Friday, October 21, 2011

Danny and the Juniors for Pennies in Action

Please watch this video that Danny and the Juniors made in support of
Pennies in Action.....
http://youtu.be/sNKBkHHKogs

Saturday, October 1, 2011

The Answer to Cancer...

The Answer to Cancer...

In This Issue
Quote of the Week
Quote of the Week

"I urge all of you to enjoy life and the precious moments you have. To be enthusiastic everyday and as Ralph Waldo Emerson said "Nothing great can be accomplished without enthusiasm".

So keep the dream alive, in spite of whatever problems you have. The ability to work hard will allow your dreams to come true, to become a reality."

-Jim Valvano, March 4, 1993 acceptance speech for the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the first annual Espy Awards

CANCER...

One in four people in the United States is affected by some form of this disease...there's a good chance that as you read this, you are one of them or you know someone who's been touched by cancer. Our goal is not to dwell on the statistics of a losing battle...but to champion a cause for hope

CURE !

The good news is that researchers like Brian Czerniecki, MD, PhD at the Hospital of the University of Penn (HUP) are dedicated to finding the key that unlocks the mystery of curing this disease. As a Rhoads Harrington Professor of Surgical Oncology and Co-Director of the Rena Rowan Breast Center, Dr. Czerniecki has made a commitment to challenge the "standard of care" by researching the molecular behavior of cancer and incredibly, helping patients to use their own body for the cure.

Picture: From left to right: Dr. Brian Czerniecki, Uschi Keszler (Founder of Pennies in Action) and Ursula Koldovsky who lost her battle with pancreatic cancer last year. She was long-time associate of Dr. Czerniecki and a driving force in his Dendritic Cell research, growing the individual vaccines used for the participants in the HER-2/neu clinical trial.

Dr. Czerniecki has already developed an immunotherapy vaccine and successfully treated 50 women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. He has developed a vaccine that teaches your body's own immune system to defend against cancer. His goal is to apply this protocol to multiple types of cancer. With your support, he can continue his assault, and ultimately attain the cure.

Having received grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH) Dr. Czerniecki is in the process of completing the second phase of a trial for HER2+ breast cancer. He needs to supplement the acquired grants with an additional $200,000 to take the next step in conquering cancer.

CALL-TO-ACTION

Dr. Czerniecki has applied proven science as evidenced by the astonishing results that he has achieved, but he needs funding. On behalf of all those people that are affected by cancer, please head this call to action. Click on the following link to the 501(c ) (3 ) non- profit foundation Pennies in Action

www.penniesinaction.org

Please take a few minutes to view the video in which Dr. Czerniecki explains his research and get a sense of how close he really is....THEN, please click on the donate tab in the left menu to make a difference.

Personal Note from Helena Nyman: Pennies in Action is an Organization, all based on volunteer work - no paid employees! - that currently raises funds to set an end to the senseless death due to cancer.

Have an EXTRAordinary weekend!

Friday, July 8, 2011

This is scary .........


This is a letter I received today from one of the vaccine recipients.She is allowing me to post it here, because it is important info.....

