Since I wrote to my Congressmen about the Act, I received the following update from CureSearch.org:

The bill, first introduced in the Senate by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Norm Coleman (R-MN), passed by unanimous consent, echoing a similar 416-0 vote June 12th in the U.S. House of Representatives. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) requested, and received, this unanimous consent on the Senate floor.

What does this mean? It means the bill passed both the House and Senate unanimously and is now on its way to President Bush to sign into law. If he does, $30 million will be authorized annually over five years,

providing funding for collaborative pediatric cancer clinical trials research, to create a population-based national childhood cancer database, and to further improve public awareness and communication regarding available treatment and research for children with cancer and their families.

Hells yes. That is what I am talking about. In the grand scheme of things $30M is not really a huge chunk of money, especially compared to other expenditures in the federal budget. But my goodness, this is a nice place to start.

I am thrilled by this news. I hope you are too. If you did reach out to your Senator or Representative, please take a moment to thank them for their bipartisan efforts on behalf of children with cancer and childhood cancer survivors.

Post from: Blisstree

More Updates – The Conquer Childhood Cancer Act

Smart ART IX, which will take place August 14-16, is a symposium that will “provide a unique opportunity for nurses and healthcare professionals involved in the management of infertility patients to learn about new agents, procedures, and counseling techniques contributing to the continued success of ART.”

Oh wait, did I mention? Maybe I didn’t…

Enrollment is limited to the first 450 registrants and is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Why?

Tuition has been generously underwritten by an unrestricted educational grant from Organon, a part of Schering-Plough which includes all scientific sessions, a course syllabus, and planned meal functions.

That means it’s free.

Of course, you’ll still need to get a hotel room for the weekend, but I bet your spouse or best friend would be happy to split the tab and find some other reasons to be in Vegas.

What are you waiting for? Click here to register.

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And don’t forget about that other Friday Freebie! You have until July 31st to enter to win a $40 Fertility Scope from  Miracle Light Labs.

Post from: Blisstree

Freebie Friday (Professional Edition) – Smart ART IX: From Physiology to Clinical Success

A new article at WebMD.com reports:

A study of more than 12,000 couples undergoing fertility treatments has found that pregnancy rates drop and miscarriages increase when the father is older than 40…The results are believed to be the first to show that simply being an older dad has a strong effect on reproductive outcomes.

These findings were presented on Monday at the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona, Spain.

How a father’s age influences fertility has been a matter of debate. Until now, there’s been no clinical proof that simply being an older dad directly affects a couple’s ability to conceive and achieve a healthy pregnancy.

But I can think of several older men who have fathered healthy kids with their partners, just as I can think of women nearing and (gasp) even passing that 35-year mark, which is supposed to signal “advanced maternal age” and warrant all kinds of extra precautions,  who have become proud parents.

What do you think of this new finding? Is it reassuring to know that men’s age factors more into the equation, or does this feel like one more thing to worry about?

Post from: Blisstree

Do Wanna Be Dads Have a Biological Clock Too?

A Reuters UK article entitled, Ethics Take Center Stage at Fertility Conference, reports on the current multiple birth debate which seems to be the focus of many Reproductive Endocrinologists lately.

Some Health & Wellness bloggers have already reported on some events and findings from the ESHRE Conference:

Marijke at Womb Within mentions the slowly changing stigma around Surrogacy and wonders if it will eventually fade.

Karen at Pink Ribbon Review highlights the findings for a new fertility technique which targets women with cancer.

With several days left in the conference, I am sure more headlines will focus on what progress has been (and has yet to be) made in the field. Stay tuned.

Post from: Blisstree

A Fertile Week for Fertility News

Image details: Fertilization served by picapp.com

A scientist in Australia claims that he has created an inexpensive pill that will double the chances of conception in couples struggling with infertility. Double!?!

The Sydney Morning Herald Reports,

Menevit, a supplement containing seven anti-oxidants and minerals, claims to improve the chances of pregnancy for the one in 20 men affected by male infertility.

The pill, available over the counter for $1 a day, was developed by Kelton Tremellen from the University of Adelaide. It is sold through pharmaceutical company Bayer. It contains vitamins C and E, zinc, folic acid, lycopene, garlic oil and selenium.

Is it just me, or does the name make you giggle?

