Maya Girl and her 1st Promo for Phoenix Childrens Hospital

When Maya had her 1st surgery it happened to be during one of the biggest Fundraiser of the year for Phoenix Children's Hospital.  It involved KTAR a local radio station that hosted a 2 day telethon.  I was taking Maya for a little stroll around the hospital and was approached by a PR person from Phoenix Childrens'. She asked me all about Maya.  After meeting this person I was then asked to do a radio interview http://cluffcrew.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html and share my experience with how Phoenix Children's Hospital has helped Maya.

About 8 weeks later Maya was asked to return to the Hospital to do a photo shoot. We were able to share her story with sponsors and thank those who have donated to the hospital.  These donations help make it possible for children like Maya to have such great care here at Phoenix Children's ~ 

For February Maya was chosen to do the Thank You card Promo.  I believe their is more to come of her.  The photographer took pictures of her for almost an hour.  With here personality... she did every pose they asked here to do.

And can you believe this was 8 weeks post op? Here hip was broken-reattached-and a plate was placed to hold it together!  I will post more pictures as the PR department continues to send them.!

Maya will have another surgery in March on her right hip.  But I'm very hopeful she will do great!

Love You Maya! And so does everyone else!

Fittness & Cancer: Guess Post

 Written by: DAVID HAAS

It stands to reason that someone who has been recently diagnosed any kind of cancer including common cancers such as breast cancer and skin cancer and even rare cancers like mesothelioma wouldn't want to spend a lot of time exercising. The shock of having been diagnosed with an often fatal disease combined with the sickness, pain and fatigue associated with said disease can all but destroy any motivation that one would have for remaining or becoming physically fit. Physical fitness is important for everybody, even those who are suffering from cancer. Recent studies have found that while a regular exercise regimen is by no means a miracle mesothelioma treatment or a cure for any other kind of cancer, it has helped aid the recovery and improved the prognosis of many cancer patients.

Two of the most common and debilitating side effects of most traditional cancer treatments are fatigue and loss of muscle strength. Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy tend to make patients feel very fatigued, so naturally they do not want to spend a lot of time doing much of anything, let alone engage in any kind of exercise. The muscle weakness commonly experienced by cancer patients naturally results from this fatigue. As they are deprived of exercise, these patients also miss out on some of the benefits that come from being physically fit including improved sleep patterns, increased energy, decreased depression and a generally improved sense of wellbeing. In other words, exercise can help a cancer patient or cancer survivor get his or her life back.

One form of exercise that many experts suggest for cancer patients is lightweight training. It's already been established that many cancer treatments cause a weakness in the muscles, so a weight-training program has proven to be very beneficial for many patients undergoing chemotherapy or similar treatments. It is not recommended that anyone who is experiencing fatigue or muscle weakness attempt any rigorous weight training exercises, but there are plenty of light exercises that can be done that will still help to build lean muscle mass and improve the overall fitness of cancer survivors.

The American Cancer Society has become so convinced by the benefits of exercise for cancer patients that they have implemented moderate exercise programs for patients who have been newly diagnosed with cancer. These exercise programs can technically be considered palliative therapy, which means that while they will not cure or treat the cancer directly they will at least improve the symptoms of the disease or treatment.