Fall 2006 – Page 2 – Agenda Magazine Archives

Barbie® – A Perpetual Icon

Many little girls around the world relate their first fashion experience to the Barbie®doll. The very first Barbie®doll was introduced at the American Toy Fair in New York City in 1959. Barbie® was modeled after “Lillie,” a German comic strip, and the very first Barbie®, however, was named after Barbara (Barbie) Handler, whose parents noticed she and her friends had been playing with grown-up dolls as opposed to paper dolls and baby dolls. Even back then, little girls imagined what it would be like to be a grown-up—thus the Barbie®doll.

Almost 50 years have passed, and Barbie has played a big part in setting fashion trends. This quest to be fashionable started with the original founder of Mattel, Ruth Handler, the mother of the original Barbie. Mattel Corporation told her that the doll would never have mass appeal and would be too expensive to manufacture. But after she exhausted her efforts to design a doll, and even getting designers to create her clothes, Mattel finally conceded and made the first Barbie®doll in 1959. That first year, Barbie sold at $3.00 a doll and was a huge success. If you think about inflation and the cost of living, the increase in housing, transportation and travel, the Barbie®doll really hasn’t increased in price that significantly. The average doll only sells for as low as $7.00 and still appeals to the same demographic.

Barbie® has been one of the most collectible toys in history. Part of the appeal is the incredible attention to detail of this doll. Her clothes have always been miniature versions of department store favorites. And when you compare other dolls to Barbie®, you can see the difference in quality. That quality can fetch a price tag ranging from $300 to untold amounts.

Through the years there have been several designers who have been chosen to design a Barbie® garment. The Barbie™ Luxe collection, crafted by a select few designers, includes Anna Sui, who created feminine tops for Barbie®. One of the looks was a pink cotton camisole featuring a neckline decorated with swag-like beadwork. Paper Denim & Cloth created a dark denim bootcut jean with subtle pink detail stitching and light pink hooded zip-up sweatshirt. Accessory designer Anya Hindmarch helped the Barbie® image with makeup tote bags with pink metallic nappa leather trim and handles; Tarina Tarantino created vintage-inspired pendants and necklaces. Other recent contributors to Barbie’s® style are Judith Leiber, Chronic Industries, Jeanie Braden, and Jem Sportswear. This collection is available at Fred Segal Flair and at select Barbie™ Luxe designers’ boutiques. The collection ranges from $16-$625.

Not only has Barbie® influenced fashion, but she has also become the iconic celebrity, appearing in her own movies, books, and CDs. She broke a retail record with her six chart-topping Barbie™ Fairytopia™ films. She has become a powerhouse and family favorite among DVD collections. The genres range from as recent as a high school student to CGI animated looks, and appealing to 6-8 year olds. She was a big hit in Toy Story—I enjoyed that one and I am an adult.

So what is Barbie’s appeal, and most importantly, what gives her that coveted staying power? Is it her body, her chiseled Arian looks? Is it her seemingly untainted party attitude? Is it the multiple careers and seemingly successful demeanor? Is it her ongoing platonic relationship with Ken? Is it her cute little sister or her equally hot best friend? Maybe it’s her Porche or her Arabian horses or her pink mansions or her baby-sitting skills. Whatever it is, I wanted it when I was seven, and I am still striving for it as an adult.

Barbie has crossed the color barriers by creating the black Barbie®, Polynesian Barbie®, blonde, brunette, and red headed Barbie®. She has adopted the looks of popular actresses like Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and even Oprah Winfrey. She has been the vision of purity as the bride sporting styles from couture designers like Monique Lhuillier™ and Carolina Herrera.

Barbie® doll has been a cherished fashion phenomenon for more than four decades, so it was exciting to be able to dress her in one of my signature gowns. I chose a design for Barbie® that is modern and stylish while maintaining a traditional sense of romantic sentimentality.

—Monique Lhuillier™—

Barbie® has given little girls across the globe the chance to dream. And maybe the majority of those little girls around the world will never be a debutante, or travel the world, or even become a nurse, or the president (all former Barbie® professions), but this icon has never stopped us from hoping. Maybe that’s why Barbie® is still so popular today. She sends a message that our dreams, no matter how big or small, are within our reach.

