Today Melissa Summers of parenting blog Suburban Bliss writes about one of the many ways cancer has affected her life. Melissa, who lives just outside of Detroit with her husband Logan and her two kids Max and Madison, says that although she has struggled with cancer in many ways, she chooses to tell an uplifting story. This playful, childhood anecdote serves as a powerful reminder of what the American Cancer Society is working for every single day — more time to make memories with the people we love most. Read her story here:

Evaporated Milk

Growing up, my mother had this habit of buying the same thing over and over. Sometimes that item was a loaf of bread. Every time she drove past the market she’d have to run in and grab a loaf or ten of bread. You just never knew when you’d need to make sandwiches for the entire state of Rhode Island, she liked to be prepared.

Other times she’d get it in her head that she needed something you very rarely have a use for like, evaporated milk. And for a couple of months, she’d grab a can or two each time she ran to the market. The evaporated milk, sat in the cupboard for months, years. In fact I don’t even know how long it was there. Could have been from 1973 and no one would have been surprised. That can was just a part of the pantry landscape after a while. Granola bars, flour, salt, cereal, evaporated milk.

My grandpa got cancer in his late 70′s. I don’t remember what kind of cancer it was, it really didn’t matter all that much. Like all the kinds of cancer, it was the crappy kind. He got increasingly sick over time, and eventually required a nurse to come live with him.

One day while my grandpa was particularly sick, my brother and I were at home while my mom was at work. My brother had the can of evaporated milk in his hand, and we pondered why it was there. Could we even remember a time the evaporated milk was not in the cupboard? Why were there three of them in there? Had we ever seen our mother use evaporated milk for anything?

Each question resulted in more questions. My mother is a little jumpy and in our family we like to prey on the weakest one. It’s how we love.

We do little things like put rubber snakes in the microwave or hide someone in the back seat of the car to scream “Boo!” while she drives. Just funny little tricks meant to toy with her heart and keep her, you know, aerobically healthy.

My brother called my mother at work. “Mom! The nurse just called from grandpa’s house. They’re having an emergency! They need 6-10 ounces of evaporated milk immediately!”

Without skipping a beat my mother went into what I call her ‘Crisis Mode’, this is how she gets whenever something really bad happens, when there’s an emergency of some sort. “Okay,” she said, taking a long cleansing breath. “Go in the cupboard next to the oven. On the middle shelf, next to the cereal and near the flour, there are three cans of evaporated milk. Take them out and tell me how many ounces each can is. There should be enough there.”

Apparently, she didn’t pause long enough to consider what kind of cancer-related health emergency could possibly be addressed with 6-10 ounces of evaporated milk. But for a few shining moments she believed she’d bought that evaporated milk for a good reason. All the teasing we’d done about the evaporated milk would all be worth it now. She was having the last laugh, now that we were facing a health emergency and her evaporated milk would quite possibly save my grandfather’s life.

For those moments, before my brother and I started laughing hysterically, my mother thought she cured cancer with three cans of evaporated milk.

Thanks to Melissa for sharing! To find out how you can help create a world with less cancer and more birthdays, visit morebirthdays.com.

Editorial Note: This is a repost of an article posted 6/23/2009. The post was removed due to some negative feedback, but after careful consideration we have decided to repost Melissa’s story. Although The Official Birthday Blog deals with a serious subject, it is a happy place and we welcome and celebrate any and all stories told in the way the author intends.

This 4th of July, let your kids know why our nation’s birthday is such a special day. Here are some recommended stories and activities for teaching your kids the true meaning of the holiday. The Associated Press has the story:

Ideas for Teaching Kids the Meaning of July 4th

America traditionally celebrates its birthday with flags, fireworks, parades and barbecues, so how are children going to get the real meaning behind Independence Day?

Lots of ways. Try some of these:

Start a conversation

For younger children, describe July Fourth as the nation’s birthday, said Mary Eames Ucci, education director of the Wellesley College Child Study Center. Tell them the parade, fireworks and hot dogs are for the celebration.

“As children get older, they can begin to understand what independence means,” she said. “When you become independent, you get a lot of freedom but you also get a lot of responsibility.”

Make it an annual ritual for kids spend a few minutes thinking about and then discussing the contributions they want to make to their country — and to the world, said Debra Condren, a psychologist and mom.

“Help them come up with age-appropriate ideas for short-term, intermediate and long-term ways they can give back to and carry on the cause championed by those courageous leaders who originally fought for our independence,” she said …

Read all about it

There are many wonderful children’s books about the Fourth of July, said Amy McClure, professor of children’s literature at Ohio Wesleyan University.

She recommends “The Story of America’s Birthday” by Patricia A. Pringy for babies to preschoolers, and “O, Say Can You See? America’s Symbols, Landmarks, And Important Words” by Sheila Keenan for kids ages 4 to 8.

“Any opportunity parents can have to engage children in reading over the summer can only benefit children,” McClure said. “You can make reading relevant and connect it to an exciting event in their lives.”

Turn kids into patriots

Tell kids they can have a party, said Jen Singer of MommaSaid.net, an online community for moms. Let them plan the day’s events, allowing them to get excited about the party.

But then impose rules, such as they can only eat carrots — no ice cream — and they can only play inside. When they get upset about the rules, explain that’s how the patriots felt when England made rules and imposed taxes on Americans …

Do an activity together

Make a quill pen by shaping a point at the end of a clean feather and dipping it into a bottle of ink, Miller said. It will give kids an idea of what the Declaration of Independence was written with — and kids like the scratching noise, she said.

They can also make hasty pudding, which was a staple in the 18th century and mentioned in the song “Yankee Doodle.” Other activities include designing a recruiting poster for Washington’s army, learning to dance a minuet, an 18th-century dance; and creating banners or flags with stars and stripes.

Let your child send e-cards to family members passing along a fact about July Fourth. Have them start a journal of what they do for the holiday each year, said James Heintze, a librarian emeritus at American University.

And most of all, have a happy, healthy 4th of July!

Darryle Pollack, a breast cancer survivor and former TV journalist, believes in the power of more birthdays! And that’s what’s inspired her to write this post about why the American Cancer Society’s movement for more birthdays means so much to her personally. Thanks Darryle for helping us save lives, and for sharing your inspiration.

Creating a world with more birthdays

3 days in a row I’m blogging about birthdays and it’s not even close to my birthday. Besides birthdays, there’s another theme I’ve been stuck on lately —the circle of life. Today both of those themes connected in an amazing way.

This starts way back in the 70’s, when I was working in Miami television and cancer was still a taboo subject, discussed in whispers. I didn’t even know yet that cancer had touched my own life, and caused my mother’s death at 41.

The American Cancer Society was working to bring cancer out of the shadows, and one way was through breast cancer awareness. Like most women, I knew almost nothing about it. When the Cancer Society contacted Montage, the magazine show I worked for, I ended up as the producer, writer and reporter for a documentary devoted to breast cancer.

I connected with some amazing survivors—brave and inspiring women of all ages who taught me about the disease and about facing reality in ways I was not even capable of appreciating. I have a copy of the show somewhere but even decades later, I don’t need to watch it to remember the most memorable incident.

In an interview, one of the survivors described her role as a Reach to Recovery volunteer—both a guide and a role model. She would visit women in their hospital rooms just after their mastectomy (lumpectomies weren’t done yet) and she said every new breast cancer patient followed the same exact pattern: “She’ll be in shock from fear and the whole experience. I walk into her room and I tell her I’m a survivor and the first thing that happens—every single time—is that her eyes will automatically move from my eyes to my chest—and back after she checks me out.”

That’s exactly what happened, when we filmed her visit with a woman who had just had her mastectomy the day before.

Betty Ford’s brave decision to announce her own cancer battle had not yet begun to shine a light on this disease. So our documentary was a breakthrough – not just for television, but for me personally— after the show won a national award from Women in Communications.

20 years later, the circle of life started to come around—-when I got breast cancer myself. I found that funny–in a very black way—after all my work with breast cancer. And now there’s more.

Out of the blue, all these years later, the American Cancer Society entered my life again. Recently I was invited to join an Advisory Council formed of women bloggers with an interest in health and cancer, who will work with the organization on using social media to raise awareness and save lives.

I was hesitant to commit. I agreed that I would join the first conference call before deciding whether to become part of the group—meanwhile I’m busy like we all are, and I didn’t give it a second thought.

So last night I blog about how my own birthday is more meaningful since I’ve had cancer. And 10 hours after that—today— is the first conference call with the American Cancer Society. We’re hearing about the direction of their new campaign…. and it’s all about birthdays:

Create a world with more birthdays. Official sponsor of birthdays.

It’s a wonderful message—and you don’t have to be a cancer survivor to be involved. Check out their site and see what I mean.

As for me, I’m taking this incident as a nudge, a shove, a personal message from the universe— with an assist from the American Cancer Society— letting me know that I am meant to be doing this. Not just as a way to add meaning to my own birthday but to add something to the lives of others. And once again—to find another way—to make the circle of life feel complete.

Darryle Pollack is the creator of Cluttercast, a concept that recently resulted from her annual New Year’s resolution to get organized. Her personal blog, I never signed up for this, is named in honor of all the times she has said those words at some point in her life– as a mother, breast cancer survivor, artist, chocoholic, former TV journalist, procrastinator, freelance writer, cat owner, and wife (because her husband complains that he always comes last on her list). She lives in Northern California, and blogs for the Huffington Post.

Want a way to celebrate more birthdays? Look to Fido! (After all, if you count in dog years, you have so many more opportunities to celebrate!)

About one in four pet owners celebrate their pet’s birthday or the day their pet came to live with them, according to an Associated Press-Petside.com poll released earlier this week. To learn more, read the full story in The Dallas Morning News, excerpts below:

Susan Jacobs and her companion, Kingston, both like chicken and collards, chilling on the couch and riding in her convertible with the breeze tussling his curly black hair.

Kingston, it should be said, is a black poodle. But for Jacobs, 45, of Long Beach, Calif., he is like a child.

“The next time I travel, I’ll probably take him with me,” said Jacobs, a Mary Kay consultant and freelance writer.

“I’m just used to him being around.”

An Associated Press-Petside.com poll released Tuesday found that half of American pet owners consider their pets as much a part of the family as any person in the household; another 36 percent said their pet is part of the family but not a full member.

And that means pets often get the human touch: Most pet owners cop to feeding animals human food, nearly half give the animals human names and nearly a third let them sleep in a human bed …

About one-fourth the owners surveyed celebrate their pet’s birthday or the day it came to live with them, and a third have included a pet’s photo or name in a holiday card.

So happy birthday to the pets of the world! At The Official Birthday Blog, we approve of one more reason to celebrate!

You can help your birthday guest of honor, and friends, enjoy celebrating the big day with fun party games. Here at The Official Birthday Blog, we know that one of the keys to having more birthdays is staying well by keeping active. Here are some fun party game ideas to get your guests moving:

• Skee Ball: Tape together plastic flower pot containers in several rows (3 in the first row, 2 in the second row and 1 in the last row). Have the children throw a Nerf ball into the containers. Win big points for getting the ball into the containers – 10 for the first row, 20 for the second, and 30 points for the top container.

• Dress-Up Race: Place an oversized T-shirt, shorts, and a pair of rubber gloves on 2 chairs at 1 end of the room or yard. Divide the children into 2 groups. The race begins by having the first kids in line hop to the chair, put on the clothes, and hop back to the starting line. The child then takes off the clothes and gives them to the next child, who puts them on, hops to the chair where they take off the clothes, and then hop back to the starting line. The winning team is the one that can get all members back to the starting line first.

• Bean bag toss: Each child takes a turn throwing a beanbag into a basket. Use masking tape to draw lines on the floor marking varying distances. Assign points to each line and set a time (1 point for the closest line and 4 points for the farthest). Each child must throw 2 beanbags from each line. Have other children retrieve bean bags and record points. The child with the most points wins a prize. (Bean bags can be made by filling old socks with dried beans or rice. Tie and secure carefully).

• “Donkey”: In groups of 3 or 4, children stand in single file approximately 3 or more feet away from a wall. Leave plenty of space between people. The first person underhand tosses a small playground ball against the wall and does a stride jump over the ball before it bounces when it returns, then moves to the end of the line. The next person in line catches the ball and repeats the above and so on continuously down the line. If a player misses the ball, they collect letters of the word “DONKEY”. Challenge players to make up their own rules to add challenge and fun to the activity.

• Gold Rush: Number children from 1 to 4 (or more). Place 1 (yellow) beanbag underneath the parachute. On a signal, the children inflate the parachute while the parent calls 1 of the numbers. Those players run clockwise around the parachute until they get to the space where they started. The players run through their space underneath the parachute, put their foot on the “gold” then return to their spot before the parachute hits the ground. Repeat, calling a new number each time. Remind the children to keep their heads up and to watch out for other runners.

These are just a few ideas to get your guests moving. Expecting a more mature crowd? Try planning your celebration around an action-oriented activity. Go swimming, play a sport, or have a dance party! By planning healthy parties that include keeping guests on the go, you’re helping to create a world with more birthdays! Thanks for everything you do. And for more information on how you can help create a world with less cancer and more birthdays, visit morebirthdays.com.

Have you heard the news? The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was just passed into law – a law that will save countless lives! This is a huge victory for the health of all Americans – and a major step forward in the fight against cancer. For the American Cancer Society’s movement for more birthdays, it’s cause for celebration! It is also a cause for celebration because a world with less tobacco means a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

This week John Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, attended the signing, and had this to say: “This new law will do so much to further our mission to save lives from cancer, saving millions of birthdays in years to come.” Click here to watch a special video from Dr. Seffrin and learn more about this major milestone in the fight against cancer.

For decades, the American Cancer Society and its advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action NetworkSM (ACS CAN) has been leading the fight against tobacco. Thanks to our many dedicated supporters like you who attended dozens of meetings, gave financial support, made more than 5,000 phone calls, and sent 18,500 emails to our nation’s lawmakers, our hard work has finally paid off!

Here’s a look at just what the new law does:

• Tobacco companies must reveal all product ingredients to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and seek FDA approval for any new products.

• Our nation’s children – potential first-time smokers – will no longer be seduced by flavored tobacco products, including candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes, which will be banned.

• Consumers won’t be misled by cigarettes labeled “light,” “mild,” or “low-tar” as healthier choices. These have also been banned.

• Warning labels will be clearly visible, taking up at least half of the front and back of cigarette packages.

• The only way to buy tobacco will be in person – no more public cigarette vending machines in places where IDs haven’t been checked.

• Children will be further protected from tobacco advertisements and sponsorships, which will be banned near schools and playgrounds and at sports or entertainment events. The law also restricts colorful store displays.

Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office estimates this law could reduce youth smoking by 11 percent and adult smoking by 2 percent during the next decade. That means there will be far fewer lives lost to cancer caused by tobacco, and far more birthdays to celebrate.

Together let’s continue creating a world where no one is addicted to tobacco, and cancer never steals another day from anyone’s life. To join the movement for more birthdays, visit morebirthdays.com.

Happy Birthday to June Carter Cash! The wife of music legend Johnny Cash spent her life surrounded by art and music. She put out three successful solo albums, and her relationship with country legend Johnny Cash provided inspiration for classics such as “Ring of Fire.”

Ms. Cash was notable not only for her artistic abilities, but for the support she lent to her family and community. Happy Birthday, Ms. Cash. You’ll be remembered.

Many parents are spending big for their kids’ birthdays. Hard times or no, these parents want to give their children the fond birthday memories they never had. But it’s easy to forget that birthdays are more about sentiment than ornament. Read the full article in The Dallas Morning News, excerpts below:

The business of kids’ birthday parties is growing up fast

The birthday girl blew a kiss as she emerged from a hot pink limousine.

She sprinted toward the entrance of the “pampering headquarters” with a gaggle of 6-year-olds in tow. They’d spend almost two hours with stylists who would apply makeup, paint their nails, sweep up their hair and show them how to strut down a runway. The girl’s parents would spend at least $300. Facials and pedicures were a separate package.

Welcome to the modern child’s birthday party, an industry still going strong despite the weak economy. In this business, the options, the prices and the expectations are all still growing up fast.

“There are definitely people still spending that money on birthday parties,” said Shannon Ayres, who owns three local bounce houses and sees no significant decline in sales this year.

These destination spots – which have sprouted nationwide – are especially prominent in Collin County, where busy parents can choose the convenience of a prepared celebration over the traditional backyard cake and candles.

But in an era of record job losses and financial strain, the extravagance of these occasions has left some parents fearing compromised values and others feeling pressured to keep up, despite the cost. There’s even a Web site for parents to lament birthday party excess, with tales of exotic animals, plane rides and credit card bills.

