I attended a meeting of the Board of the American Bladder Cancer Society last weekend. It was held at our headquarters, in Dalton, Mass, which is also home base for Cynthia and Ed Kinsella, our founders. After recovering from three exhausting days, I felt that I had some thoughts that need to be shared with all of you.
We spent quite a bit of time and effort clarifying our Mission Statement and you will see the results of this discussion on the Home Page soon. But what struck me is the difference between our mission and that of many very worthwhile cancer societies. Our mission is to offer support and information to the newly diagnosed as well as survivors and to provide a place where we offer this to each other. Yes, we DO encourage research into the causes, treatments, and eventually a CURE for bladder cancer. But with our limited resources we need to focus on what we feel we can do best .....and that focus is on survivors!
We are an entirely VOLUNTEER organization. Ed Kinsella has recently retired and he and Cynthia spend almost full time on this effort. Two of the Board members are still working full-time in addition to taking on Society duties.
I have been told that the Internet is free!!! Yes, it is....but web sites and their maintenance are NOT. In addition, the Society has daily expenses including telephone and mailings....you would be amazed, and gratified, by the number of requests for information that our office (i.e Cynthia) handles.
We are preparing for an update of our web site. The cyber world is changing so rapidly that what was "state of the art" two or three years ago is sadly behind the times today. We will be increasing the ease of function and accessibility as well as adding new features. NONE OF THIS IS FREE.
You all couldn't come to Dalton, Mass, to join with us last weekend. (Nor would you have fit into our small office or into the Kinsella's kitchen....where our meetings were held.) BUT you can still participate, as you do, in supporting the posters to our Forum with good advice and sharing of experiences. And you can all help us by making a tax deductible financial contribution! It needn't be large (lots of small donations do add up) but it would help support our efforts and let us know that you, too, are with us in this endeavor!
The easiest way to make a tax deductible contribution is just to click on the DONATE NOW button to the right of this page. Or, send your contribution to
American Bladder Cancer Society, Inc.
399 Main Street - Suite 2B
Dalton, MA 01226-1603
Thanks for listening!!
Sara Anne
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