Tag Archives: cancer

Swift’s Charity Song for Cancer

In 2011, an adorable, little boy died from cancer. His mother made a post about it on a social media website, which Taylor Swift then saw, and reacted to immediately. She contacted the mother of the boy, and asked her to co-write a song with her about the tragic loss of her son. In the song, it talks about the mothers feelings, and how hard it is to lose someone, especially a 3 year old child. In honor of everyone affected by cancer, she performed this touching song at the STAND UP 2 CANCER telethon. She then released it on iTunes, donating all of the money to cancer research. At this event, the little boys mother was crying from the very beginning. This song is called, Ronan.

I love this song. It’s as if you can’t help but put yourself in the place of that mother, while listening to this song. I couldn’t even imagine the way she feels right now. I think this was a perfect way to raise money for such a good cause. When she sang this song at the STAND UP 2 CANCER telethon, you could see how much this song made people appreciate the effects and heartbreak cancer victims and their families go through. Taylor Swift is the voice of Maya Thompson (Ronan Thompson’s mother), saying how the mother feels now that she has lost her son, and reflecting on the memories they had together. In the song, there is a phrase that says, “What is I really thought some miracle would see us through? What is the Miracle was even getting one moment with you…” I absolutely love this phrase, because just by reading this line, you can see how much the mother is hurting, and you can see the love of a mother and her son.

~Kathryn Robinson

Behind The Hit

You may have heard Taylor Swift’s new single, “Ronan”, and thought, What is this? What strange lyrics! But, unlike many of Swift’s songs about heartbreak, this has a much deeper meaning.

Ronan Thompson was diagnosed with Stage Four Neuroblastoma (a cancer that develops from nerve cells found in several areas of the body) on August 12th, 2010, when he was three years old. After undergoing rounds of chemotherapy, his body was unresponsive to the treatment and his disease rapidly progressed. He could not undergo MIBG therapy (MIBG therapy is used as part of the treatment for certain types of cancer. MIBG is the name of the chemical used; it stands for Meta-Iodo-Benzyl-Guanidine.), and doctors told his family to take him home and enjoy the time that they had left with him. After frantically searching for another option, Ronan’s family found a doctor willing to accept him in a Nifurtimox trial. But on May 9th, 2011, Ronan’s valiant battle with Neuroblastoma ended before he could receive the treatment.

When Taylor Swift stumbled upon Maya Thompson’s blog about her son’s untimely death, Taylor was so moved that she wanted to do something about it. She contacted Maya Thompson, who helped her write a song for her beloved son.

The collaboration resulted in a touching ballad that reached the hearts of thousands. She performed the heart-wrenching song at the Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) telethon on September 7th. The telethon raised money for the SU2C to promote further research, and hopefully a cure. Their mission is to create awareness, and Swift did just that. Along with spreading the word with her song, with every purchase of the song, Taylor Swift donates her share to cancer charities, and Mrs. Thompson’s share goes directly to the Ronan Thompson Foundation. With already nearly 330,000 downloads, this little act of kindness on Swift’s part is benefiting many cancer patients and foundations worldwide.

Taylor Swift is truly a remarkable example of celebrities who still have a decent head on their shoulders. If more people with this kind of power had half the kindness of Swift, the world would be a better place. Let’s be honest, can you imagine Kanye West doing something like this? Swift is a genuine person who uses her career to do something to benefit many other people.

~Sophie Pellegrino

Dog Saves Owner’s Life

 

“Recent studies have shown that some dogs can sometimes accurately detect cancer.”  A Basset Hound mix named Lexie uses her great sense of smell to sniff out her owner, Lisa Hillje’s tumor.  She began jumping on Hillje’s chest and barking at her. Startled by the dog’s unusual behavior, the owner put her hand over the area where Lexie was jumping and found a sign of cancer. With a history of breast cancer in her family, the 39-year-old went to a doctor. This appointment revealed that Hillje had cancer, even though she received a negative test only a few months prior. Thanks to the early detection, founded by Lexie, Hillje’s cancer was successfully treated and has remained in remission.

Hillje credits being alive today to her dog, so she was more than happy to help Lexie when her own moment of need arrived. Shortly after Hillje’s battle with cancer ended, she noticed that Lexie was drinking excessive amounts of water and refusing food. Hillje brought her beloved pet to the vet’s office, where three cancerous tumors were discovered in Lexie’s liver. Her vet said that Lexie most likely only had a month to live, but Hillje refused to give up. She researched and paid for expensive holistic treatments and doted on Lexie’s every need. The devotion appears to have worked. Lexie is alive and well. Now the pair are even when it comes to life saving, but Hillje is sure that won’t stop either of them from helping each other again.

~Taylor Monti

Batman for a Day- Who’s the Real Hero?

Batman Make-a-Wish

In the crime ridden state of Texas, who is there to save everyone? How about a 7 year old boy with cancer? In a town in Texas, Kye, a boy who is struggling with cancer got his dreams turned into reality by the help of his town. The entire town was shut down and with the help of the fire department and police “crimes” were set up for the young boy dressed as Batman to save the town. They had another kid play Joker as well as a girl as Batwoman. Along the way of saving the town from the City Hall bomb and the bank robbery was Batman’s partner Robin. Many people are saying it’s nice to see one boy’s wish to come true, while others say they may have gone a bit overboard.

If you ask me, I think this was possibly one of the best ideas ever. Kye’s one wish was to be a hero for the day, like Batman. This act brought on by the town helped him in ways they may not realize. Now thanks to the entire town’s citizens support, Kye had his biggest dream come true while he is facing the toughest battle of his life. His family has spoken out about how much this meant to him and how it has helped with his self confidence. If this one town was able to make this boy’s dreams come true imagine what would happen if acts like this started to spread throughout the country. We could all help to change the lives of kids struggling with cancer.

~Karalyn Wright

 

Death of a Great Man

As many people already know, Steve Jobs died October 5, 2011. This blog is to commemorate his accomplishments. Steve lived a very long and successful life as the CEO of Apple Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios. He revolutionized the way we think about technology by bringing us the iPod, iPhone, iPad and Macintosh. In 1974, he became a video game designer for Atari. In 1976, he and his partner Wozniak created one of the first successful personal computers, the Apple II. In the early 1980s, Jobs revolutionized computers with the complex and advanced Apple Lisa. After being forced to leave the Lisa project, he started working on the famous Macintosh. This surprised me a lot: In 1986, Steve Jobs became the CEO of Pixar Animation Studios. So he’s responsible for bringing us beloved films like Toy Story, A Bugs Life, Finding Nemo and Up. In 2003, Jobs was diagnosed with cancer. Even in his time of suffering, he still produced iPhones, iPods and iPads. Sadly, on October 5th, 2011, he died of Pancreatic Cancer.

There is no doubt that Steve Jobs was an important part of many peoples lives. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have an Apple device of some kind. Personally, my favorite Apple device is the iPod Touch. I’ve had mine for a very long time and I go everywhere with it. I use it for music, to play games, to watch YouTube and Netflix and I have no idea what I would do without it. How about you? Whats your favorite Apple device. Leave your responses in the comment section below. Thanks!

~Adam Kaszas