“You feel like you have to invite everyone their age and go all out,” said Vicki Messler of McKinney, who has two children under 6. Her sons’ parties usually include 30 kids and cost several hundred dollars, with entertainment and goodie bags.

She said she’s tried to lower costs by selecting activities that accommodate a larger number of children, like ordering a petting zoo, renting a gym or taking a free tour of a fire station.

“Lots of parents overdo it,” she said, “and I think money is a part.”

‘Snowball effect’

Arminta Jacobson, the director of the Center for Parent Education at the University of North Texas, calls the rising expectations of partygoers and their parents the “snowball effect.” And businesses are responding with offerings that are increasingly elaborate and expensive.

A three-course meal and themed evening at American Girl Boutique and Bistro in Dallas: $450.

An eight-girl spa fest at Frisco’s tweener hotspot Sweet & Sassy: $399. Limo: an extra $150.

Here’s a video of the eight-year-old Sweet & Sassy experience:

A two-hour weekend party with two pizza slices and goodie bags for 26 kids at Pump It Up, Frisco’s inflatable heaven: $379.

Even now, price tags are no deterrent, said Ayres, who has seen the party market catapult in the 6 ½ years since she opened Frisco’s Pump It Up. She brings in more than $1 million in annual revenue …

Precise figures for the industry are still hard to come by, said Sarah DiCello, the communications and marketing manager for the group based in Hershey, Pa.

“Nobody really knows how many of these birthday party sites there are because they are being redefined,” she said, adding that a variety of venues, from bowling alleys to swimming pools, are starting to offer birthday packages.

“Moms just don’t have time anymore. They want to take their kids to a place and be done with it.”

Keep values in mind

William Doherty has watched the fanfare of the modern party with horror.

Doherty declared a “moratorium on goodie bags” two years ago with a group of mothers in Minneapolis and launched “Birthdays Without Pressure,” a Web outlet for frustrated parents that receives regular comments.

“This is sort of a movement,” said Doherty, a professor in the University of Minnesota’s family social science department and the past president of the National Council on Family Relations, a family study organization.

One woman he knows maxed out her credit card on a party for her 1-year-old. The boy slept through it. In a culture that breeds MTV’s My Super Sweet 16 – the ultimate in conspicuous-consumption birthday parties – Doherty saw a lapse in values.

“We are driven by community norms that get in the way,” he said. “We are not saying parties must be simple and intimate. But make them consistent with your values. An overnight with two to three kids can be cool.”

Making memories

Tomeka Jasper has every intention of making her 3-year-old’s birthdays meaningful, even if it means excessive spending in an economic downturn.

“I want my child to have the fond memories and experiences I didn’t have,” said Jasper, who grew up with eight other siblings in rural Arkansas. Pizza Hut was their splurge.

The party’s not until January, but Jasper and her daughter, Alexandra, are already planning. A safari theme was rejected in favor of one with nail polish and pedicures, said Jasper, who lives in Plano.

But on this day, Alexandra, busy beeping an imaginary horn at Frisco’s Wiggly Play Center, had another idea.

“I want a birthday cake,” she said.

Everyone wants their kids’ birthdays to be meaningful, but that doesn’t have to mean spending a small fortune. Here at the Official Birthday Blog we offer party planning tips completely free. For more birthday ideas visit morebirthdays.com, where you can send free birthday e-cards, build a Birthday Page and — best of all — help create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

This weekend Ron Hornaday Jr. had a very happy birthday. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion won first place in the Milwaukee Mile on Saturday night — his 51st birthday — taking back the lead in the Truck Series standings.

“This is really cool,” said Hornaday of his victory. “I have to dedicate this win to my mother-in-law who we call ‘Gram.’ She’s been in the hospital and is not doing too well. In the 30 years my wife and I have been married this is probably only the eighth race she’s missed. I hope this lifts her spirits a little.”

Hornaday, the three-time Truck Series champ and driver for Kevin Harvick Inc., led 180 of the 200 laps, finishing first under blue skies. The race marked his 41st Truck Series win, the most of any driver. He now holds a 36-point lead over Matt Crafton in the Truck Series standings.

Happy Birthday to Hornaday! Best wishes for a happy, healthy 2010 for him and his mother-in-law.