For more information on the Barbies® mentioned in this article, contact Krisse Mansfield (Mansfield@formulapr.com), Formula 212-219-0321, or Michelle Llorin of Mattel 310-252-4612.

Written by Kaylene Peoples

Smoking Mirrors: How We Act So Surprised over Events and Statements Made Not So Long Ago

Smoking Mirrors: How We Act So Surprised Over Events and Statements Made Not So Long Ago

So, this is what it comes down to…again. Just like goldfish, the public quickly forgets events and statements made years, weeks, days, minutes ago and reacts to political fallout with the same amazement as a child who doesn’t want to have to throw away his favorite toy: Pretend it’s new, and your parents won’t make you toss it.

If the quagmire in Iraq seems too overwhelming a subject to ponder, why not break it down to brass tacks? First, let me veer off on a tangent to set the mood: We’re all very aware of that indisputably necessary invention the Internet – seeing as how without it, you likely would not be reading this column – and the huge help it has provided for archived content aggregators such as LexisNexis, various encyclopedias and just about any print newspaper on this planet. Fascinatingly enough, Google.com recently instituted a feature that researches news articles as far back as 200 years, clearly an outstanding effort in the move to link us to history in a more immediate way. However, the benefit of that innovation goes beyond just seeing how newspapers looked and read in the “olden days”; it’s a great tool for calling out public personae who conveniently “forget” what they said and/or did when confronted by the media for alleged mistakes.

The president and members of his administration graced national nightly news shows claiming they never said al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein were linked—nor did Hussein have anything to do with the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. However, a cursory keyword search on any search engine will take you to a plethora of legitimate news sites with transcripts that disprove the administration’s current admissions. Sure, it wasn’t explicitly stated, but there was enough allusion to an association between the two “hated Arabs” that it’s clear what Bush and Co. wanted the American public to assume and eventually swallow as gospel. Although it would take less than five minutes for anyone to look up an article that proves this, it’s likely that not many people will. But, the real question is “Why?”

This administration successfully has created a sort of mass hypnotic denial that is self-propelling and enigmatic. What’s more interesting is that I’ve found people who think they’re being pro-Bush actually disagreeing with what he and his cabinet members say because they are so quick to distrust their own eyes and ears in favor of a transitory statement from this country’s leaders. Perhaps it’s because of our own inherent inability to admit fault. Read (or “troll”) the Yahoo! message boards and you’ll find many pro-Bush people saying that al Qaeda and Hussein and al-whoever all sat down for kabobs while plotting to destroy America—and these message posters think they’re defending the administration. Well, they are…kind of. You see, what these “trolls” forget (or just altogether ignore) is that Bush himself recently stated on national television that Hussein had no connection to 9/11. Well, he says that now although, just three years ago, he championed his reasons for going into Iraq with the Hussein/al Qaeda connection as a main cause. So, in essence, these goldfish simply have relinquished control of whatever mechanism they once had that made them think and react for themselves, and trust themselves. It’s much easier simply to grab hold of whatever is the truth of the month and defend it until it’s no longer popular, or until we transfer the same amount of confusion we have onto others who are too lazy to do a simple keyword search.

Written by Natalie Martin

Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Alexander Rivkin, M.D. – Expanding the Use of Botox®

Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Alexander Rivkin, M.D. – Expanding the Use of Botox ®

I always thought my first visit to a plastic surgeon would include leaflets of models whose noses I wanted, or pictures of celebrities with the perfect profile. After all, I do live in Los Angeles, aka tinsel town, aka Hollywood fabulous—the land where everybody is a size 2, has a perfect nose, full lips, no character lines, and a 6-pack.

I guess I could have scheduled a lipo-suction appointment, or a breast augmentation procedure, or maybe even a butt lift. But instead I found myself visiting probably the only plastic surgeon on the west side with a moral conscience. I guess I am not being fair. Cosmetic surgery is a valid profession. It’s about as warm as a corporate takeover. But nonetheless, a very necessary evil at times. My head spins when I hear about associates getting monthly botox injections, ribs removed, skin bleached or lasered. And I look in the mirror only to realize that I could easily fall into the same trap. Because I was blessed with fairly good genes, I am spared the repeated trips to these “clinics.” But to hear these surgeons speak, everybody will reach the age when he/she will need a bit of poison injected in his/her face. And apparently, these future clients are getting younger every day.

