AACSN July Newsletter 2006

Message from AACSN Executive Director
Dear friends,
AACSN started the Year of the Dog on a positive note with more programs planned for 2006. Please keep checking our online calendar at www.aacsn.org to keep updated with that is going on. This newsletter has been long overdue so some content may be outdated. (My apologies for that, since joining Motherhood hasn't been smooth sailing. But now I am back!) Our AACSN Newsletter will be published using the blog. We think it is alot more efficient to keep out volunteers and audience updated with current activities we've been hosting and participating in.

HATWALK 2005
A big "Thank You" to all the volunteers and supporters of HATWALK 2005 which was a huge success. A special thank you to our co-chairs Dr.Allen Vu and Candace Wong. With their hard work leading a team of very capable volunteers, we raised over $28,000. I believe we've accomplished our goal of reaching cancer awareness to the Vietnamese community. Thank you all for your continued support. Our next HATWALK will be in the year 2008.

What we accomplished in 2005
Population Covered 650+
Care Basket Distributed 200+
HATWALK 2005 Gala Raised $28,000

HATWALK Calendar - A special thank you to Tony Maesto and Ray Tam, along with the models for your time to contribute to our HATWALK calendar to help raise funds to support our programs.

Care Basket Making project 2005
A special thanks goes out to AACO volunteers for their continued support in assembling our cancer care baskets. AACSN Cancer Care Basket Making Workshop took place on Saturday, October 3, 2005.

Autumn Moon Festival & Children’s Moon Festival 2005
By Amy Chen (amy@aacsn.org)
A big THANK YOU to Doan, Christy, Catherine, Allen, Candace, Fidelia, Alice, Roger, Doug Tsai., Greg Pulido., Kasey, Will, Doug Gor, Ray, Diane, Jasmine, Angie, Thanh, Henry, Ben, Susanna, Amy L. and Steven, who gave up part (or in many cases, a HUGE part) of your weekend to spendtime with us at the festivals (The Autumn Moon Festival in Cupertino both days and the Children's Moon Festival in San Jose on Saturday only). It was great to meet so many new people in addition to the more seasoned volunteers who came out! (Apologies if I missed anyone! There were so many of you!) A huge kudos to those who talked to people in non-English languages as well. This is the first time we've attempted to cover two festivals on the same day. This would not be possible if we did not have so many volunteers. We gave out about 13 baskets total the whole weekend to people who knew cancer patients and gave out much more literature about the group, Hatwalk and the health fair on Oct. 29. The AACSNlogo balloons were wildly popular- we depleted our supply of balloons and helium tanks!

AACSN's "CARING & SHARING" - Cancer Resource HealthFair took place on Saturday, October 29, 2005 at 10am - 3pm at the Parents Helping Parents lot in Santa Clara. The event was Co-sponsored by AACSN & familiesCAN.
Special thanks goes to Eduarda Francisco and participating organizations: Asian American Donor Program, Better Health Foundation and Wendy Ching for Xango Juice.
Thank you to the following volunteers for coming to help out on the day: Doug Gor, Fidelia Butt, May Bakken, Roger Dearth, Greg Pulido, Stacie Chen, David Yee, Jasmine Chen, Hai Allen Vu, Loc Nguyen and Kevin Handa.

AACSN helped to welcome Eric Latham’s finish in his Walk About America
By Fidelia Butt
AACSN joined a large group of supporters at the Golden Gate Bridge November 5, 2005 to welcome Eric Latham to the Bay Area, and cheer him on for his final mile toward the Pacific Ocean. AACSN was part of the American Cancer Society’s welcoming committee which recognized Eric for his achievements with a plaque and helped present him with gifts.

Eric Latham created Walk About America in 2004 and dedicated his 2005 campaign to join the fight against cancer after becoming inspired by the people he met as a volunteer at the Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, VA. He literally walked across America from coast to coast as a personal challenge, and as way to increase cancer awareness and raise money for the American Cancer Society. Walk About America’s goal is to raise $50,000 for the American Cancer Society and it currently has raised $22,000.00.

AACSN fully supported this campaign and more information can be found at http://www.walkaboutamerica.com/. AACSN congratulates Eric’s vision and accomplishments.

AACSN & Yu Ai Kai continued Partnership
By Kevin Handa
AACSN and Yu Ai Kai continued their partnership in 2005. AACSN hosted abooth at Yu Ai Kai's Health Fair in May 2005, which was held in conjunction with their Nihonmachi Walk/Run in San Jose's Japantown. Additionally, AACSN is a charter member in helping establish Yu Ai Kai's Wellness Center and its programs. In addition to supporting it's planning meetings, AACSN has been asked to host support groups and other activitiest hat will be hosted in the new Wellness Center. The Wellness Center will behoused in Yu Ai Kai's new building, which is adjacent to the current Yu Ai Kai building.

Sincerely,
May Bakken (may@aacsn.org)


Neighborhood Mammography Screening 2006
The free screening program took place over three days and was co-sponsored by AACSN and California Women's Health Partnership and the Indian Health Center.
Wednesday June 7, 2006; 10a-3pm at the San Jose Planned Parenthood
Thursday June 8, 2006: 10a-3p at the Gardner Family Health Center
Friday June 9, 2006: 10a-3p at the Indian Family Health Center.

The following volunteers: Stephanie Lin, David Sun, Andrew Maywah, Terry Appling, Greg Pulido, Andrew Hwang, Dean Chang, Ben Lai, David and Fidelia made 150 beautiful gift bags for participants in the mammogram.