___________________________________


Hi Uschi,
There is not a day that goes by that I don't realize how fortunate and blessed I have been to have Dr. Czerniecki as a surgeon but also to have qualified for the vaccine.
Wednesday I ran into a friend of mine at the food store whom I have not seen for awhile.
She relayed to me that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in March. I asked her what was driving her cancer. She had no idea - not one of her doctors told her what caused the cancer! She was not aware that different elements could cause the cancer. We must have talked for nearly an hour. I gave her one of the brochures.
She had her surgery done at Princeton Medical Center.
Now get this - they told her after she had CAT scans, PET scans etc that there was what looked like a possible tumor on her liver but they think it is not cancer. How can they make a statement like this without doing a biopsy?
She also has not had any GYN yearly's since her last child was born [her one daughter used to babysit for me and is a nurse! This daughter worked for the Princeton medical center for 25 years and now works at Bristol-Myers Squibb.] We are talking intelligent people here but they are really in the dark about comprehensive care.
This same medical center told another friend of mine who had a suspicious lump, that 3 radiologists could not agree upon, to come back in another three months and then get reassessed!
What is the harm in seeking a second opinion? If I was told I had a tumor on my liver, I would not leave until it was biopsied and an evaluation given. "think" is not a diagnosis!
Yearly exams are so basic - a very small price to pay if it saves your life.
In the same conversation I was told that my daughter, Holly's ex-mother-in-law, who does not get mammographies, rolled over in bed and felt a mass. Stewed around about it for a couple of weeks until her son forced her to admit what was wrong, called his sister to get her to a doctor. Her lymph was also invaded with cancer. [Diagnosed stage 3]. We are talking a woman who was a college professor, former mayor of my old township and her husband was president of New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company for years and even started a bank there, is resposible for starting New Jersey RE-Insurance so people at the Jersey Shore can get flood insurance etc.
All I can do is shake my head and count my blessings!
Karen


Karen H. Berner
Breast Cancer Vaccine Recipient
Support Cancer Vaccine Research

Sunday, July 3, 2011

this is Blake Chapman who wrote the letter...

I applaud the initiative of this young man.....


One of the hockey players of TEAM MASS 96 took the initiative to help

Pennies in Action by writing a letter to the contacts in his families address book.

Thru his initiative we received so far $ 1710

Some of his team mates followed suit and we got another $ 575

On top of that the team raised another $ 564.05 which brings their total this year to $ 2834.05

I have always said it is our youth that will make sure we succeed. !!!!!!!!

It is time that we start listening more to their voices.

Thanks guys you are amazing……

--------------------------------------------



This is the original letter:


Dear Friends and Family,

This summer I am very fortunate to be able to combine my passion, hockey with my community service project, Pennies In Action.

German Olympic Skater and Olympic Coach Uschi Keszler founded PIA. Uschi is a breast and uterine cancer survivor.

As an elite athlete, Uschi was aware of the power and resiliency of the human body. So when she decided to help find a way to beat cancer, she knew that she could not support something that would destroy the body in order to heal it. Finding out that her surgeon Dr. Brian Czernieck was already in clinical trials of a vaccine that utilizes the patient’s own immune system to fight breast cancer. She knew she had found her first project. This is the only trial of its kind in the world that has shown such promise towards a CURE for cancer.

My hockey team, Mass One Elite will be traveling to Pennsylvania on June 29 - July 3, to play in the Philly AAA International.

There we will present Uschi Keszler and Dr. Czerniecki with the money my teammates and I have risen.

On Aug 7th, we hope to travel to Prague, Czech Republic to play in the Czech Challenge.

I'm very fortunate to be a part of this team and it's commitment in the fight against cancer.

My goal is $2,000.00. I would be very grateful for any contribution you can make.

Please go to

http://www.penniesinaction.org/

Click on donate, at Dr. Czerniecki's research section. After you have made a donation,

Your confirmation page will appear. Please click on "My gift is in honor of" and input

"BLAKE CHAPMAN/TEAM MASS '96".

Have a great summer and see you at the rink!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

WE ALL MUST HAVE THIS VACCINE .......


Recently Melissa and I went for her check up after all her treatment for breast cancer .
she had had Chemo, mastectomy with reconstruction ,6 weeks of radiation and 1 year of Herceptin....
After a clear mammogram on her other breast we were elated.
Now on the mastectomy side there is no mammogram ultrasound or MRI because it would not detect properly, because of all the scar tissue etc.
So the only thing they can do is check by exam and ask how you feel.
Needless to say we were stunned... When we were diagnosed the first time we had no symptoms, so by the time we will have symptoms the second time it will be much further advanced.
This vaccine will give us a natural surveillance system that could detect and eliminate problems long before we or the medical community would or could know ....
Right now it is available for HER 2/neu But they are working on it for the other cancers.
Please watch the video where the doctors are talking about this research.

