Please Help !!!!!

As you know I am involved in raising funds for breast cancer vaccine research. For more info go to www.penniesinaction.org
Which by the way has now expanded to ovarian cancer vaccine research at Penn.
If you or anybody you know gets diagnosed with DCIS with over expressed HER2/neu please tell them about the option of the vaccine /treatment
I am so upset. A friend of the family was diagnosed in march with having breast cancer again after 20 years. I heard about it after she had surgery , and had started chemo and radiation.
Christmas eve I saw her and found out she had DCIS with HER2/neu.
Which means she would have been eligible for the trial…!!!
She wants to see Dr. Czerniecki now after the fact. We, women and men, need to know our options. The doctors do not tell us all, we need to help each other and inform each other about what is out there.
I cannot stress it enough. By next year an estimated 1, 000 000 people will have been diagnosed with DCIS.
Please tell your friends to get the message out. The first 3 patients in the new trial have had amazing success. Do not keep this option from your friends and loved ones!!!
I know I am pushy about this fact, but in the case of our friend I should have been a lot pushier so she would have known…
I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year and please help to get us all closer to wiping out the threat of cancer!!!!!

Pennies in Action got the final approval as a 501 (c) (3) public charity

This is the best Christmas present. After almost 2 years we got our final papers from the IRS . We filed 4/28/08 and received the final approval 12/14/09. This means that our hands have been untied to start fundraising in a big way.
Thru the generosity of the Seifert family fund we had been able to start a term fund at University of Pennsylvania so we could start immediately our efforts to raise funds for cancer vaccine research. It all had to go thru the Trustees of the University but because of the term fund all moneys went directly to the research….
Now we are able to deal direct thru Pennies in Action.
The new trial is showing amazing results so far.
Pennies in Action wants to raise funds and awareness for a Immuno therapy center and a cancer think tank so that the brightest minds get together and eliminate the threat of cancer in the next decade. But I need every bodies help. This is a global threat and affects every body to some extent. I am the first one in my family to have had cancer and I had 2 kinds. So I felt first hand that no one is save.
If every body gives just a little we can do this.
Remember economic down turns are temporary, but the affects of cancer are permanent.
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I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Holiday season !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some of the losses in skating since we got rid of school figures

It is 18 years since we eliminated figures in skating. I am always working on analyzing what we lost because of that. And how to put back into the grammar of skating to fill the void.
One of the major things is that the skating side is not getting educated anymore and the free-side is taking over to much.
In order to not change edge and have flats in turns you needed to stay properly over your hip. As we concentrated on the print it was a natural development. We always were told “ stand over the hip” Doing it hours a day it was inevitable to get a good amount of that.
Recently I watched a tape of Janet Lynn and it was amazing how controlled she was on the skating side. Which is partly the reason that she had such great run on the blade . As my coach Helmut Seibt always said the run of the blade is supreme to everything else… As Elvis Stojko put it “ The blade rules…”
As we took away the education of the print the blade made it seems the blade has lost its voice.
It is amazing how few skaters now have true blade control. Imagine a concert pianist having very little sense of touch in his or her fingers…
We lost accuracy, sense of symmetry , true flow during transitions and true sense of circle.
In my humble opinion all these things are contributing to all the injuries we are having in skating. When properly aligned over the skating hip, skating is low impact. If not it becomes very high impact and our hip knee and ankle joints are not able to endure the daily abuse…

Another success story for the breast cancer vaccine trial

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
Here is another testimonial about a new success story for Dr. Czerniecki's breast cancer vaccine trial at the University of Pennsylvania. If anyone gets diagnosed with breast cancer please let them check it out and see if they are elegable for this trial. I was diagnosed 4 years ago and much to my dismay was not but so many are...
By next year in America alone 1 000 000 women will have been diagnosed with DCIS ( ductal carcinoma in situ)

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A recipient of the vaccine : I am so thankful to tell people that this vaccine works! My biopsies and lymph nodes are all disease free! I can't wait to start helping other people because even though I am very happy for myself, I will never feel completely happy until I know we have done all we can to just get rid of cancer for everyone forever. Ev...en though it might seem like baby steps, each step is so important and each person healed is such a celebration! Thanks Uschi for all your love and encouragement!S.D.