AACSN sponsored food, supplies, balloons and gift bags for the 3-day event last night. The 3 clinics signed up 150 women who have no health insurance in underserved communities in San Jose. The Mammovan is from LA. The mammograms will be read at the County Hospital and UCLA and results sent back to the clinics so they can let the women know. AACSN would like to continue to partner with the Women's Health Partnership to hold more Neighborhood Mammography days.

Cancer organization launch first outline portal of Asian language cancer information
The Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training (AANCART) and the American Cancer Society ( ACS) have launched a searchable online database of Asian language cancer materials. This effort is supported by the National Cancer Institute ( NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The Asian and Pacific Islander Cancer Education Materials Web tool (APICEM) is designed to help Asians and Pacific Islanders with limited English-speaking abilities gain access to information on how to reduce their risks of preventable malignancies, including cancers of the breast, cervix, colon, liver, lung and stomach."The National Cancer Institute is very proud of this historic database, which will improve the transfer of critical cancer information to Asians and Pacific Islanders. Advances such as this bring us closer to eliminating suffering and death due to cancer among Asians and Pacific Islanders," said Mark Clanton, M.D., deputy director of the NCI for Cancer Care Delivery Systems.
The new Web resource, located on the American Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.org/acmmain/(22y0lunjdld4nazwahkorx45)/DefaultACS.aspx

AACSN 2006 Calendar
APRIL
MarroWalk 2006 - Asian American Donor Program
www.aadp.org
Date: Sunday, April 23, 2006
Sign in: 9:30am Walk: 10:30am Lunch: 11:30am
Fremont Central Park Picnic Area A
40000 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont CA

MarroWalk 2006 - Asian American Donor Program www.aadp.org
AACSN particpated in the first MarroWalk 2006 which was a huge success.

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MAY
Chinese American Women's Club & AACSN Knitting/ Crochet Hats & Scarves workshop
On Saturday, May 20, 2006 at 10am in Saratoga, Knitters and Crocheters came together to knit and crochet hats and scarves for the Asian Americans Cancer Support Network. Thank you for the women at CAWC for making this possible and for Yvonne for hosting the event at her home.

JUNE
AACSN "Caring & Sharing" Health Fair
FREE Mammogram Screenings
Date: Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Time: 9am - 3pm
Location: Planned Parenthood

FREE Mammogram Screenings
Date: Thursday, June 8, 2006
Time: 9am - 3pm
Location: Gardener Family Health

FREE Mammogram Screenings
Date: Friday, June 9, 2006
Time: 9am - 3pm
Location: Indian Health Center

For more information, contact: Eduarda Francisco
Program Director, FamiliesCAN®: Helping Families With Cancer
The Ronald Whittier Family Foundation
Tel: 408 772-8290 Fax: 408 496-6336
eduarda@familiescan.org / www.familiescan.org

JULY
SPORTS BASEMENT FUNDRAISER SUPPORTING AACSN
On July 7th, 2006, a local triathlon group called Get Buff Tri-ing held a fundraiser for us at the Sports Basement in Sunnyvale and raised $240 for AACSN. Thank you for your support. Monies will be used to support our Cancer Baskets.

Upcoming events...
JOIN A CANCER SURVIVOR DRAGON BOAT TEAM!
By Fidelia Butt (fidelia@aacsn.org)
Dragon Boating is a great form of exercise for cancer survivors. Especially for women who have survived breast cancer, the repetitive upper body motion used for dragon boating can minimize the risk of lymphedema. Don McKenzie, M.D., a sports medicine physician, believed that by following a special exercise and training program, women could avoid lymphedema and enjoy active, full lives. With FamiliesCAN, AACSN would like to establish a cancer survivor dragon boat racing team. A team is forming under coach Jennifer Eng from the California Dragon Boat Association. Practices will be weekly at the Bair Island Aquatic Center at Redwood Shores near Malibu Grand Prix. If interested, please contact Fidelia.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CANCER PATIENTS/ SURVIVORS DRAGON BOAT
Picnic for interested paddlers of Northern California’s first cancer patients/survivors dragon boat racing team
WHEN: Saturday, August 5, 2006 at 12PM – 3PM
WHERE: Grassy picnic area next to the water at the end of Chesapeake Drive in Redwood City Directions:
* Take 101 North if coming from San Jose or 101 South if coming from San Francisco * Exit Woodside Road/Seaport Blvd * Follow signs toward Seaport Blvd * Turn left on Chesapeake Drive * Follow road until it dead ends and park on right curb or left side parking lot *Meet at the grassy picnic area on the right next to the water RSVP: Jennifer Eng, 925-575-0958, jeng1030@yahoo.com

AACSN’S CANCER SUPPORT TEA
AACSN will be hosting a cancer support tea open to all those diagnosed with cancer to promote fellowship, and sharing of stories, and support. Whether you are newly diagnosed, undergoing treatment, or completed treatment, this is a wonderful opportunity to meet others in the community who have shared such an experience. This event will be held in November so please check our website for exact date and location. www.aacsn.org

Complimentary Care Baskets
Do you know someone who has recently been diagnosed with Cancer?
AACSN has created a Care Basket Program to provide “starter kits” for patients newly diagnosed with cancer. Our complimentary baskets will include pamphlets introducing the concept of chemotherapy and radiation, comfort care products, a relaxation CD, appointment calendars, and best of all, handmade hats by volunteers for patients who may lose their hair during treatments. Our care baskets are assembled by volunteers who put a lot of thought and care in the putting the basket together. Email info@aacsn.org with subject line "AACSN Care Baskets Request"
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT