Family unites for another breast cancer battle

Patti Holmes and her son, Ryan, 10, will shave their heads to support Pattis sister Becky Rizzo, who has breast cancer. (Submitted photo)

Patti Holmes hasn't seen her sister Becky Rizzo in three years.

Separated by distance -- Holmes, 42, lives in Spry; Rizzo, 49, lives in Florida -- and by their busy lives, they have drifted apart physically but stayed in touch.

And Holmes wants to bridge that gap even more.

She wants to show solidarity with her sister, who is struggling with cancer, chemotherapy and medical expenses reaching $75,000. And Saturday, July 13, she will shave off her dark, neck-length hair. Her 10-year-old son Ryan wants to shave his head as well to support his Aunt Becky, she said.

Her sister, who has lost her hair twice during two separate cancers, wasn't crazy about the idea at first.

"At first she tried to talk me out of it," Holmes said. "She said, 'I would not wish this on my worst enemy.'"

But after some contemplation and prayer, she got the OK to go through with it. She's now mentally preparing for the emotional shock wave that comes when a woman loses her hair, she said.

"I got a lot of support, and my focus is for my sister knowing that she's already gone through it twice," she said. "Me just shaving my hair once, it's nothing."

Progress: Holmes started raising funds for her sister, who is struggling with medical costs because her illness is considered a "pre-existing condition," at the end of May.

Rizzo's first struggle was with Hodgkin's lymphoma. She was pregnant at the time.

"That was probably the hardest," Holmes said. "If it wasn't for her daughter, I think she would've given up on life."

Now with breast cancer, a result of the treatments she received during her previous battle, she has finished her chemotherapy treatments and lost her hair.

She will be ready for surgery on July 23, where doctors will finish her double mastectomy and put in tissue expanders.

But support is everything when it comes to fighting cancer, Holmes said. As a result, she has named her

fundraiser Bald 4 Becky's Battle.

"Think of it: In a battle, you don't battle by yourself," she said. "You have a whole unit helping you. We're really helping her through this battle."

Reach out: To make a donation to Rizzo and her family, checks can be made out to H.U.G.S. Charities Inc. with "Bald 4 Becky's Battle" on the memo line. All checks can be mailed to the organization at 3111 S. Pine Ave., Ocala, Fla., 34471. Holmes said she will raise funds as long as donations continue to come in.

Visit www.facebook.com/beckysbattle for updates and more information.

--Reach Mollie Durkin at mdurkin@yorkdispatch.com.

Source: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/news/ci_23604014/family-unites-another-breast-cancer-battle?source=rss_viewed

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Iran's president-elect: Nation voted for change

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's president-elect called his win in national elections this month a vote for change and vowed Saturday to remain committed to his campaign promises of moderation and constructive interaction with the outside world.

Hasan Rouhani's promises of outreach could lower the political temperature between Iran and the West and perhaps nudge the country's ruling Islamic establishment toward a more flexible approach in its standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

Rouhani has already promised greater openness on the nuclear issue while at the same time siding with the hard-liner establishment that refuses to halt uranium enrichment. He believes it's possible to strike a deal that would allow the Islamic Republic to keep enriching uranium while assuring the West it will not produce a nuclear weapon.

The U.S. and its allies fear Iran may ultimately be able to develop nuclear arms. Tehran has denied the charges, saying its program is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity and producing radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.

The reformist-backed Rouhani won a landslide majority in June 14 presidential election, defeating his conservative and hardline rivals. He will succeed hardline outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad early August.

"People chose a new path ... People said in this election: We want change," Rouhani told a conference in Tehran Saturday. "The best language of the people is the ballot box. The people's vote is very obvious. There is no ambiguity."

Rouhani's election has revived hopes for a mutually acceptable deal over Iran's disputed nuclear program, as it was seen in part as a referendum on Iran's nuclear diplomacy. The country's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, a hard-liner who supported a policy of resistance, finished third in the vote, which was widely seen as rejection of his tough stance on the nuclear issue.

Rouhani said he will keep his promise of following a path of moderation in domestic and foreign policy.

"Moderation in foreign policy is neither surrender nor conflict, neither passivity nor confrontation. Moderation is effective and constructive interaction with the world," he said.

The final word on all state matters, particularly on the nuclear issue, lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but a strong president can influence decision-making.

Rouhani has vowed that he will seek to have the stinging economic sanctions against Iran lifted and work with international powers to settle the nuclear issue through active diplomacy and dialogue.

The president-elect also said that the ruling system needs to allow more freedom for Iran's relatively young population.

"Happiness is people's right," he said. "I thank police for increasing the threshold of their tolerance." He was referring to wild street celebrations after he was declared winner of the election.

Iran's anti-vice police sporadically detain youths on vague charges of not observing Islamic codes. During Ahmadinejad's presidency, many detainees claimed to be mistreated while in detention.

"We should talk to girls and boys in the same way we talk to our own children. People's dignity must be preserved. Humiliating people is not acceptable but giving (polite) notice (of a morality offense) is fine," Rouhani said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irans-president-elect-nation-voted-change-083803196.html

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Bloody shows more about monster than gore

TV

Ree Hines and Anna Chan TODAY

3 hours ago

Showtime

Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan on "Dexter."

