I love pumpkins, cinnamon, leaves changing colors, crackling fires, and sweater weather.
Except now I live in Florida so the seasons don’t change quite the same way.
This season brings Pediatric Cancer Awareness, Ovarian Cancer Awareness, Blood Cancer Awareness including National Lymphoma Awareness and, Suicide Awareness and healthy aging.
Pediatric cancer is a cause near and dear to my heart.
Back when I was still living in Chicago I volunteered in hematology/oncology at Children’s Hospital and at a cancer camp for kids. I always say that experience with children battling cancer gave me some of my resilience when I faced my own diagnosis 7 years later.
Ovarian cancer is especially tricky.
Since I am BRCA2 positive that was something I needed to be keenly aware of. The reason Ovarian cancer is so tricky is typically by the time you have symptoms, the cancer may be advanced and this is why it is often called the “silent killer”, as it does not have early symptoms.
Two of my sisters were also BRCA positive.
I will always be indebted to Dr. Laurence Heifetz of The Memorial Gene Upshaw Tahoe Forest Cancer Center and Dr. Helen Chew from University of California - Davis Hospital for suggesting the genetic testing even though I was the first in my family to have advanced cancer at an early age. It came from my father’s side of the family but he passed away decades before my diagnosis.
I raced sailboats for many years on the Great Lakes and we always had a regatta called the Leukemia Cup which raised funds for Leukemia and Lymphoma.
I made friends with someone on Facebook, almost by accident, during my own cancer battle, Amy. She has become a lifelong friend and we met because her sister-in-law was battling breast cancer at the same time as me. Sadly Jennifer lost her battle. I have considered Jennifer one of my angels ever since and every Cancerversary I think of her. Almost 2 years ago Amy was diagnosed with lymphoma.
Our life is a delicately woven fabric of relationships. What has become obvious is that almost every person I meet has been touched by someone who has had cancer.
Sadly the numbers seem to be on the rise and striking people younger and younger.
Dermavitality's Comprehensive Skin Support for Chemotherapy and Radiation Patients.
This is why our mission to bring products to the marketplace that help alleviate the collateral damage of the treatments that save our lives is so important to us.
Getting your regular checkups, being aware of your body and what you put both in it and on it is so important.
The fall weather also signals drier air. We have a body lotion in our line that is a great mouisturizer. You do not have to be a cancer patient to use our products!!
Please feel free to go to our social media page and share your own story of how cancer has touched your life.
Join us next month when we take a look at the products we put
on our skin and why it matters!!!
In the meantime I will leave you with this yummy fall recipe.
Baked Pears with Gorgonzola, Walnuts and Honey
(Makes 6 servings)
82 calories per serving Carbohydrates: 16g
Protein: 1g
Fat: 2g
Cholesterol: 1mg
Sodium: 29mg
Potassium: 112mg
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 11g
Vitamin A: 70IU
Vitamin C: 4.9mg
Calcium: 23mg
Iron: 0.3mg
Ingredients
- 3 ripe but not too soft pears, e.g. Concorde or Green Anjou
- 1 tablespoon liquid honey + more to serve
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 6 teaspoons soft blue cheese like gorgonzola
- 6 halves walnuts, to garnish
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
The recipe is super easy and only requires 10 minutes (+10 minutes baking time) and 5 ingredients.
Best Pears for Baking
The best choice would be ripe but still mildly crisp sweet pears, such as Concorde or Green Anjou.
Preheat the oven to 200 °C or 390 °F.
Directions:
Start by cutting your pears in halves and scooping the seeds with a teaspoon. Place the halves open-faced on a baking dish and drizzle with liquid honey. Place some sprigs of thyme on top and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until the flesh is soft enough when pierced with a fork.
Let cool and place a teaspoon of soft gorgonzola or any other blue cheese into each pear boat. Garnish with walnuts and drizzle with more honey if desired. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.