Dr. Alexander Rivkin is a Yale-trained facial cosmetic surgeon. He pioneered a groundbreaking non-surgical nose job procedure, and co-developed the non-surgical chin implant and non-surgical eyelid lift procedures. He has recently expanded the use of Botox® to treat his patients who are suffering from TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder) and habitual teeth grinding.

The West Side Medical Spa is tucked away on Gayley Avenue near UCLA. It is unassuming on the outside, but wow, does it ever pack a punch on the inside. Dr. Rivkin and his non-invasive surgical cosmetic procedures have opened the floodgates to those everywhere who are afraid of going under the knife. And now, poor Jim with his terminally crooked nose can exercise his right to alter his looks (for the better) without a single incision.

How does a surgeon decide not to ever cut again? This Yale-trained facial cosmetic surgeon and UCLA faculty member decided to focus his practice exclusively on providing his patients with the latest in non-invasive, non-ablative cosmetic treatments. He understands that no one wants to “go under the knife.” He has dedicated his career to developing alternatives by creating a solution for his patients to rid them of their fears associated with cosmetic surgery.

I wanted to concentrate on non-surgical cosmetic procedures. I felt there was so much that was possible without doing surgery, and I could be creative in this field and “make up stuff.” I really couldn’t be creative in a more traditional practice. I have focused my efforts on new ways of accomplishing things that my patients want without having to put them through the ordeal of surgery.

I started out by using the things that were available. It’s exciting now because there are new injectibles and new lasers that are coming out. I believe that this is the future. So it’s very interesting to be on that wave and utilize these new things that are coming out. The start of my whole thinking was with the nose. I came up with a procedure that can straighten the nose without surgery. Afterwards, I’ve been listening to my patients and trying to go with some of the problems they would ask me about.

At one point a patient walked in and she was tense. She wore the tension around her jaw. And I was looking at her and noticed her jaw was square. I had read where these doctors in Asia had been injecting botox into the muscles of the jaws for girls who wanted to soften their jaw line cosmetically–just to look different. So I asked her if she had had a square jaw for a while, and she said ever since she had been grinding her teeth, her jaw had become more muscular and square. All night and during the day she would grind her teeth. Her dentist had given her devices to wear at night. But she would literally spit them out unconsciously in her sleep, or grind them up and spit out the pieces. This isn’t the first time I had heard of this. These people literally grind their teeth every night, working out these muscles, which eventually become huge and rock hard. So I thought to myself, “it’s only a muscle.” So I started putting botox into it. There were a bunch of little ones. She returned to me and reported that she stopped grinding. She looked more calm and felt more calm. “This is the best thing since sliced bread.” So I wrote to the company, and I said, “I am sure that this is something that had been tried.” And they confirmed it. It had occurred to other people as well. But it made sense.

You start grinding and your muscles just get stronger and stronger with each grinding episode. After a certain point, there’s nothing you can do to stop it because your muscles get too strong, and you’re doing it completely unconsciously. The more you do it, your teeth get worn down, but then when you’re aware of it, it makes the grinder more tense that they cannot stop grinding their teeth. But once you put the botox in, the muscle has the strength to chew and function properly, but it doesn’t have the strength to grind. Then it just stops.

For a layperson like me, I don’t really know what botox is. I have seen commercials and I even know of people who get botox injections, but what is it exactly? And is it harmful?

A couple hundred years ago, a German guy figured out why people were dying from bad sausages. It was a [bacterium] that they eventually named botulism, which means sausage person in German. As time went on, they figured out that it was poison that came out of the bacteria that is very powerful and its main effect was to paralyze muscles. People died from bad sausages because the poison paralyzed their breathing muscles and they couldn’t breathe. In about the 1970s, this one ophthalmologist thought about all the diseases where one muscle is too active, would spasm, or is too strong, and realized there was nothing to make the muscle weak, except for botulism, which he took and made safe for injection. They were tiny quantities that will stay in the muscle it’s injected in. It worked. So it should also work for cosmetic purposes. That is how botox came to be. The origin is this poison, but it’s gone through all these layers of change that it becomes a harmless protein that is injected. And through the injection, it doesn’t go through the rest of the body, nor does it have the side effects. Botox makes muscles weak. And the more you inject, the weaker that muscle gets. It’s completely dose dependent. There are no side effects. It’s not bad for you. It doesn’t go into your system. It’s perfect.

When people get botox, their face is paralyzed as a result of the practitioner administering the botox. They are probably injecting too much. But you can be creative with botox. You can put a little bit in for a small effect, or you can put in a lot for a bigger effect. You can really be very precise in terms of creating the kind of effect you want. It’s a very nice drug in that way.

So there are no long-term ill effects?

There are kids that have torticollis (when one side of the neck is active and they’re always bent over). We put botox in their neck and it straightens them up immediately. It’s amazing. We use about 10 times more botox for that than we would use cosmetically. They used that for years. Once you inject it, the muscle sucks it up immediately. It doesn’t go outside of it. But as you use it, you can forget to make certain expressions. So you have to retrain your body so that when you’re angry or concerned, you no longer make that expression. That habit of gesturing your face is gone.

For the TMJ, how many people are actually doing this procedure now, or are you the main one?

I am the main one. When I talk to dentists about it, they’ve never heard of it. It’s very new.

I was looking on your website and I noticed that you also offer nose jobs, chin implants, microdermabrasion, etc. I think it’s great because it is non-invasive. There’s no chance of infection. I also read that sometimes in surgery the implants shift. You’re saying that with the botox procedure it doesn’t shift? Can you explain to me how, for instance, a chin implant would be done? What is a standard thing you would do?

Surgically, to extend your chin, you have to get an operation. There is an incision underneath. You open up the skin, you slide in the implant, you close up the skin. You’re limited in terms of what the implant looks like. Surgically, there’s a limitation in terms of what the shape of the chin is going to look like. You’re limited by the implant that you have, and you’re also limited when you do it, because you can’t adjust on the fly. You have to surmise, “O. K., we will use implant #2.” Once it’s open, you can’t see aesthetically what it’s going to look like. You just have to hope for the best. I do injections. I take a filler substance called Radiesse(TM). It lasts for about a year and a half. I put it in the deeper layers of the skin—that’s where it belongs. When you put it in, you can mold it like clay. The substance is calcium based. It’s kind of like a lattice, or a scaffolding, where the body’s cells grow into it and it becomes like the skin. It’s soft, and you can’t tell the difference. When it first goes in, you can move it around, mold it. I look at the person in the chair and I can tell which direction I want to go—square it off, make it delicate, pointy, out, down, etc. You can make it be more appropriate to the individual who’s in front of you. Therefore, you can make it more precise, and fine tune it.

It lasts for a year and a half, meaning they have to come back for a repeat procedure?

In about six months, there are going to be fillers that last for about ten years. I am limited until that happens.

Why did you decide to go non-invasive?

The freedom to be creative is really important to me. You can’t do that in surgery. You have to do the procedure the way it is. You can’t make things up. A lot of people are getting needless surgery. I am the kind of surgeon that would counsel people away from surgery, and into non-invasive techniques. But I knew that being a part-time surgeon is no good. You have to stay on top of your game and do it all the time. I decided to go with what my heart was really into, which is this kind of stuff. I felt like this is where the future of Aesthetics is going to be.

Have you ever had a situation where someone came in to see you and it was just hopeless?

Oh yeah, and in those cases I just refer them to my colleagues. But most of the time, there is something that can be done.

It seems like the botox revolution is almost overkill. They make fun of it on TV shows like “Will and Grace,” and for someone who isn’t really into the red carpet, or that type of lifestyle, most people, unless they’re constantly being photographed, or are in the media, usually don’t go for botox, do they? Or am I wrong?

You’re wrong. A woman who’s over 30 in Los Angeles, chances are she has had botox in her face—across the board. No matter what she does, regardless of her social or economic standing, it’s very prevalent because it’s such an easy thing to undergo, and the results are fairly dramatic.

Do you think that it has spilled outside of the West and East Coasts?

Middle America and East Coast not as much, but it’s rampant in LA. The nice thing about it is you can’t tell. A successful procedure is where you can get done what you want where there is no huge bruising or side effects, and nobody can tell. You can’t tell when somebody’s had botox.

You can use botox to prevent wrinkles from happening. Some women in their 20s come in because they see their mom, and they know that they are going to develop wrinkles in the same spot, and they know that the more they move a certain way, the more it’s going to get etched in. So you put botox in there, you don’t move as much, and you don’t make the wrinkle.

Where do you see your practice in five years?

I ‘d like to create an institute. I am in the process of trying to do so now, and start training people. This is what people want, and should get. It’s simple, precise and powerful. It really takes some aesthetic awareness to do. You can have a technically good surgeon with no aesthetic understanding. You wind up having people walking around Rodeo Drive looking pretty weird—hollow-eyed women, surgery gone wrong. It happens all the time. Bad nose jobs, etc. Sometimes I get women who want big lips. I tell them it’s not appropriate. So many women over 40 with their entire upper lip looking like a duck. I’m not going to participate in that. I try to talk to them and offer other suggestions that might be more effective.

Those people that get the cosmetic improvements like nose jobs and chin implants, are they O. K. with coming back? How do you know when it’s time to redo?

Botox can last three months or six months. It depends on genetics, etc. A lot of physicians make a three-month appointment no matter what. I believe in happy patients. This is the future. My ambition is to change the way people think about plastic surgery. I want those people who want aesthetic changes to be better informed and awake, not looking for the extreme makeover, and understanding that there is a way to get what they want without going under the knife.

For more information, visit Dr. Rivkin’s website atwww.westsidemedicalspa.com

Interview by Kaylene Peoples

Divas for a Cure – Bikers Promoting Breast Cancer Awareness and Raising Funds for Breast Cancer Research

Ladies on motorcycles fighting breast cancer. What a wonderful idea! But is “ladies” too soft of a word? Though these women are true ladies, they represent a demographic that may have been overlooked in the fight against breast cancer. Divas for a Cureconsists of a core group of women who ride motorcycles. Jan Emanuel, the founder, is a breast cancer survivor, who has taken her bike along with a host of other divas to help spread the word about breast cancer awareness to the biker community. Last July I had the privilege of interviewing Jan during her 23-day ride across the country. Lucky for me, she was riding along with two other divas through Los Angeles.

Jan Emanuel is the founder and president of Divas for a Cure. She joined me with Divas treasurer AJ Jemison and Divas rider Kim Terrell. Divas for a Cure was founded by Jan Emanuel, based on her own bout with breast cancer. Not only did she survive three bouts of cancer, but she also suffered from a stroke and cardiac arrest. She has proven that if you put your mind to it, you can do so much more than you ever imagined. Most people who have experienced such debilitating illnesses are just grateful to be alive, much less riding their Harley for 23 days straight—and August 14, 2006, Divas for a Curecompleted their mission and arrived safely in Jan’s hometown of Oakland, California.

At 22 I was diagnosed with cancer and I had two different bouts—a tumor in my head, one in my chest. At 28 I had a cardiac arrest and a stroke, so I decided that there would have to be some changes in my life and I wanted to encourage other women to stay healthy and stay positive, and to do something that would bring attention to women’s health issues, and I think Divas for a Cure is birth of that. And it’s divas, meaning plural.

About a year and a half ago, Jan had to go back to the doctor, and the fear of knowing there might be a reoccurrence caused her to make a change in her life. She decided to get other women involved. Figuring that other women were going through the same experiences as she was, she decided to go online.

Real Divas Ride is an online motorcycle forum. I wanted Real Divas Ride to have a purpose in helping so we launched Divas for a Cure. We needed it to be a non-profit so we could get other people to join in the effort. And in that effort I decided to bring some other people on board. In the beginning I did an outline for Divas for a Cure. Initially, I expected to make a cross-country journey and deliver literature to the different dealerships. It came to me that the dealerships could participate in the event by calling some of their clients and constituents to get involved so we could reach an even larger audience.

Divas for a Cure left from San Francisco to Los Angeles to Las Vegas to Albuquerque to Houston, then finally, to The National Bikers’ Roundup.

The roundup actually brings in 10,000 to 40,000 bikers annually, with at least 10,000 daily, and that is a large audience. Biking used to be predominantly men, but it has changed. Now women are riding bikes. And that is an audience that doesn’t often get the medical information that is needed. So we want to create awareness and reach that target audience. We also have a core group of people that support each other in various events so we clearly would be able to bring those two together to reach the biker community—to reach that audience that may not get their health care needs met, and to also raise money.