Summer is about to get really bloody! The return of "Dexter's" eighth and final season on June 30 means that viewers not only get their favorite blood-spatter analyst/vigilante serial killer back, they also get all the messes he helps investigate and of course, create.

"Dexter" leaves behind quite a few bloody murders each year, and its final season will no doubt have more of the same. But even as the Dark Passenger prepares to say goodbye, new creepy baddies -- including Hannibal Lecter -- have started stepping up to fill his bloody spot.

"Vampires and werewolves, those are always going to be cycling in and out. But then what is the scariest thing that is also a real possibility for people in their minds? The serial killer!" said Melanie McFarland, IMDb.com's TV editor. "The serial killer is a real life boogeyman."

And where there are murderers, whether they be supernatural or not, there will be blood. McFarland said that violence -- which tends to come with a bit of the red stuff -- in TV "has been upping the ante for a long time across the board," and not all of it is from killers such as Dexter.

"It's less about the blood than it is about the monster," she added.

Here are eight shows beyond "Dexter" -- both established and newer -- and their own monsters that leave viewers seeing red:

'Hannibal'
One of the new serial killers to come to the small screen is an oldie but goodie: Hannibal Lecter. This time he's played by Mads Mikkelsen in the new NBC drama, which premiered in April. Given the nature of Hannibal's many, many crimes -- not to mention the other murderers who make appearances -- it's no wonder the program might induce more than a few dry heaves. There are nearly decapitated heads (at the jaw, not neck!), women impaled on antlers, whole strips of skin ripped off from a living body, dismembered body parts and much more. As unappetizing as that sounds, the drama then tries to make viewers hungry by showing Hannibal cooking up some lavish meals that look nothing short of scrumptious -- until you remember his meat of choice.

'The Following'
Another new serial killer who reared his charming head this year was "The Following's" Joe Carroll (James Purefoy), an English professor and failed novelist who built a massive network of cult followers while imprisoned for the the murders of 14 female students. Carroll's crimes -- inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe -- were hardly romantic, and neither was the work of his devotees. The network of murderers left behind bodies with eyeballs removed, victims burned alive and even a basement full of tortured dogs.

'American Horror Story'
The warning is right in the FX drama's title: It's a "horror story," and horror stories are quite often scary and gory -- two things that are true of this program. The first season featured several murders along with bloody ghosts and a disfigured baby zombie thing. Season two offered up a tale in an insane asylum in the 1960s, where a Nazi doctor performed gruesome experiments on the residents, and also had a serial killer who seemed to take inspiration from "The Silence of the Lambs," killing women for their soft, supple skin. Oh, and he has a present day son who likes to follow in Daddy's bloody footsteps.

'Breaking Bad'
It's no surprise the drug trade would involve crime and blood. But the gore on "Breaking Bad" sometimes comes along with a science lesson too. Several bodies have been disposed of by using hydrofluoric acid to "melt" them, leaving bloody, gloopy messes in barrels, unaffected by the solution. (Except for that one time in the bathtub.) Beyond that, there's the gun violence, and who could forget the explosion that left Gus Fring with half a face?

'True Blood'
Blood and gore are just part of the landscape in Bon Temps. Vampires drink blood; they cry blood; and it leaks from their eyes and ears if they don't get a good day's rest. Heck, each time a vamp falls to the true death, there's a virtual explosion red, goopy remains. But even with all the bites, neck breaks and extreme violence the night crawlers are capable of, "True Blood's" werewolves are able to ramp up the gross-outs even more. It's bad enough when the weres go in for the kill in their canine form, but it's positively stomach churning when they revert to their human states to (respectfully) devour a dead member of the pack. At least the fairies give viewers a break -- at their most brutal, they're still just lobbing balls of light around.

'The Walking Dead'
Shows just don't get more violent than this AMC hit, wherein characters routinely machete, smash and crossbow their way through crowds of undead threats. But don't take our word -- or that of any violence-loathing watchdog group -- for it. A recent study conducted by Funeralwise.com revealed that the show racked up a higher body count than any other small screen offering last season with approximately 38 deaths -- per episode! Of course, the vast majority of those killed were technically already dead.

'Sons of Anarchy'
The scariest thing about the bloody violence on "Sons of Anarchy" is just how real it seems. There aren't any vampires or zombies here. The monsters that commit the savage acts on "Anarchy" are all too human. Bikers obsessed with backstabbing, betrayal and paybacks punish each other (and each other's loved ones and innocent bystanders) in savage-yet-mundane ways. Head shots and beatings account for much of the death toll, but the occasional act of extra brutality (like the revenge torching of Tig's daughter) adds a shocking, gut-wrenching twist.

'Game of Thrones'
Beheadings? Check. Disembowelings? Check. Consuming a freshly plucked horse heart? Unfortunately, check. When it comes to jaw-dropping scenes of death and destruction, "Game of Thrones" has it all. In fact, it has something more -- a gruesome bonus. In addition to the violence, it packs an emotional blow. Sure, seeing random warriors fall in battle might make some viewers wince. And seeing a baddie lose an appendage is tough stuff too. But none of that compares to seeing more than one beloved character come to a horrific, blood-spurting end -- at the same time.

Which TV show do you think is the goriest? Click on "Talk about it" below and share your thoughts!

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/dexter-hannibal-more-about-monster-all-blood-6C10442405

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