Bibliosphere

 I have great news! February might be over, but you can still donate to my St Baldricks Fundraiser. In fact, you should definitely consider it, because they're upping the game, to 50 miles in June. I've gone back and done the math, and I have already walked over 30 miles! Perhaps this will inspire you to donate, or even start a fundraiser of your own! Click here to donate!

 Alright, so this is actually two updates in one. First, my St Baldricks fundraiser officially ended with $177 raised and 40 miles walked (counting only actual walks, not just nervous pacing while I'm on the phone). However, if you didn't donate, don't worry, you still can! My kind St Baldricks contact has informed me that people can donate all year, so if you missed February, please do still consider donating here . Also, my dad and grandpa both shaved this year, as they do every year. While Utah doesn't have St Baldricks shaving events (a future me project perhaps), Wisconsin does. It used to be put on at a high school but is now held at a bar (very Wisconsin). Anyway, February might be over, but please still consider a donation to St Baldricks, either through my fundraiser here or through their main site.

 This month has been a challenge. The whole winter has been honestly. But I am moving forward and making progress, as always. I thought that I would share some wins from February: My large-scale work event served over 225 people throughout Utah, which is an attendance rate of about 70%. For a free event, this is a minor miracle. I survived initial orders for cookies, which is a feat in and of itself. I went on my first date in a year. I started walking more, a welcome reprieve from winter blues. The sun has been shining more too, making walking more appealing. I tried many new things, including an indoor dutch oven and a sumo mandarin. I finished 5 books (2 audio, 3 print). One was finished on February 1st though, so you can debate me on whether that counts. I did two illustrations, one of my friend and my 2024 bucket list and one comic. My St Baldricks fundraiser is almost over and I've raised almost $200 for childhood cancer research (full post on this soon). And last, but certai...

 I have some wonderful news from France that my mom shared with me on Valentine's Day. A child, a 13 year old, from Belgium has been cured of DIPG with an experimental drug ( x ). It seemed to good to be true, honestly. How often do you hear that a tumor with a 0% survival rate just... disappeared? And other children in the cohort surviving beyond the normal survival time? I went a little deeper. The medication, everolimus , has been studied a few times for DIPG. It's a repurposed drug, currently used for a variety of types of tumors and more. According to this research on genetically targeted treatments for DIPG, the average survival time increased from 14 months without the adjuvent to 20 months with the additional treatment. However, this is ultimately a very early study on the drug, not a study that will truly create a treatment plan to help these kids survive. In another phase I study , you can see results with two biologic treatments, the same drug above combined with an...

 Hello everyone! Guess what? My fundraiser is still happening and there's plenty of time to make your donation!  Did you know that St Baldrick's is a top funder of childhood cancer research? I donated over a foot of hair twice and shaved my head once, all to help kids fight cancer. There's nowhere for me to shave or volunteer in Utah, so I started my own fundraiser in parallel with the February Facebook fundraiser happening nationwide! I'm walking at least 25 miles in February, and I hope that you will join me in donating to St Baldrick's to raise funds for childhood cancer research. You can donate here ( https://www.stbaldricks.org/fundraisers/mypage/4993/2024 ). Thank you in advance for helping save lives!

 Today is the day - my fundraiser officially kicks off!   Donate Here  I have to say, I did some pre-fundraising. I have a few donations, some unexpected for sure. Of course I donated to my own fundraiser too.  I set "milestones" for every $100 plus one at $250 for the halfway point. It won't correspond exactly to miles walked, especially since I walk 3-5 miles daily, but I think this will be a special amount that I count only actual walks.  I love going for walks, so the 25 miles isn't a problem. 50 miles probably wouldn't have been a problem. But it's not about the miles.  It's about the kids. Donate Here  

St Baldricks February Challenge is almost here! While the fundraiser technically takes place on Facebook, I've made the decision to do an actual fundraiser page, on St Baldricks' website. You can find it here .  I'm honoring children close to my heart, but I'd love to honor more. If you have a child (or adult survivor) you'd like me to add to my page, please comment. Kids can't conquer childhood cancer alone, but we can help them.

 While I didn't participate in St Baldricks this year (my last year to cut off hair was 2012), my dad and grandpa participated this year! St Baldricks of Wisconsin has changed a lot since I was involved, but they went and now are lacking hair. For those of you unfamiliar, St Baldricks is a nonprofit that gives research grants. It is the largest non-government funder of childhood cancer research (or at least that's what it was when I was involved). They do a lot of good things, and their major fundraising happens around St Patrick's Day with head shaving. I actually shaved my head in 2008, when I was in eighth grade. I raised quite a bit of money, as a 13 year old girl willing to shave my head. My brother had just gotten off treatment. I didn't go as short in 2012, I did a pixie cut.   St Baldricks is a great way to get involved with childhood cancer research, if CureSearch walks aren't your thing. Check them out here: https://www.stbaldricks.org/ .