Kim Terrell, a biker who works for IAC, formerly known as Ask Jeeves and now Ask.com, was excited to share with Jan that for each $50 contribution each employee from her company donates, IAC will match it.

Divas for a Cure provided a rider’s pledge on the website Divasforacure.org, where visitors could make contributions online, and each contribution would be matched by corporate sponsors, one of which is Harley Davidson, who asked some of their independent dealerships to allow Divas for a Cure to use their parking lots during the ride for approximately two to three hours at each dealership, where the riders met and greeted other bikers in the area. From that point, those bikers would be able to ride with Divas for a Cure to their next destination. This allowed them to get that much needed information out.

We encourage everyone to ride, whether it’s a Honda, Kawasaki, BMW, and especially a Harley. Ninety cents of every dollar goes to cancer research. We’re also launching a wig program for women going through chemotherapy. We believe the look helps to improve the health.

On the 23-day ride, there were seven women and one male rider, including chase vehicle riders. On the route there are pickup riders who ride to a destination and ride for as far as they can go. The next group met up with the Divas in the next city and took them into the next dealership.

AJ Jemison shed some light on just how phenomenal this ride really is.

Pledges go to Firstgiving.com and divasforacure.org, which will link you to the pledge site linking you to the appropriate places to help support the cause. We mentioned this is a run, and a typical run lasts four to five hours on a given day. This is 23 days around the United States, and totally out of the norm. But what we take cross-country is truly information—accurate information. A lot of these women may not ever learn about the risks of breast cancer without this information, and it’s important to know that these riders are all volunteers from different walks of life and careers.

On the website, there are links to breast cancer information, video and early detection literature as well as the latest breast cancer findings. Divasforacure.org identifies hospitals and organizations that have research facilities, as well as those that specifically target breast cancer.

Jan Emanuel –

If you call, you get a real person on the phone. Feel free to send comments. Riders have a pledge, and we’re competing with each other to raise the most money. You can provide services too. There are companies that can donate a service to help create awareness. We welcome your participation. I work in property management, so just having the time off to make this trek is something that my company is giving me, and they are making a donation.

AJ Jemison –

The women who are riding it are doing it voluntarily, and taking off work. I am doing my vacation to do this from here to Florida. We are that committed for all the right reasons. Jan had breast cancer and my mother is a survivor of eight years. We all have our own reasons for doing the ride, but we do it because we care even about those strangers who we never met. When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was there literally twelve hours later and stayed with her throughout the entire surgery. When you know what that feels like, and you can share that experience with someone, it really adds something: “Someone else knows what I am going through.” When you lose your hair, and in my mother’s case, like getting it shaved off before you see the clumps in your comb after your cancer treatments, these are simple things, but the emotions that come with them are so incredible. [I think about the hair stylist and the barber that shaved my mom’s head], women need to know that they are beautiful from the spiritual perspective. But when you look at the outside, you can still look good because that’s what a diva is all about—looking good no matter what. If you got that beauty on the inside, it can’t help but show on the outside.

When Jan Emanuel was originally diagnosed twenty-two years ago, doctors wanted to do immediate radical surgery. I was a little bit vain about it. I elected the lumpectomy, and as a result every year there is a greater chance for reoccurrence because they leave the breast tissue there and take only the affected tissue out.

Doctors are adamant that you do monthly self-breast exams, and do annual mammograms. For Jan it came sooner than later. She had been getting mammograms long before she turned 40.

It’s always a fear that the next lump may be a malignant lump. But I have friends around me that say you beat it once and you’ll beat it again. I am adamant about making sure that I check myself regularly. It was frightening knowing that it could kill me. 22 I was a little immature and only cared about saving the breast. But now that I am older, I realize, wow, I could have died. Now I am in the past 40-category. When I find a lump, I go in immediately to see my doctor because finding the lump is the first call of action. Getting the doctors to examine it with a biopsy, x-ray, or ultra sound is even more crucial. It is also very important that you regularly monitor your health with diet and exercise—those things are key.

Highest High

Launching the Website and the immediate letter we received from the IRS with our 501C3 status, because that meant that we could start eagerly promoting breast cancer awareness and raising the funds. And people would be more apt to help. When you establish a 501C3, it’s important that you honor your commitment and that those dollars reach those people for whom they were intended.

