Lakewood Colorado Branch

American Association of
University Women

Membership Information
303-986-8770
303-277-1648

AAUW is open to any person with an associate degree or an accredited four-year degree, or a student.

2007-2008 Branch Programming and AAUW events

Presentation and discussion on immigration issues

A graphologist's secrets of handwriting analysis

Presentation by Ray Goodrich on stem-cell research

"Evolution toward Equality" by Teresa Neal for Women's History Month

Oral history of the Hispanic people and discussion of Corn Women by its author, Angel Vigil

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Lakewood Bylines
American Association of University Women
Lakewood, Colorado Branch

Mission Statement: AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research.
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BULLETIN XXXII-2                                                                                              October 2007

240 Union Fundraiser
11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 4

and

Chapungu Stone Sculptures from Zimbabwe
10:45 a.m.
Wednesday, October 31

There will be no branch meeting in October. Instead, please support the Thursday, October 4th fundraiser at 240 Union. Look for more information in the Bylines.

Also, on Wednesday, October 31st, attend a one hour tour of Chapungu Custom and Legend: A Culture in Stone at the Denver Botanic Gardens (1005 York Street Denver 80206). We will meet our tour guide (Joanne Fisher, a friend of Anne Burkholder) at 10:45 in the Botanic Gardens parking lot by the flag pole. A Botanic Gardens member should bring her membership card because it allows additional people to get in free. Otherwise, the cost of the admission is $12.00 for adults (including $4.50 exhibit fee or $9.00 for seniors 65+ including the exhibit fee). The tour will start at 11:00. You can meet at Holy Shepherd Church at 9th and Kipling at 10:15 to carpool to the gardens. After the tour we can have lunch which we will order in advance at the Conservatory Cafe at the gardens. An added benefit is the gardens will be beautifully decorated with gourds and pumpkins for Halloween. Call Margene Stroup by Wednesday, October 24th for a tour reservation. Let me know whether or not you are carpooling, eating lunch, have a gardens membership, and how many people can get in free with your membership. I'll get back to you with lunch details.

Lakewood

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News from the Presidents' View
 JoAnn Furay and Margaret Greivel

We are off to a great start. After a good Board meeting with all chairs contributing creative and helpful ideas for fundraising and their committees, we are ready to be active for another year in Lakewood AAUW. We encourage you to join an interest group or Great Decisions. It is a wonderful way to meet new friends.
October is a busy month! A new fundraiser will be dining out at 240 Union Thursday, October 4th for lunch or dinner. Mark your calendar now! Come with friends, relatives or AAUW members. We all need to participate to make this opportunity a successful one for our branch. The funds will go to our local philanthropy, “A Step Up”. We want to continue supporting The Race for the Cure on Sunday, October 7th. Finally, we are having what we termed last year, as “diversions”. These are field trips or events, outside of our normal monthly meetings. It is just another opportunity to learn something new, have fun and spend time with friends. Our first diversion is Wednesday, October 31st at the Botanic Gardens viewing the beautiful gardens and the African sculpture exhibit. Hope to see you frequently during the month.
JoAnn Furay, Co-President

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Fundraising Update                                                     
 Anne Burkholder

DINE OUT for A STEP UP    Oct 4, 11:00am—10pm, at 240 Union

We are in the last weeks of EASY PREPARATION for our restaurant fundraiser at 240 Union. Michael Coughlin, owner of 240 Union, will donate 25% of all food sales. Our job is to fill any empty tables in his restaurant.