A friend once told me that Rogain, you know, the hair growth stuff, was originally proposed as /Regain, but that didn’t sound scientific-y enough. Hence the new name. (I forget how he had the insider knowledge, but can completely believe it. ) I am wondering what earlier incarnations of this pill’s name have been. Benefit, Men-fit, sperm-be-fit….

Sorry. I am digressing.

Dr Tremellen said the pill worked by neutralising the free radicals that help break down sperm DNA, resulting in a greater risk of infertility, miscarriage and birth defects.

But some folks, including fertility experts, ain’t buying it. They say there’s no evidence of improved embryo quality as a result of the pill and are demanding that additional studies and research be done to support its current claims.

But I mean, it is only a $1….

Post from: Blisstree

Could Menevit Help Your Guy’s Sperm Get Fit?

Is this nuts? How can you mourn for something that has never existed? The very notion seems an insult to anyone who has ever mourned a real dead child. It speaks of a bizarre sense of entitlement: the idea that “anything I can imagine, I should have!” Worse, it suggests that biology is destiny in a way that makes a mockery of free-will and seems reminiscent of strains of fascism.

Before you go nuts, you should know that Mr. Blincoe himself is infertile and he and his wife are unable to bear children. So this isn’t a case of a “misinformed fertile.”

but it is a different point of view. Apparently based on perusing the recent comment section of the New York Times article on living childfree.

I have some thoughts about this, but I’ll wait to hear some of yours first.

Post from: Blisstree

Fertility Treatments = Strains of Fascism?

Next week here at the Health & Wellness channel, we’re going to make it a little easier to focus in our your favorite TV star, movie actor, singer. We’re trying something out called “Celebrity Week” and each blog will have at least a few posts about celebrities in relation to their topic.

Just in case you can’t wait until tomorrow, here are a few Fertility Notes celebrity posts to tide you over:

• The Kentucky Derby – Contrasting Joy and Loss
• Who’s Your Baby Mama?
• Thoughts and Conversations on J.Lo (She Doesn’t Have Infertility Cooties)
• Did She or Didn’t She? Does It Matter?
• Screw You, Tyra
• Having a Baby – When the Old Fashioned Way Isn’t Working
• Breaking News: Teens Can Get Pregnant After Having Sex
• A Dixie Dialog

See you tomorrow!

Image: Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

“Celebrity Week” at the Health & Wellness Channel Begins Tomorrow

But better late than never, right?

For those of you who aren’t familiar, each month, bloggers can sign up to read and review a book, usually related to infertility and/or pregnancy loss. Everyone is welcome to join. You just need to have a blog (not necessarily related to fertility, infertility and/or pregnancy loss). Bloggers/readers submit questions. Each participant selects a few to answer. Sometimes, when we get lucky (like this month), the authors themselves join the discussion.

This month’s read was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, a book which follows the life of Jacob Jankowski from the classroom at Cornell to his present status as a nursing home resident. The years in between just happen to be as a member of the Benzini Brothers traveling show.

I spent the first hundred pages scratching my head and wondering where the connecting with infertility was going to appear. Was the circus a metaphor? Was Jacob’s abrupt loss of his parents and unlikely future path symbolic of how life has thrown us all a curve? I felt as if my analytical skills were really being put to the test until Mel said, Gab, chill out. It doesn’t have anything to do with infertility or loss; It’s just a book that a lot of people wanted to read.

Oh. Ok. That made me feel a little better.

And with that, here are my responses to Water for Elephants:

1. Originally forced to share quarters, Kinko (Walter) seems to have an intense dislike for Jacob. One day, Jacob helps Kinko’s dog Queenie and Kinko becomes his friend because of this small act of kindness. Has someone performed a simple act of kindness that changed your feelings toward them? How did this small act affect you? Can just a small and simple thing have a profound effect?

I must be incredibly lucky, because I am having trouble focusing on just one instance.

Right now, I am thinking of the time that I sat on a plane at Heathrow Airport, waiting to take off after saying goodbye to a year of independence and more importantly (at the time) my boyfriend who I thought I would never see again (oh if only, but that’s another story for another blog). I was 21. My heart was breaking. The journey home was the last one I wanted to be taking. I was sitting there, blotchy-faced and miserable, when someone sat down next to me.