Lowest Low

Not getting the immediate corporate support we thought we would get. It takes a combined effort from resources. But having friends and family support made that low not a blow.

Divas for a Cure has raised more than $35,000.00 with no marketing and advertisement. Their hope is to get the media behind them in hopes that it will make an impact publicly through press releases, radio, and their Public Service Announcements. In the near future, they are hoping to reach six figures.

To learn more about Divas for a Cure, visit their website atwww.Divasforacure.org .

Interview by Kaylene Peoples

Bowling for Boobies: How This Annual Event Has Helped Fight Against Breast Cancer

One might chuckle when presented with the title Bowling for Boobies. I did. But once I learned what this funny little title stood for, my laughter turned into real compassion. Edith Speed and her caring friends founded the annual charity event to aid women while they are dealing with this potentially deadly illness. Bowling for Boobies helps women endure while undergoing the trials and tribulations of breast cancer. Years ago, the very statement, “You have breast cancer,” was cause for panic—cancer meant you were going to die. But today with early detection, the survival rate is 95 percent. Thanks to those who have given their time and support, women have a real fighting chance. What I find most interesting is that those zealous advocators for the disease are its survivors.

So here is where our story begins. Edith Speed saw her aunt and the younger of her two sisters die from breast cancer. It was obvious to her that she was next. Edith was vigilant about getting her annual mammograms. She gave herself breast exams well before the recommended age of 40. But one day three years ago, her X-ray came back abnormal, and her roller coaster ride began. Because Edith was no stranger to breast cancer, she had an inkling of what was ahead. She did her research, and once she received her diagnosis, she set out to change her luck. After firing her initial oncologist, she met with a number of doctors before deciding on her team.

I found the head of the breast center at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. She sat with me as long as I needed, and she answered every question I had. She talked to me like a woman, and was very understanding about the things I was feeling. She was straight up with me about my choices, which included a lumpectomy, radiation, chemo, radical mastectomy, etc., and what each option offered regarding chances of recurrence and side effects.

What came next was debilitating. Edith’s battle turned into a war with the mounting expenses that just were not covered by her insurance company. She witnessed her doctors’ struggle to get the insurance companies to approve procedures in a timely manner, not to mention her own struggles of just getting them to pay for things she thought they were supposed to cover. But with the decision to have radical mastectomies and massive reconstructive surgeries, how could she cover all the costs?

I wanted to choose the best doctors that I could possibly get for myself, and get the best treatment, but that involved going out of my participating provider network for my insurance, and the costs were mounting really quickly. So my friends got together and staged the first Bowling for Boobies, and we raised $1,500.00 that went entirely to my medical bills. I just decided after all of my surgeries were finished and I was cancer-free, that I would keep this going. I wanted to keep giving back to my community. I want to raise money for other women who are in the same position I was in—not necessarily destitute women, but women like me who are self-sufficient and pay for their own insurance—but there are things that aren’t going to be covered by the insurance company.

Edith is now the event chairperson for Bowling for Boobies, and the event is sponsored by the Soroptimist International Verdugos. Surprisingly, Edith’s biggest champion was her best friend Jane Wiedlin from the Go-Gos, and now Bowling for Boobies and Jane go hand in hand. Jane Wiedlin’s celebrity status has helped to bring awareness and additional funding to the charity.

I got involved because one of my best friends, Edith, had breast cancer a few years ago. And her friends put together Bowling for Boobies to help pay for her medical costs that weren’t going to be covered by insurance. Ever since then, Edith has carried on with the event every year. And I have been helping every year to bring more awareness to get more money. It’s a fun night for a really important cause. The other entity involved is the Soroptimist group, which is a club for businesswomen who raise money for various worthy causes. It’s a non-profit group, so they can bring in the money and give all of it to a recipient. Every year they donate the money to a local woman who is battling breast cancer. Hardly ever will your insurance cover all of your costs when you’re battling cancer.

Bowling for Boobies will be auctioning off some amazing gifts to help raise funds for this year’s recipient. Here are some of the things that will be auctioned that night: a pink bowling ball and pin autographed by Jane herself; Felina Lingerie will create a bustier that Jane will wear first in the Bowling for Boobies’ colors, pink and black. Coveted spots on Jane’s bowling team have even been auctioned on e-bay, fetching $1100.00 from one excited fan, Rusty Perez.