In contrast to the frantic insaneness of past years with the Home Fair, I ask only two things of you:

1. Eat there yourself Oct 4th or send a check, made out to Stride, to Suzanne Goodwin (9446 W. Iowa Ave, Lakewood, CO 80232). If possible, I suggest you make a reservation for after 12:30 or at dinner time. We want to be sure there is room for all the regular customers.
2. Call a couple of neighbors, friends, or relatives to encourage them to join us for lunch or dinner at the 240 Union restaurant.
   What to say: Our benefit with Stride is to assist with the educational goals of Jeffco women who are working hard to achieve self-sufficiency and a better life. Stride has assisted families for 16 years to become self-sufficient and independent from government programs. 70% of the families are succeeding!

eBAY awaits you after your fall clean-out

eBay donations will provide operating funds for our branch. Lakewood retains only $14 of your annual AAUW dues so this fundraising is necessary. Here is the procedure:

1. Clean your item(s).
2. Write down notes that are appropriate, such as: 
   Name of item, family heirloom, bought on trip to…, brand new, has dent or scratch, … years old. Include a personal story about the item if you can.
3. Include original manuals and tags if you have them.
4. Take your item to Quik Drop at 7421 W. Bowles Ave. and tell them you are there for Lakewood AAUW.
   It is east of SW Plaza. Drive on Wadsworth and turn east at Chili’s onto W Long/Cross Dr. Turn east by IHOP and pass behind the strip shops. Turn right at the end. Quik Drop is on the left next to Tony’s and near Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
5. Pay $4 to list each item. You can donate this $4 to AAUW or have it refunded after the item sells.

If you don’t have cast-offs, but love to peruse garage sales for great finds, call me.

SAVVY TRUNK SHOW at branch meeting

Instead of our holiday boutique at the Home Fair, we had an accessory boutique at the branch meeting. We will receive 30% for our operating funds from our purchases of purses, jewelry, belts, fashion watches, and other accessories.

USED BOOK SALE — book collection time

The branch decided at the September meeting to designate profits from our used book sale for the AAUW Educational Foundation. You can help next year’s sale by collecting books during the year. Besides saving the books you buy, could you ask your nearby locally-owned coffee shop or CURVES if you could place a small book bin there? Then you could use a book bag to collect the books periodically. We can store the books in our storage unit if it is more convenient. I will help with a sign and storage logistics. Also, a used book dealer is going to help us to collect books and advertise next spring.
What to say: Lakewood Branch of the American Association of University Women is raising money for women’s scholarships and for research to advance equity for women and children through our Educational Foundation. We will be holding a used book sale next spring. We would appreciate the opportunity to place a book bin in your business so we can collect books. We will gather up the books periodically. Thank you for your support.

PERSONAL DONATIONS

Every time you write a check to the AAUW Educational Foundation or the Legal Advocacy Fund, that amount is added to Lakewood Branch’s total contributions. So we appreciate all of your generosity.

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Membership
 Barbara Shaver & Montine Knowles

Welcome to the 10 new members who joined during the summer! They are: Marian Breen, Elizabeth Darling, Joyce Graham, Barbara Howe, Kelly Karinew, Rosemary Kehl, Susan Moore,Vivian Pereboom, Mary Kim Rietman, and Judee Spaulding. We are looking forward to knowing you better.

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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Faith Gunther and Mary Wylie

Local Philanthropy:   A STEP UP

 In May the branch awarded the following sums to be used this year to help women continue their educational pursuits:

 $350.00 to the Kaplan Nursing School, Denver, to be used towards the preparatory course for the NCLEX exam.   The recipient will graduate in May with a BSN in nursing and thus far has maintained a 4.0 grade point average. The 35 year old mother of four, and expecting her fifth, wrote that her family was struggling financially because her husband is in real estate sales and has been affected by the recent slowing in that market. After her pregnancy she hopes to work as a registered nurse in a local hospital.

$l,000 to Arapahoe Community College to be used towards tuition, fees and books for a single mother of two children who works full time and attends school part time. She is pursuing a bachelors degree in business and has a goal of also obtaining her masters degree.

 $1,000 to Community College of Denver for tuition, fees and books. The 37 year old single mom goes to school full time and works part time. She has a 10 year old daughter. After receiving an AAS Degree as a radiology technologist, she plans to also obtain training in MRI or CT technology.

$1,000  to Red Rocks Community College  for tuition, fees and books for a single mother of three children – two of whom have special needs.  She will seek a job that allows her time at home once she gets her associates degree as a para.  She is currently a volunteer at her oldest son’s school where she hopes to get a para internship while still in college.

