheerleaders, the real Eagle and of course GUS.

Here are a few pictures to capture the fun of the day for those of you who could not make it.  Nearly 93,000 of you did attend - but I know one or two of you could not make it.,

Special Thanks to LGPFA clients and friends Toni, Keith, David and Frank for making this a great weekend! (be sure to see the real eagle peeking over my side-line armband–Steve has done an amazing job training her!)