Yellow For Bri

In high school, a close friend of mine was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma and I thought my life and his was coming to an end. My young friend was going through something so real, so adult, and so painful. Death is not real at age 16. It's something distant, in the far-off future that our parents and grandparents have to deal with. Not us! we're invincible! We have eons of life ahead of us to experience.

I thought he was playing a joke on me when he said he was missing school the next day to have a biopsy on his spleen. Oh, he's just going on vacation with his family. He wasn't in Genetics class the next day, and I knew it was true. The only thing I could do was read up on the disease and visit him in the hospital and attempt to spread good cheer.

Out of the 100s of people at our school, I was the ONLY person to visit him in the hospital. Many came up with excuses and sob stories about how they "couldn't make it." That friend and I aren't as close now as we once were. When we do see each other, we know what we both went through and thanks to support from those around him, he is still here today to live his life and tell his story.

Let's help someone live to be able to tell their story.

Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.

She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.

The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.

CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri

Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.

The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.

The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.

There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.

Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account.

This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.

You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.