There was a lot of competition to get on Jane’s team—a lot of aggressive bidders! But I’ve been a huge fan of Jane’s for 25 years, and I like Boobies. It was a good benefit, so I had to be on the team.

Some of the things that Bowling for Boobies has paid for are cosmetic reconstructive expenses, maids to help out breast cancer patients, taxi rides to and from treatment, adjunctive therapies for cancer such as acupuncture and herbalists—basically anything that your insurance company doesn’t cover, related to breast cancer, and/or aiding in the recovery process.

We want to give support for anything that can ease your struggle with breast cancer, make your life easier and maybe less stressful.

I am a person who takes a lot of pride in taking care of myself and being self-sufficient. On one hand it was really difficult to reach out and ask other people for help, but it was also extremely gratifying when I did. Because if you just reach out a little bit, the amount of love and outpouring and help that people do give you back is just astounding. And I still get kind of choked up about it when I think about how many people really step forward to help. I like the idea of Bowling for Boobies because it’s really fun, and you can be raising money and helping somebody at the same time. We give money to a local woman, or hopefully this year, two local women.

As a woman who has been through such a traumatic and life-threatening experience, what does Edith Speed say about her experience?

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was in that place where I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I was in uncharted territory. You have to go forward and you have to do something, even though it’s terrifying. You want to just put your head under the covers and hope when you wake up, everything’s O. K., but of course that doesn’t happen. With my experience with my family members, they died from it. I thought it was my turn and I was going to die, too. I’ve been extremely healthy all my life. I had never been in the hospital, never broken any bones, never even had my tonsils removed. So when I had that first lumpectomy surgery, I was lying in the hospital bed, it was freezing cold in the room, and none of my family could be with me. I had IVs going into my arm. I found myself thinking about my aunt who died from breast cancer who was a very devout Catholic, and then I found myself praying the Catholic prayers that I thought I had forgotten a long time ago because I don’t practice anymore. It’s really hard to describe that feeling—you’re in a place completely unfamiliar to you and you feel like you’re really alone. I felt like I was facing death, and I came through it.

I had the strength to choose a great medical team. But I had the foresight and determination to assemble the best team and figure out a way to assume the responsibility to pay for it, even if it meant I had to swallow my pride and ask for help.

Pride doesn’t have much place in my life after this ordeal. I don’t feel like I am so much about my ego or my body. These things I associate with pride. It was touching the people who came forward to help me. I have a new perspective on my life now, and every day is a gift. I no longer put important things off because if I don’t do it now, it’s not guaranteed later. I want to take the time and appreciate the great things I have in my life. I certainly appreciate the gift that life is. I do find myself taking more time to tell the people in my life that I care about them. I show them that I love them. I definitely want to reach out and help others, and now there is a special place in my heart for women dealing with breast cancer.

Edith has been cancer-free for two years, and she still fears that it could come back, because oftentimes, cancer does.

Highest High

I feel a sense of victory, happiness, and elation that I have a great support network. I have a great husband. The high point was getting married because it was right after our engagement that I was diagnosed. I was terrified that I was going to be a chemotherapy, bald bride. And I didn’t want to go through that. I got to have the wedding I wanted and two years later got to go on the honeymoon after I was healed and feeling good.

Lowest Low

My lowest point was before the first surgery where I felt really alone. But going into my second surgery, the bilateral mastectomies, and because I had already been there before with the lumpectomies, I knew what to expect. I knew my doctor, and I knew I would wake up and be O.K..

What advice would you give women going through this?

Have a support system, like a friend or family member, and arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can get—we do have access to it.

Bowling for Boobies 2006 will be October 9, 2006, Monday night at Lucky Strike Lanes in Hollywood. It’s a fun event. In addition to the prizes previously mentioned, there will be t-shirts and raffles. Visit www.bowlingforboobies.com, and you can donate money through paypal, or you can send money. Bowling for Boobies has two affiliate programs, too. “Feel Your Boobies” fashion line encourages young women to do their breast exams. Www.BowlingShirt.com donates proceeds from the purchase of their custom bowling shirts. There are a lot of ways to contribute all year, not just October.

Interview by Kaylene Peoples