WE NEED THE FUNDING so please help, every penny counts...

There are 11 000 000 cancer survivors in the US alone. It is imperative for our survival that we get this natural surveillance system .
No one is save !!!!!!
No one in my family ever had cancer and I was hit 2X........

watch these 2 videos:
"Discover A cure within" (the science version)

http://youtu.be/V9wyZmHwZcQ

" A cure within"

http://youtu.be/J5EA2l2C5Us

www.penniesinaction.org

PLEASE JOIN OUR CRUSADE 1111111



~

Monday, May 9, 2011

A Cure within

We had a great time at our event "Showers of Hope"
It was a huge success. We unveiled this new video that night and everybody loved it...
Watch it, enjoy it and please share it with all your friends.

Crusading together for the end of Cancer

Uschi

http://youtu.be/J5EA2l2C5Us

Friday, April 22, 2011

Press release for May 6th "Showers of Hope"

printable ms word version attached



PRESS ADVISORY



Contact:

Uschi Keszler (610) 909-0428

ukeszler@penniesinaction.org


For Immediate Release
Friday April 22, 2011



Musical History Makers Join Cancer Research
History Makers To Find Cure


Pennies In Action’s Fete To Benefit Cancer Immunology Research Includes As VIP Guests Members of Danny and the Juniors, The Duprees, The Dovells, The Rip Chords, Uschi Keszler, Lou Tilley, Helena Nyman, Dr. Jeffrey Drebin and Dr. Brian J. Czerniecki



WHAT/WHO: Theresa and Paul Murtagh will host 'Showers of Hope' at their home in Media, PA to raise awareness and funds for cancer vaccine research. Cocktails and a dinner buffet will be served and there will also be a live auction. VIP guests will include Members of Danny and the Juniors recording artists of “At The Hop” and “Rock‘ N’ Roll Is Here To Stay”, The Duprees recording artists of "You Belong to Me" and "My Own True Love", The Dovells recording artists of "Bristol Stomp" and "You Can't Sit Down", The Rip Chords recording artists of "Hey Little Cobra", champion ice skater and coach Uschi Keszler, success coach/motivational speaker Helena Nyman, Dr. Jeffrey A. Drebin, M.D., Ph.D. Chair of the Department of Surgery at Penn Medicine and others. Emcee for the evening will be sports broadcaster Lou Tilley. The event will include an update on clinical trial results for breast cancer vaccine research featuring Brian J. Czerniecki, M.D., Ph.D., Co-Director of the Rena Rowan Breast Center, Surgical Director of the Immunotherapy Program, Abramson Cancer Center, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.



WHERE /WHEN: The Home Of Theresa and Paul Murtagh 178 Dam View Road, Media, PA Friday, May 6, 2011 at

6 PM

ADMISSION/ DONATION: $75.00 ($50 tax deductible). For tickets go to the Pennies In Action Website,

call (610) 909-0428 or Email ukeszler@penniesinaction.org.



Pennies in Action® was founded in 2007 by Uschi Keszler - Olympic athlete, Olympic coach, and double cancer survivor. Having survived and seen the conquering of tuberculosis in her youth, and now as a survivor of both breast and uterine cancer, Uschi is determined to see cancer beaten in her lifetime too. Pennies in Action’s current project is to raise funds to benefit the breast cancer vaccine research of Dr. Brian Czerniecki of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. His research is cutting edge, and they believe strongly in his vision. Their starting goal is to raise $1,000,000 to help fund the second clinical trial of the vaccine.



Dr. Czerniecki is a highly recognized and respected oncological surgeon and researcher, who specializes in the least invasive means to treat cancer. He has had positive results in the first trial of his vaccine, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Our goal is to make certain he has the funds he needs for the next steps in his research.



For more info see http://www.penniesinaction.org/ Call (610) 909-0428 or email ukeszler@penniesinaction.org

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

On becoming a Champion ...