Three of the recipients were recommended by Stride and the other by the Family Tree organization.
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RACE FOR THE CURE — Sunday, Oct. 7th
Meet at 7:00, leave at 7:15 a.m.
Anne Burkholder
Join AAUW members in the fight against breast cancer by walking in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. We will carpool from the 9th and Kipling high school parking lot. This earlier start will give us time for a cup of coffee, potty stop, and a chance to write back placards “In Celebration of…” or “In Memory of…” If there is interest, we can meet in Denver West at the Blue Sky Café for brunch afterward.
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EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
Amy Blackwell

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Use AAUW.org to Place Amazon.com Orders
Elnore Grow
Every time you order books, music, and more from online discounter Amazon.com through AAUW’s website, a percentage of your sale supports AAUW’s programs and services. If you are ordering from Amazon.com, first go to www.aauw.org and use the link to access the retailer and then place your order—it’s a simple way to support AAUW!

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Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Amy Blackwell

A segment on a Seattle TV news broadcast about a little-known form of breast cancer sent shockwaves through its viewership. Now men and women nationwide are becoming increasingly aware of inflammatory breast cancer (which is typically abbreviated as IBC -- not to be confused with ibc, which can stand for in situ breast cancer, infiltrating breast cancer, and/or invasive breast cancer). This growing awareness is largely due to email forwarding of the Seattle video clip, as well as posting of the news segment on such websites as You Tube. (Go to www.youtube.com and enter “inflammatory breast cancer” in the search window.)

IBC, the most aggressive form of breast cancer, is statistically rare, accounting for 1% to 6% of all new breast cancer cases. But it has victimized females and males from age 12 onward and is very aggressive, often classed at stage IIIB (locally advanced) or IV (has spread to other organs) when diagnosed. Incidence rates are higher in African Americans than in other ethnic groups, and many young victims noticed their first IBC symptoms during pregnancy and lactation.

IBC symptoms can mimic a benign breast infection called mastitis, and this accelerated cancer often eludes initial detection by mammograms and ultrasounds, further complicating diagnosis. Instead of forming lump-like tumors, IBC lesions, called nests, are typically sheet-like. Diagnosis of IBC arises after clinical examination and biopsy with confirmation by mammogram or ultrasound.

There is a veritable host of IBC symptoms that vary by individual and which I have quoted from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. If you have ANY of the following, you should consult your physician immediately.

1. One breast swelling larger than the other, often sudden
2. Warmth and swelling in the breast, often sudden
3. Redness or pinkness that may look like an infection
4. Itching or pain in the breast that won’t go away
5. Dimpling of the skin that may look like the skin of an orange (called peau d’orange)
6. Ridges or thickened areas of skin
7. Nipple discharge
8. Nipple retraction or flattening
9. Change in the color of the areola (the dark skin around the nipple)
10. A bruise that does not go away
11. Swollen lymph nodes on the neck or under the arm

12  A lump (although often there is no lump)

If your physician thinks you have mastitis and prescribes a course of antibiotics, insist on reexamination by a breast cancer specialist if your symptoms do not resolve in a week.

A promising technological advance might help to detect IBC earlier. Digital infrared imaging, also called thermography, is a noninvasive way to scan breasts and other tissues without radiation or crushing compression. Blood and nutrients flow rapidly to cancerous tissues, leaving a higher heat signature than in surrounding healthy tissues. If higher heat signatures are detected, the thermographic technician will suggest a clinical examination by your physician. The advantages of thermography are not yet well known by the medical community, but this diagnostic tool is gaining acceptance among people, for example, who are afraid that the tissue compression entailed in mammography might divert precancerous lesions down a cancerous pathway. For more information on thermography, see www.thermogramcenter.com/AboutUs.htm (noting that there is a thermography facility in Lakewood).

For more information on IBC, see the following websites.

www.ibcresearch.org  (Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation)

www.komen.org/stellent/groups/public/@dallas/documents/-komen_site_documents/dsbcinflammatory.pdf (Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation)

www.mayoclinic.com/health/inflammatory-breast-cancer/DS00632 (Mayo Clinic)

www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/IBC (National Cancer Institute)

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