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Please tell everybody about this.
For more info check
www.penniesinaction.org

Win Gold by beating cancer

In light of the upcoming Olympic games, Pennies in Action is having another fundraiser.
Pennies in Action measures donation into distance. Every penny is ¾ of an inch.
48 pennies is a yard and 84 480 ($ 845) equals a mile.
The Olympic flame travels 6092 miles from Athens to Vancouver .Let’s see how much distance we can cover between now and the end of the Games.
You can donate on line at www.penniesinaction.org or send checks to
Pennies in Action
3100 Dutton Mill Rd
Aston PA 19014
USA

Our dear friend Bob rest in peace....

A few hours ago our dear friend Bob passed away. He fought a brave fight against cancer, but after much suffering lost it tonight….
We will miss him terribly. He has been a dear friend of ours since I first came to America many years ago.
He had such a sunny disposition and took everything life handed him in stride. He always said” it is what it is…”
He made our time in Florida so happy. My husband will miss him so much. They shared so many things.
We must solve this horrible suffering caused by cancer.!!!!
They are so close and it is so upsetting that funding stands in the way. It again comes down to money…
I will give it my last breath to help to get rid of this horrible disease. I promise you that Bob...
I made the start with www.penniesinaction.org
I know you are in a good place now. We will always love you and never forget you….

Another Corey story....

And how I love them and love to share them.
The other day my two grand kids were talking about their Christmas list. So Corey said “ Omi , for Christmas Justin and I would like play station 3 for the two of us. I know we have play station 2 but a lot of the new games are not made for that. Besides we have had it for 17 years!’
I said “ but Corey you are only 11” To that he answered “ I know but it sure feels like it….”
I can always count on the two of them to come up with it…

coachable does not equal controllable

In my career as a coach I have often seen, that children have been called not coachable because they were not controllable.

I applaud a child that refuses to be controlled.

Our job as coaches is to guide . But we should never forget the 3 basic human rights.

1. Right to clear information

2. Right to your own perception

3. Freedom of choice

I do understand that this could be misused or misinterpreted.

My Dad told me the first day I started coaching.

“Uschi you better realize that you will have a large influence on young people, sometimes more than their parents. Do you feel you can handle that.? It is about them and not about you. Always remember there is no place for you on the podium.”

As a coach you have many chances as an athlete you have one career…

We should try to help them stand on their own two feet and eventually take ourselves out of the equation. Remote controlling a student, does not built their strength…

I have and always will put my students first. I hope my Dad is proud of me( he died 26 years ago) I have never forgotten his words…..

success stories of the breast cancer vaccine trial

I was fortunate to be talking to recipients of the breast cancer vaccine in the first trial.
Here is their testimonial. For more info check www.penniesinaction.org


I will briefly tell you how I came to have my first appointment with Dr.
Czerniecki.

While I was in the waiting room of the radiologist's office to meet with
him to hear the "news", I was thinking about how much I needed my late
husband to be with me at that moment because he was always a huge support
to me and how angry I was because he could not.

At that very moment, the song that my husband and I danced to at our
wedding began to play over the music system. I struggled to keep my
composure until after I met with the radiologist who told me that I had
DCIS. I cried all the way home, not because of the cancer but because of
the song. I knew that Jerry was looking down on me from above - he was
by my side.

Later that afternoon my gynecologist called me and gave me the name of
three surgeons to contact at Penn. I called Penn right away. The first
surgeon contacted could not see me for six weeks. That scared me. The
second one contacted could see me in two days! That happened to be Dr.
Czerniecki.

When Dr. Czerniecki asked me if I would be interested in participating in
his clinical trial, I didn't even have to give it a second thought. We
have vaccines to cure and prevent other diseases so why not cancer? I
made perfect sense to me. Perhaps having a background in science made
the decision easier but for me it was a "no brainer".

From there my appointments were set up. I had a plan, and that fact
alone kept me calm and focused. To me having a plan was crucial.

The results from the vaccine were outstanding leaving me triple negative.
I went to my follow-up visit with my oncologist totally prepared to hear
about beginning Chemo only to hear that he was dismissing me! I was
stunned, driving home in a daze and remaining in a daze for the next
couple of days. I was cancer free! I was now a member of the best club
in the world.

To just walk into an appointment two days after learning I had DCIS and
to meet with the one person running this particular clinical trial was a
total miracle. To this day I am still in awe of my good fortune and can
only attribute it to guidance from God. I am truly blessed. K.B

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I am one of the women who participated in the vaccine study. It works! I was vaccinated two years ago and I am still cancer free. This is the most exciting advance in cancer cure/prevention in our lifetime. It is time we moved the emphasis from cancer cure to cancer PREVENTION. For more information on the study google Dr. Brian Czerniecki. A.W.

