In your most recent issue, Vol. 14, No. 3, there was a beautiful photo of Ventura City Hall lit up in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Although October is officially over, I would like to bring some awareness to metastatic breast cancer in the hopes that next year on October 13, MBC day, City Hall can light up in the MBC colors of green, teal and pink. There is an organization called Moore Fight Moore Strong whose goal is to light up landmarks all over the world to raise awareness and much needed funds for MBC through an organization called Metavivor.
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and one in three of those women will become metastatic. More than 42,000 women in the U.S. will die this year from breast cancer. Unfortunately, there is no cure and the average survival time for this disease is 36 months. I personally have been living with metastatic breast cancer for the last six and a half years. Only about 22% survive past five years.
Next October it is my wish to add Ventura City Hall to the more than 115 landmarks in the U.S. already lighting up for metastatic breast cancer awareness. We are more than aware of breast cancer. What needs some attention is metastatic breast cancer, a disease that is fatal for 97-99% of those diagnosed, with only about 2% of funds raised for breast cancer going to metastatic research.
I look forward to being around next year to see City Hall lit up in green, teal and pink to honor those who have passed and to acknowledge those living with MBC.
Thank you,
Marissa Holzer
Dear Editor,
As Americans, we are finding that we need to rely on ourselves more as the wealthy corporations and their owners have rigged the economy in their favor. They steal the wealth we have ALL created. During the pandemic, many socialist-minded organizations formed mutual aid working groups to help fill in the holes of the safety net that our federal government failed to create. We, the working people, are not among them the priorities of the DC politicians. They answer first to their wealthy donors that keep them in office.
Ventura County citizens may not know this, but many diverse local groups have come together from the start of the pandemic to get food and assistance to struggling citizens. Members of DSA have been working along-side church groups, Habitat For Humanity, Friends of Fieldworkers, the Local Love Project, Ventura’s Danny’s Deli, as well as government funded organizations, ARCH (the Ventura Homeless Shelter), Oxnard COVID Shelter and the Area Agency on Aging. We’ve been delivering food, toys, masks, clothes, medicine and other essential items to senior, poor, homeless, disabled and incarcerated folks. We have also donated time and supplies to build raised garden boxes so that individuals and families can grow their own food going forward.
We will continue these efforts as the pandemic shows no sign of disappearing soon. It is clear that ongoing climate change-caused disasters, future pandemics and continued social injustice, will require us to continue this work – at least until the government starts working for all of us. All we have is each other.
In solidarity, Allen Chinn
Democratic Socialists of America – Ventura County
Oops…
In our last issue we had an article A sendoff for Haole Boy
In the article we stated “Haole’s fans span the world, in fact, a number of them, Tammy and John Norton flew or drove long distances to attend the memorial.” Tammy should have been Tawny. Sorry Tawny.
I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but to unify.
~ Joe Biden
