Stacie is currently recovering from the surgical procedure she had a few weeks ago during which her remaining breast tumors were removed. The surgery was fully paid in cash with the proceeds from the April Author Auction! This successful surgery would not have happened without the support of our many, many friends who participated in varying ways in this auction. Thank you!

Stacie’s overall health has improved during these past two months. The outlook for her breast cancer is much better. Her ovarian cancer is still a bit iffy, as it is a trickier form of cancer to diagnose and monitor. Her cancer is currently listed as Stage 3.

Stacie is awaiting results from some recent tests which will determine her treatment plans for the summer. She may be receiving additional radiation treatments or further surgical procedures. We will update once more is known in this regard. In the meantime, please keep Stacie in your thoughts and prayers!

As for the September 2009 Author Auction, here are the dates:

• Friday, September 4th – Deadline for author registration forms
• Friday, September 11th, 11:59pm – Auction opens
• Monday, September 14th, 7:00-10:00pm – Auction ends (Times vary depending on fandom)

All times are Central Daylight Time (-6 GMT)

The Author Auction registration form can be downloaded by clicking HERE.

Thank you!

The April Auction Auction was an unparalleled success, with almost $30,000 in bids and special donations!  We are all simply stunned at the amazing generosity displayed by the 143 authors in 58 fandoms who participated.  Final figures from the auction will be posted after all the bids are collected, but we only expect that total to go up thanks to the generous giving of everyone involved.  Thank you so very much to each of our participants!

Thanks also to Ysar, who created the following banners for those who donate (on any occasion) to Support Stacie:

With only 4 days remaining until the application deadline for the April Author Auction, and only 10 days remaining until the auction begins, we want to take the opportunity to touch base with you all regarding auction plans as well as an update on Stacie’s health.

April Author Auction
All the author sign-ups to date have been posted on the board. If you have signed up for the event, please check your auction thread and make sure that all of your information is listed correctly. If there are any adjustments necessary, just reply to this email or PM Gioia at the board to let us know.

Remember that the success of the auction depends on the involvement of your readers! Please help us by continuing to promote the auction on your own livejournals, fanboards and within your fandom communities. We would love to gain additional sign-ups before the auction begins, but we are most particularly hopeful of having increased fandom involvement in the bidding process during this auction. So, whether you have signed up as an author or not, please continue to talk about the event at every possible opportunity!

So far we have 99 auctions signed up, making this our largest auction to date. Check out the list Here!

Author Chat Times
Please also keep an eye on the Auction board for an announcement about live online chat opportunities with your favorite authors! Currently the Gilmore Girls fandom is organizing chat times in the board’s free chat room during the auction weekend. However, if you are interested in signing up to host an hour of chat time with your readers in other fandoms, we will have times available for you to do so. These chats are a great opportunity to get to know your readers better and for them to ask you all their burning questions about your stories!

Stacie’s Health Update

Stacie in Kansas City, Feb. 2009

Stacie’s battle against cancer has continued to have all the dramatic ups and downs of a roller coaster. At Christmas she was hospitalized for pneumonia and continues to battle the effects of that illness today. Her chemotherapy has been successful in combating her breast cancer. Originally she had six tumors. As of her last exam, she has three left: one has nearly disappeared, and the remaining two are significantly smaller than before. So although the chemotherapy has left her immune system very weakened, we are very thankful to see it so effective.

There have been other test results which are of concern, though. Cancerous spots have been detected on her liver, intestines, and one of her kidneys. We await the results of a recent biopsy to determine whether or not these spots are malignant. In the meantime, Stacie has started up on a new, additional form of chemotherapy, aimed at gastrointestinal cancer, and she will be undergoing radiation at some point in the future.  (Update 04/03/09: The biopsy results were inconclusive.  The spots are cancerous, but it is still unknown if they are malignant.  She is being treated as is if they were, just to be safe.) Her cancer status, which was a mid-Stage III, has been increased to a high-Stage III, with not much needed to cross over into Stage IV. Stacie states that the best case scenario is that the new chemotherapy and radiation will address this quickly, though it will of course make her feel much sicker as she is treated. The worst case scenario will involve more surgeries.

