MB Toronto
Morning Brew: Residents return to 200 Wellesley, mayoral campaign signs go up, Rossi staffer in talks to switch camps, Run for the Cure breaks fundraising record, stolen puppies return home
About 340 residents were allowed to return to their units this weekend after the fire at 200 Wellesley left them displaced for over a week. Some south tower residents were given the green light to return to their homes, but officials say certain units in the north tower may not be ready for another month due to extensive water and soot damage. The tenants who did move back in were given "welcome-back" kits with information on fire safety and cleaning tips, cleaning supplies, grocery store gift cards and laundry gift cards. The investigation into what caused the eight-hour, six-alarm fire continues.
As of 12:01 a.m. today, campaign signs for the October 25 municipal election began popping up around the city. That's right, it'll get that much more difficult to ignore the campaign trail circus. The Smitherman camp says it is focusing on quality over quantity, opting for "larger signs on the major arteries as opposed to smaller ones on people's front lawns." Rossi, on the other hand, has planned a "sign-hammering blitz" for today, and Ford has already started running radio ads on AM 640 with "thousands and thousands" of signs ready to obnoxiously clutter up your neighbourhood. So, ready for some more propaganda, Toronto?
Speaking of which, one of Rocco Rossi's campaign co-chairs has allegedly pledged support to the Rob Ford team should Rossi jump ship. According to the Globe and Mail, John Capobianco met with Nick Kouvalis, Ford's deputy campaign manager, at an Etobicoke Tim Hortons on Sept. 29 to discuss a possible change of allegiances. Capobianco has since said he would only consider switching teams if Rossi decides to back out of the race, which he doesn't believe will happen. Sorry, Toronto Star.
This year's CIBC Run for the Cure in support of breast cancer research saw more than 20,000 people turn out for the event in Toronto. A record-breaking $5,234,197 was raised in this city alone, a 28 per cent increase over last year. About $33 million was raised nationwide, also setting a new record with a 25 per cent increase over last year. Among the participants in the 18th annual march were George Smitherman and Rob Ford, who showed up despite the occupation of city roads.
The three 8-week-old English Bulldogs who were snatched from an East York backyard this weekend returned home late Saturday night. Abigail, Mildred and Winston were found near Lawrence Ave. W. and Avenue Rd., two in a black duffel bag outside a convenience store and one wandering nearby. Police called owner Anne Liu, who raced to the scene with mommy Matilda who began nursing the pups upon reunion. As far as information on the dog-napper, police believe the individual who was low enough to actually pluck puppies from a backyard is a smoker, but have few other leads. English Bulldog puppies are usually sold for about $3,000.
In brief:
The trial for David Chen, the Chinatown shop owner who was charged with assault and forcible confinement after nabbing a shoplifter, begins today. Chen apprehended Anthony Bennett on May 23, 2009, after he attempted to steal items from Chen's store. Police charged Chen with kidnapping, carrying a dangerous weapon, assault, and forcible confinement after arriving on the scene.
About 60 pigs began wandering the Gardiner Expressway early this morning (please resist the urge to make cop comments) after a tractor-trailer flipped just before 4:30 a.m. The driver, who was not injured, has been charged with careless driving. Meanwhile, the ramp from southbound Highway 427 to the Gardiner Expressway eastbound will be closed while authorities try to herd the animals.
And here's what we were up to this weekend (over and above trekking around all night to see public art):
- Matthew took a closer look at the LEED building boom in Toronto
- Agatha took us back to a time before Robarts Library had been built on St. George Street.
- Meaghan stopped by Edward Levsque's Kitchen to see what all the fuss is about, while Gadjo reviewed Paramount Fine Foods, which has taken up in the space formerly occupied by the Superior Restaurant on Yonge.
- Carey made a visit to the new Whippersnapper Gallery
- Roger checked out a solid performance by James at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and Matthew took in Shad and K'Naan at the Kool Haus.
- You can still vote for the photo of the week.
- And then Nuit Blanche took over.
Photo by stillsinflux in the blogTO Flickr pool.
Discussion
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I have a problem with all these glamourly-pink awareness events. They never tell you the truth... As a husband whose wife (a mother of two young kids) is battling a Stage IV BC this is disturbing me deeply. So I'm taking part in this "Virtual Stage IV Awareness" event. We'd like people to know that BC is not a thing of the past and we still need a cure. Badly. VERY badly.
If you'd like to help, please distribute the following text to your local media. Thank you!
Dear Editor,
Millions of people around the world are participating in various breast cancer awareness activities this month. Many of these events involve walking, running or biking for "The Cure." This year, I am participating in a new campaign dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about metastatic breast cancer. It's called the "The Virtual Rally in Support of Progression-Free Survival."