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Please check Dr. Czerniecki’s interview on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-z3RVwReEg
The second trial is now open, please tell everybody about it in case they are eligable if diagnosed with breast cancer...

When you think you can't there is lots left inside of you...

As part of my figure skating training I spent 3 afternoons a week at the track working out.

When you are in a sport judged on opinion, it is very important that you also do something where you can measure the result of your energy output.

My Dad was an engineer and was very much into science. He calculated my average for the season in each discipline (high jumping, running long jump , 100 meter run.) and in the off season I had to do every week-end 1500 m cross country.

I was 13 years old and at that point German junior ladies champion in figure skating and district champion in High jumping.

We came to the track at 3pm and went to the high-jump pit. After warming up I was ready. Steadily the bar was raised and was now at the average that was calculated for me. Every other time I could get over that with very little problem. Not so that fateful day …wow... I tried and tried and the bar always fell down. My Dad sat steadfast “ we are not leaving till you get over it…”

I went thru every emotion you can imagine anger , feeling sorry for myself, hating my Dad etc. Now it is 8:30 at night, we had floodlights at the track. People had gathered and felt sorry for the poor girl and made comments about the cruel father . He took it all without saying a word. But I knew my Dad well enough to know that he meant what he said. WE WILL NOT LEAVE UNTIL YOU GET OVER IT.

I remember as if it was yesterday. I mustered everything I had ,set to jump --- jumped----and when I was on the ground the bar had stayed up….

My Dad said ,” ok lets go home and NEVER FORGET WHEN YOU THINK YOU CAN’T THERE IS STILL A LOT LEFT IN RESERVE!!!

This was many years ago and this experience has governed my life. You only need to prove that to yourself once and you know it.

I always admired my Dad for having had the strength to stand tall to the nee sayers and teach me one of the most valuable lessons of my life…

Pennies in ActionTM is making great strides...

I am so excited about the response that Pennies in ActionTM is getting .
Dr. Czerniecki’s interview is now on you tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-z3RVwReEg

Please send the link to all your contacts. Anybody touched by cancer needs to hear this. It is so full of hope and good news.
The new trial that started recently and still has openings is showing already great results. For more info go to www.penniesinaction.org

"You will only reach your own potential if you help others reach theirs"

It is amazing what happens to you when your focus goes to helping others.
I have been so blessed in my teaching figure skating that I have had such wonderful young people to work with.
When your focus switches from yourself to others , a real transformation happens.
In order to reach another level you need both views from the inside out and the outside in.

Knowledge needs to be shared to grow !!!

It is very exciting for me to watch Brian Orser having made that transformation. He is a wonderful and extremely talented person. The future of skating is in great hands…Anybody is lucky to have him as a coach.
I am so proud of him and am looking forward to seeing where he will take this!!!

On the Beauty of skating...

Many people take physics classes but few are physicists.

Many take music lessons but few become musicians etc

In the same way , many are taking skating lessons and few become skaters…

We are not born to swim and we are not born to skate, but as humans we can adapt to pretty much anything. But adapting needs training.

When we walk we are vertical, when you swim you have to learn to be horizontal in the water and when you skate you have to be in a natural lean towards the ice.

One of the basics of Hydro-Blading TM is to take the fear out of leaning.

The true beauty of skating emerges when the blade is being played like an instrument (violin, guitar etc) instead of being used merely to transport the skater from point A to point B. It is now 18 years that figures have been eliminated from our sport and I can tell you from experience, it is very difficult to get the level of skill needed to create poetry in motion, with the grammar having been eliminated so long ago. Along with having exercise and movement education almost eliminated in the school system it has created a great challenge to produce that high level of skill.

Oh well, I always loved a challenge…

Pennies in Action goes global...