Stacie in Kansas City, Feb. 2009

Stacie continues to work hard to keep her spirits up and was greatly encouraged by a recent trip to Kansas City, MO for a Gilmore Girls-themed event. Friends of Support Stacie met over the last weekend in February to watch Gilmore Girls episodes together, sing, dance and pig out on junk food in a fantastic celebration of friendships, old and new. Although the trip was exhausting, it was a much appreciated boost for Stacie’s spirits, as well as a fundraiser that contributed $3,000.00 towards Stacie’s expenses.  A video of Stacie, taped during that event, is visible HERE.

Stacie’s medical expenses continue to be a big concern. With over $200,000.00 in medical bills now, as well as extremely high, ongoing expenses for her prescriptions and treatment, the Support Stacie community continues to be an enormous asset in helping Stacie fight cancer. The $6,500.00 raised by the Stocking Stuffer auction, for example, helped pay for Stacie’s pneumonia treatment as well as her many, costly monthly prescriptions and hospital payments.

So, please keep Stacie in your thoughts and prayers and continue to keep an eye on the Support Stacie LJ community, where we will provide regular updates both during our upcoming auction and on a regular basis afterwards. And thank you very much! You are each appreciated far more than we can begin to express.

Best wishes,
The Support Stacie Volunteers

P.S. The dates you need to remember are as follows:
• Friday, March 27th - Deadline for author registration forms
• Friday, April 3rd, 11:59pm - Auction opens
• Monday, April 6th, 9:00pm - Auction ends
• All times are Central Standard Time (-6 GMT)
Please note the exact timing for the start of the auction

Here are a few handy links regarding the auction:
~ Auction Main Page ~
~ Bidding Instructions ~
~ Bidding Forum ~
~ Information about who Stacie is ~

143 Auctions are signed up so far!  To see the complete list, Click Here!

Tags: Stacie, Thank you, video

During the last auction, over $5,000 was raised, making a sizable dent in Stacie’s medical bills. Each auction participant made a very real impact in Stacie’s health as a result! Thanks to chemotherapy this fall, 1 of the 4 tumors in Stacie’s breast has disappeared, and the other 3 are now much smaller. Stacie’s doctor is in the process of doubling her chemo in the hope that the 3 small, remaining tumors will be “dissolved” by the end of December. Although she will need to remain on chemo until September of 2009, if all goes well her chemo may be reduced after the holidays, allowing her hair to grow back and her overall health to improve dramatically.

Tags: chemo, fundraising, hair, tumors

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Please click on the tab at the top of the page and learn how you can buy pink and help.

Tags: breast cancer awareness month, buy pink, october

Once again I find myself trying to decide if I should post about the same crapola you all have to see on my LJ all the time. Since I don’t get to speak to alot of you as much as I would like lately I’ve decided to go ahead and let you know here what’s going on.

Over the last 2 weeks I’ve been getting tests done, the results came back and I went in to discuss the next step in my treatment plan. I’m still trying to figure out some of it, but I can tell what I understand so far.

The tumor they were worried about is not gone, however it is ALOT smaller, so small in fact they had a hard time finding it. This was great news, however they discovered 3 other small tumors. Very small. But still there. I’m going to be on Chemo pills for a year straight. I need 12 Radiation Treatments also in a year. It’s not the worst news, at all. I’m just tired. The hospital is stressing on me with the money factor, and I’m very tired of worrying about that on top of everything else. One more year of this…oy.

Tags: cancer, chemo, health, money, pills, radation, tumor, update

First off I should say, sorry it’s taken so long to let everyone know how things are going.

I need to express to everyone a big THANK YOU for everything that is being done, the kindness and generosity is wonderful. I’ve been able to get thru this with all of your help. Again thank you.

A campaign to raise money is in the beginning stages, keep your eyes open for all the great stuff my awesome friends are doing! IF anyone would like to help, please e-mail the site. We can use as much help as possible getting the word out.

I started Chemo, and I’m doing Okay. I have good days and bad days, just like everyone else I suppose. The Kids are back in school and adjusting.

The site will be changing and a personal page will be added with pictures, plus alot of other features. I love hearing from all of you, Thank you for all the e-mails, PM’s and kind words! Please keep an eye out in your e-mail boxes for a little something from me.

I will try very hard to update more often.

Pooh

Tags: cancer, chemo, fundraising, Thank you, update

Today I went in for my Pre-op appointment, they took blood and went over everything for my surgery on Thursday.

Tags: blood work, pre-op, surgery