And proceeded to talk to me for what seemed like forever. I had no interest in his story – he was traveling to the States and unlike me, was excited about it. He told me all about his upcoming summer job, all the places he wanted to see on his week off (the Grand Canyon, New York, Las Vegas….) and went on and on and on. I had to look annoyed. I had to. But he wouldn’t stop talking.

And because I was busy being annoyed with him, I didn’t have time to cry, or feel sorry for myself, or realize that the plane had taken off, was in the air, and I was almost home and guess what, I was still alive and able to function. Once dinner was served (my gosh, can you remember a time?) he instantly handed over his little wine bottle to me. In response to my puzzled face, he replied, “C’mon, you look like your heart’s about to burst. You need it more than me.” At that moment, it became clear to me that his chatter was completely a diversionary tactic, meant to make just a little bit of that 8 hour flight go a little faster. Which it did. As soon as I realized that he was going out of his way to ease my sorrow, my irritation faded and a real conversation ensued.

We talk a lot on fertility blogs about abiding, and in fact, Mrs. Spit has a wonderful post about this subject. And I think that what this man did for me was a kind of abiding. Being with me in my time of grief. I don’t remember his name. I may have not have even told him mine (I was like that). But the act itself obviously had a profound effect. 13 years later, I still remember it.

2. What does the title mean to you? Why do you think Sara Gruen chose it as the title?

There is a situation at the nursing home, where Jacob goes absolutely nuts on a new male resident who claims to have brought water to the elephants when the circus came to town. The phrase is also used derisively by the owner of the Benzini Bros. when Jacob asks for a job. As is, what? You’ll bring water for the elephants? To me, it feels like a euphemism for something that everyone claims to be familiar with, but may not, in fact, actually exist. Kind of like the Emperor’s Clothes. Perhaps like a Perfect Childhood.

I’m not sure why Ms. Gruen chose it as a title – I would love to hear her response.

3. What is your favorite circus related memory?

Riding on the back of an elephant with my best friend, Jaime. I must have been around 5. She was 2 years younger. We were at the Barnum and Bailey show with our moms. A clown came and took our picture but when it printed out, it was of two owls, not two little girls. Our moms thought it was hilarious. I was confused. Jaime may have been close to tears (she was always close to tears). Seeing that his joke didn’t go over very well with its intended recipients, the clown asked if we’d like to be a part of the show. What?!?! We were escorted back behind the scenes and climbed a metal scaffolding ON TO THE BACK OF A HUGE ANIMAL. There were other kids there with us, and we stacked up, each straddling the kid in front of us, all lined up on the elephants back.

I honestly cannot remember where the elephant went after that. Did we enter the main ring? Did we just sit there for a while? I haven’t a clue. All I remember is smelling straw, and animals, and caramel corn, and trying to understand why the novelty photo of the owls was so darn funny.

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Hop along to another stop on this blog tour by visiting the main list at http://stirrup-queens.blogspot.com/. You can also sign up for the next book on this online book club: The Empty Picture Frame by Jenna Nadeau (with author participation because she’s a blogger!)

Post from: Blisstree

It’s the Barren B*tches Book Brigade! Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The what you say? That’s not a word. Did she make that sh*t up? I didn’t, but Mel at Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters did.

What’s it all about? It’s National Comment Leaving Month (the national refers to wherever you are reading) from May 25th to June 25th. A full month of intense comment leaving. Go here for the full list of bloggers and readers who are participating. Stop by any blogs of your choosing and try to leave at leave five comments each day. Why? Because we made a promise to nurture ourselves this month, remember? Plus it’s fun. There are over 100 blogs (most of them fertility-related) for you to discover here. What a treasure!

Ready, set, go!

Post from: Blisstree

NaCoLeavMo Begins Today!

You have one more day to celebrate National Women’s Health Week.

Don’t feel like leaving the house today? Just stop by the Women’s Health Expo at Revolution Health. It’s kind of like an online health fair. Even better, Revolution Health will make a donation to an organization every time you click on its booth. Lots of good resources to choose from here – my first stops were the Society for Women’s Health Research and The Wellness Community.

Educate yourself, learn about exercise, nutrition and wellness and find some nurturing (our goals for May, remember?) all right here.

Who will you visit first?

Post from: Blisstree

Stop by the Women’s Health Expo in Time for National Women’s Health Week