1. You have to be considered number 1 in the sport you are competing in. That
makes you a winner.
2. To become a winner you have to outdo all the others in your race.
3. That in itself does not create a Champion…
4. A champion gets defined on how he or she handles victory and defeat.
5. We have a great admiration for Champions in sports. This admiration even
makes some of them into super stars…
6. But what creates a champion?
7. It is easy to win but very difficult to lose.
8. A champion gets energized by defeat; he brushes himself of and cannot wait
to get back into the arena, while the average person gets demoralized.
9. In order to become a champion you must go through many peaks and valleys.
Each time you have to come back stronger and more determined.
10. You must be willing to do WIT ( whatever it takes)
11. You must be passionate about your goal, determined, relentless, and above
all have stick-to-it-ness.
12. A Champion gets up even if he cannot…

Now this is true in sports but it also translates into everyday life.
I have always said that sport provides a concrete way to visualize and learn abstract life lessons.
There are many lessons that I learned in sports that ended up invaluable in my own life. Here is one of them…
When I was 13 years old my Dad took me to the track. I was a figure skater but for cross training we went to the track (high jumping, running, running long-jump and shot putting).
He had figured out my average results in all these events and I had to reach that level every time I went to train.
One day we went to the track at 3pm and I started with high jumping (which was my special event)
After warm up I attempted my average competitive result. I tried and tried and each time the bar fell. Hours passed. People gathered around and felt really sorry for me because my (in their mind) cruel Dad did not let me give up. I went through every possible emotion. (I cried, felt sorry for myself, got angry, etc., but my Dad did not give up)
In the meantime it was 9 pm. I remember this moment as if it was yesterday.
I tried the next attempt, put everything I got into it, and the next thing I knew I was laying on my back in the high jump pit and the bar was still up …….
My Dad simply said “Uschi let’s go home. When you think you can’t there is a lot left inside of you….!”
This was the greatest lesson I ever learned. I have carried it through my whole life. You only need to learn that once and then you will know how to push the reserve button inside of you. Trust me it is a trial that is very, very tough but once you learn it, the results are incredible.
I use this lesson in my teaching and coaching. I have given many students a task they must stay and complete without quitting. The ones that had the guts and endurance and trust in me to learn this great lesson went on to great things, including World titles.
That is what I mean by stick-to-it-ness.
I thank my Dad every day of my life for having had the patience and love to teach me many life lessons….
To me sports and life are interchangeable. I live on blades and skate thru life.
It is important in life that you continue with what you do to reach a level of excellence. The principles apply in every area of life.
For instance, you have to learn something seven times over before you reach your first level of skill.
This shows how much stick-to-it-ness it takes to become highly skilled. Most of us are happy with the fact that we can do something. That is not enough if you even want to consider becoming a champion at anything.
Anybody that has ever travelled the path of the pure joy in the pursuit of excellence (the Olympic Ideal) has never regretted it and would do it again, even though it is tough…
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God says you have W.I.T. (Whatever It Takes) in Philippians 4:13
When He tells , we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.
You have what it takes!
What will you do in your lifetime to become a Champion?

Friday, February 4, 2011

Huge success for a trial patient......

This is the success story of a patient that finished the breast cancer vaccine trial of Dr. Czerniecki at the University of Penn.
She had a huge area of disease but it went down 99.3 % on account of using her own immune system with 6 shots over 8 week period.
Because of this she did not need a mastectomy ………!!!!!!! Plus her immune response is giving her further protection…
For more info on the trial go to
www.penniesinaction.org

Saturday, January 29, 2011

In my Opinion.... Melissa Nicholas (cancer patient)