We are asking the 150,000 women living with metastatic breast cancer to write a letter to their local news outlets.
There is no cure for metastatic breast cancer aka advanced breast cancer or Stage IV. We rarely hear about the 150,000 U.S. women dealing with it. In October, it seems the spotlight is almost exclusively on women who "beat" cancer-not the "metser" who is losing her hair for the third time, or the one struggling with chronic constipation or the one who knows she won't see her daughter graduate from grade school.
We don't want your money or your pity and we're not selling pink t-shirts. We just want you to know that we are here and that for us, treatment never ends. Other women HAD breast cancer. We HAVE it and we always will. We hope someday there WILL be a cure so that our daughters are spared our fate.
We want people to know that:
>Metastasis refers to the spread of cancer to different parts of the body, typically the bones, liver and lungs.
>Treatment is lifelong and focuses on control and quality of life vs. curative intent.
>About 6% to 10% of women are Stage IV from their initial diagnosis.
>Early detection is not a cure. Metastatic breast cancer can occur ANY time after a woman's original diagnosis, EVEN if she was initially Stage I, II or III.
>Only women with Stage 0 (noninvasive breast cancer) aren't considered to be at risk for metastatic breast cancer.
>Between 20% to 30% of women initially diagnosed with regional stage disease WILL develop metastatic breast cancer.
>Young women DO get metastatic breast cancer.
> There are many different kinds of metastatic breast cancer.
>Treatment choices for MBC are guided by hormone (ER/PR) and HER2 receptor status, location and extent of metastasis (visceral vs. nonvisceral), previous treatment and other factors.
>Any breast lump, thickness or skin abnormality should be checked out. With inflammatory breast cancer, there's no lump-the breast can be red and/or itchy and the skin may have an orange-peel like appearance.
>Don't use the recent mammogram controversy to postpone your first mammogram or delay your regularly scheduled exam, especially if you have a family history.
>Mammograms can't detect all cancers. Trust your instinct. If something feels "off" insist on further diagnostic testing.
>Metastatic breast cancer isn't an automatic death sentence-although most women will ultimately die of their disease, some can live long and productive lives.
>There are no hard and fast prognostic statistics for metastatic breast cancer. Every woman's situation is unique.
One last thing. Knowing what to say to someone with metastatic breast cancer can be difficult.
It's fine to say: "I'm so sorry that you have to face this disease. I will be thinking/praying for you. Please let me know if I can help."
Try to avoid back-handed compliments such as: "You are so strong, if this had to happen, you were the right person to get it because you are brave and strong," or "If I had breast cancer, I would be falling apart or scared to death. You seem just fine with it."
Those statements are akin to "You don't sweat much for a fat person," and we hate them.
There are many excellent online metastatic breast cancer resources. Examples include www.breastcancer.org; www.mbcnetwork.org; and www.metavivor.org.
Sincerely yours,...
Loblaws could have been feel good PR heroes by giving the Wellesley residents clean up care packages. Oh well. Opportunity missed.
2
People shouldn't b*tch about other people's charity choices just because it doesn't match up with their own.
3
People gravitate to help the particular cancer that affects their life. You will never ever be able to change this simple fact. And people who do get involved, regardless of what it's for, should be applauded.
4
Not sure how research into breast cancer would exclude research into metastatic breast cancer.
This should answer most of your points.
It makes no sense to try to raise hope by showcasing people with terminal cancer.
Again, I would assume that breast cancer research would include metastatic breast cancer research.
And again, the vast majority of run for the cure participants have intimate knowledge of the cancer journey. That's why they have the name - or multiple names - of loved ones on the back of their T shirts. Most of the time, eventually cancer gets you. It got my grandmother. It got some of my friends.
So no, nobody is hiding anything from the public. Once cancer has arrived, you know what's ahead.
That metastatic cancer isn't featured on the poster for the Run for the Cure doesn't mean it's not being researched with some of the funds all the pink ribbon events raise.
All the comments on your link: I don't know - it kind of seems like they miss the point of rallying people around a cause, the funds from which directly benefit them.
And I don't know what your point is either.
The comments I gave you in the links are straight to the point. The events should give hope, like - here, the mortality rates are dropping, the life expectancy is on the rise, but still so-and-so many women die from this disease and we must research. Something like that. Otherwise the people from the street see a distorted picture of "there's almost no death from breast cancer anymore" etc... There're cases of women with Stage IV refused to receive group support because they might upset early-stagers. WTF?
I'm not arguing about the intimate knowledge of those participating in these events. I'm arguing about the information that the general public receives. A clear result of that misinformation is this article: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/09/08/jennifer-griffin/?test=faces
To any person who knows what BC is, it's obvious she's jumping to conclusions too early.
I think I explained everything fairly well.
Dixi.