Thanks to the hope bus tour for coming to IceWorks in Aston Pa (www.thehopebus.org)
We had a family FUNd day , lots of kids came out . We had a ribbon cutting ceremony to launch Pennies in Action going global.
Tanith Belbin/Ben Agosto (USA), Oksana Domnina (Russia), Helena Nyman from the Hope Bus Tour ,and Jim McGinn from Aston Township helped me cut the ribbon.
Then Helena lit a torch and 12 other torches were lit from that one to signify the unity and outreach to each other to help others
The torches were lit by representatives from USA,Canada, Russia, Latvia, Germany and Switzerland to signify our global outreach.
My grandson Corey held a torch for all the young children that we hope will never have to deal with the horrors of cancer.
The Mchugh Irish dancing school, and Top gun Black Belt Academy gave great performances.
Kids loved the Flyers games and the moon bounce,the engine"63" from the Greenridge fire company and all the games that the committee had for them.
Pinnoccio’s donated the food and Coke the drinks.
Fun was had by all.
All this would have never happened if Kelsey Little ,one of our skaters would not have put a group on face book about pennies in Action. That is how the hope bus tour found out about us.
Thank you sooooooo much Kelsey…

Great victory for www.penniesinaction.org

Through getting the message out about Dr.Czerniecki's breast cancer vaccine trials, a new patient from many miles away found her way to the University of Pennsylvania Hospital and was found to be eligible and is now enrolled in the trial.
Thanks to all my friends on facebook and twitter who were and are helping to get the message out.
Please send everybody you know to the site www.penniesinaction.org.
Everyone who had or might get breast cancer needs to know about these new developments. It will save many lives...
PLEASE HELP !!!
Interview with Dr. Czerniecki:
http://rglvideo.com/Proof/Proof/Cure.html

New Hope for Breast cancer prevention and recurrance prevention...

I am so thrilled to be able to share with you the exclusive interview that Dr. Czerniecki granted Pennies in Action to explain in his own words what his research is all about.
Please share it with all your friends , because you never know who needs to have this information…
http://rglvideo.com/Proof/Proof/Cure.html
I am always interested in your comments …

(Dr. Czerniecki,Pam Keon, Uschi Keszler)

Great international relations while having fun...

Thursday we had an international festival at ICEWORKS for our skaters from many different nations.
It was fun for everyone. Everyone brought some food of their native country. We had an American barbeque to go with it
We had a waterslide and dunk tank. It was great to see when the kids dunked the coaches. China went in first then Japan, Switzerland and to top it off the little Korean girls dunked their coach from Korea. The smiles on their faces afterwards were priceless…I must say I chickened out, oh well…(so did some other countries, but Asia came on strong or soaked lol…)
Thanks to the president of the ICEWORKS skating club, Lisa Shaw, and Skating Director Joey Suchodolsky fun was had by all.

Why do we tear down others so easily?...

We are so great in supporting the underdog. As soon as the underdog gets ahead, we switch and are busily looking for reasons to tear them down again.
My motto has always been: “Do not rain on anybodies parade.”
Soon after their success (that we readily celebrated) we are starting to look for reasons how to cut them back down to size.
Apparently , no one is spared.
Why do you think that is?
Please comment…

On Spirituality...

It is amazing to me how many children are being brought up without the believe in a supreme being.
It does not matter what your religion is , but the common ground is the believe that there is a force greater than ourselves.
When I was brought up I knew that there was the almighty god that saw and knew everything, that you could not hide from this supreme being, that you were accountable to. It definitely kept me and my friends from getting into all kinds of trouble.
Today too many children are trying to get good at not getting caught. The emphasis is not any more on being good and accountable but on being smart enough not to get caught.
Children are very impressionable and need to have the fear of god in them to learn the difference between good and bad in a black and white way…
I feel very bad for all the children that do not get this start in life. The schools used to take over where the home life did not. But sadly this has now been eliminated in our public schools!!!
In our formative years we are not capable of dealing in grey. So lets give our children a chance to get a good start…

Positive self talk. Become your own best friend...

All my life I worked on becoming the person who I want as my best friend.(It is still a work in progress…)
The most important part of this is the self talk that we engage in.
This is so important in everything we do. In my teaching skating I see that all the time.
There is a difference between being hard on yourself or annilating yourself . Sometimes I would love to give them a baseball bat , so they can get the self destruction over with faster…
There is such fun and joy in learning and the progress is so exhilarating if we give ourselves encouragement and a pat on the back along the way. We always look for that in others to do for us, but we do not realize the power we have within ourselves.
Be aware of the self talk you have. Ultimately you measure up to how you see yourself. Make sure the journey is enjoyable for you and everyone around you…
Try it, you might really like it.
IF YOU CAN IMAGINE IT, YOU CAN BECOME IT!!!

Our skater from ICEWORKS update...

Wonderful news!!!
He is back at the rink skating. Truly remarkable after the horrible accident and very bad injuries.
Thanks for all your prayers, as you see they truly helped.