It is my belief that the threat of cancer is being removed, that the end is near where the devil won't be able to use cancer against the human race in the same gravity and expanse he spews it out today. God is revealing great truths to doctors about the immune system. He is giving them amazing breakthroughs on working with this God ordained and designed system to recognize cancer as the invader that it is. Please pray for this research to make it into the hands that will take it to the masses of God's adored creation. Specifically pray for the research going on with Dr. Czerniecki at the University of Pennsylvania. God has planted me in the midst of this and it is my belief that this research which started out at the breast is going to be the answer for cancer at large. It is only fitting that the part of the body which sustains life will birth the answer to this hideous disease. As I currently go through radiation treatments at the University of Pennsylvania I loose my composure every time I see a child in the waiting area. Little 7 year old Nicholas rang the bell a week ago on his last treatment with no hair and so excited to be done! I am hoping and praying all would be well with his medical reports. Another little girl they call "Princess" relegated to a wheel chair, again no hair, and relatively listless. I had to walk down the hall because I couldn't keep it together in her presence. Mike is missing half of his ear because the cancer went to his salivary gland. He goes twice a day with chemotherapy in the middle of the week. This madness has to stop! Dr. Czerneicki's dendritic cell immunotherapy breakthroughs are going to change the way people like Nicholas, "Princess", and Mike get treated. It's God's grace in action! Almost 40 women have been successfully treated already, I hope to be one of them in the fall. Please share www.penniesinaction.org and pray this through for God to continue to reveal His goodness through this research, for the research to have only positive results, and for a divine hedge of protection over this research project opening doors no man can shut! In Jesus Name, Amen.

p.s. For those science majors in our homes here is the explanation of this immunotherapy process from the doc:


> If T lymphocytes are the fighting generals of the immune system, dendritic cells (DC) act as the reconnaissance scouts. DCs like to take up station at sites of anatomical barriers, i.e. where the "inside" meets the "outside", (the skin, mucous membranes, alimentary canal). Here they wait for two things, signs of infection and/or inflammatory tissue damage. The surface of DCs are studded with specialized receptors, which act as sensors for infection or inflammation. When they contact such signals, a specialized maturation/activation/migration program is initiated. DCs collect a "snapshot" of the proteins present in the environment of the activation signals (such as protiens from an infectious agent), gain acces to draining lymphatic vessels, and travel to the lymph nodes. The lymph nodes are populated by many T lymphocytes. The DCs seek out T cells and "present" the proteins acquired at the peripheral sites. The T cells then become activated by the DCs and then go out on a "search and destroy" mission to eliminate anything that resembles the proteins presented by the DC (such as a bacterium infecting the body). Now here are the reasons why we think our approach is giving us superior results. Please note in many cases, we were not the first to try some of these things (though in certain instances we were), but mostly it is the fact that we assembled a number of innovatons into an integrated strategy.
>
> 1) Traditional vaccines used (like a standard tetanus shot) rely on the material provided by the immunization to be picked up by DCs for presentation to T cells. However, we believe that the sort of immune response needed to eliminate tumors is so intense, and of a particular type that the best way to achieve it is to actually culture large numbers of the DCs outside the body and then administer the patients own antibodies already "loaded" with this immunotherapy vaccine proteins.
>
> 2) We activate the DCs in a special way that mimicks infection. We use a special preparation of a compound that makes up the cell wall of bactieria called lipopolysaccharide (LPS). One of the sensors on the surface of DCs specifically recognizes LPS leading to their activation. We think that by "fooling" the DCs into believing they are under attack by a microbe, the response they generate will be particularly strong. We are the first to use LPS to activated DCs in a clinical trial. We believe that other methods to activate the DCs do not allow for maximal function.
>
> 3) We think that soluble products produced by the DCs supply special signals to T cells that allow them to be particularly effective against cancer. Brian showed that one of these soluble products, called Interleukin-12 (IL-12) endowed the T cells with the capacity to recognize and kill tumors in the test tube. T cells that were sensitized by DCs incapable of producing IL-12 could not recognize or kill tumor cells. Most other investigators trying to produce anti-cancer vaccines under-appreciate the need for IL-12. By combining LPS with another cytokine called interferon gamma (IFN-g), the DCs can produce large quantities of IL-12. Most other methods of producing DCs for vaccination will not induce them to produce IL-12.
>
> 4) We inject the DC vaccines directly into the lymph nodes. Most others inject the DCs at distal locations with the expectation that the DCs will migrate to the nodes on their own. In fact, only a very small proportion of cultured DCs actually make thier way to lymph nodes after injection. So people who do not inject directly into the nodes are cheating themselves of the best possible immune response.
>
> 5) We harvest the vaccine DCs at a time point where they are making maximal amounts of IL-12. The DCs follow a very precise program after activation and only make IL-12 for a very short window of time. Supplying the DCs too early or too late will squander the benefit of IL-12. Most other investigators give no thought to the kinetics of cytokine production and only supply DCs long after they stop making such products.
>
> 6) We specifically target cancer proteins that are associated with the tumor's ability to cause disease. HER-2/neu is a poor prognostic indicator. HER-2/neu over-producing tumors are more likely to recur after surgical resection, are more likely to be invasive and metastatic, and can be resistant to some front-line chemotherapy agents. We target such proteins so that if we are lucky, all of the tumor is killed. If we are slightly less than lucky, we can cull the tumor of the most dangerous cells leaving behind a residuum of disease that is less aggressive, more indolent, and more amenable to other therapies.
>
> 7) We target early disease. Most vaccines of the past have targeted later stage disease. This is because experimental therapies are usually supplied only when the conventional therapies have failed (hence the patient is further along in course of disease). This causes a number of problems. Late stage patients are sicker, often have little time to live, have large volumes of tumor needing to be destroyed, pre-treatment with radiation and chemo can negatively impact the bone marrow (and hence immune system), and advanced tumor are known to play tricks to turn off the immune response. For all of these reasons, we want to make vaccine therapy the first line of defense rather than the last line of defense. We hope to get to a point where vaccine therapy is used first, followed by surgery, and then, if necessary, radiation and or chemo (concentrating on techniques that do the least damage to immunity). It is also important to note that with advances in screening, we are likely in the future to catch tumors earlier and earlier. So our new therapies should be targeted here rather than late-stage disease. This does not mean that vaccines could not have benefit in later disease. But we should optimize them on early disease first before trying them out on later disease.
>
> 8) There are two types of T cells, so called "helper" T cells (Th) and the "Cytoxic" T cells (CTL). For a variety of historic reasons an excessive emphasis has been placed on CTL. Many immunotherapy vaccine attempts have focused exclusively on CTL, ignoring Th. We have formulated an approach that specifically recruits Th as well as CTL. We think this greatly enhances immunotherapy vaccine efficacy.
>

"Do not let anyone think less of you because you are young, be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity" 1 Tim 4:12 NLT


Building Our House
"On the Rock, One Brick at a Time"
www.buildingourhouse.com
Matthew 7:24-25


Facilitators for

DIVINE DEBUTANTES a/k/a "CLUB D"

"Join the Revolution...One Young Lady at a Time"

www.divinedebutantes.com



tel 561-432-5555

text 561-756-0707
fax 561-432-1733

Monday, January 24, 2011

The genius idea behind the vaccine...






“ Dr. Brian Czerniecki is a brilliant surgeon and brilliant scientist “ so says
Gary K. Koski PhD
“ Dr. Brian Czerniecki is a brilliant scientist with great imagination” so said
Ursula Koldovsky PhD
He had worked on Melanoma first, but he said that it was such a difficult cancer .
He looked for a cancer that is detectable very early… DCIS when it is still contained in the milk duct.
When he started his first trial there were not allowed to be any invasions at all. That way he could study the reaction of cancer cells to the vaccine without any other influence. When you go after cancer it chamophlages itself and looks for exit ways. In the controlled environment of the milk duct he could study that.
He learned enough that he expanded to micro invasions , soon to small invasions and then to all.
He learned so much so , that he is now also using his principals in Melanoma research…The trial will be opening soon.
All this is happening so fast. It is so exciting to watch ….
Now our main objective at Pennies in Action is Fund Raising. They need much more lab space to handle the influx of patients that will come now where the parameters of the trials are widening.
For more info go to
www.penniesinaction.org