and speaking of birthdays......

Russ and Elzy gave me a Tibetan singing bowl-which I have been using. And then bought a book on the subject "How To Heal With Singing Bowls: Traditional Tibetan Healing Methods" by Suren Shrestha
The author is from Nepal, came to the US when he was 15, went to college, earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He talks about growing up in Nepal with herbalists and monks practising various healing techniques including sound and vibration. I really enjoyed the book-it's not too long-and he gets right to the point-very concise-easy to use. From the calendar on his website it looks like he is coming to New Jersey in October 21-24-and that might possibly be at Divine Inspirations Bookstore in Nutley. I'm very interested-so I'm hoping I can go.
Using the Tibetan Singing Bowl is an interesting experience. There is definitely a calming effect-but as an after affect I also found that it stirred up a lot of emotions. That's fine-I see that as an opportunity to let go of some old crud ;-)
I also found someone in Montclair-believe it or not-her name is Jessica Rasp-you can see a video of her playing a whole set of bowls. I will be contacting her as well. I see on her website that she likes "jazz" which is great because I would love to compose a piece that includes the singing bowls.
So thank you Russ and Elzy for the wonderful gift-and setting me off on another exploration!!!

Happy birthday, D-Mo

Diane's birthday is today, July 29. Hope it's a great one, D-Mo, and that this year brings you non-stop health, happiness, love and creativity.

Mark Dresser and me at Cornelia St

I had a fantastic time playing music with Mark Dresser at the Cornelia St Cafe on July 1st. Thank you to everyone who came out-especially to all of you from outside of NYC!
Mark and I also played a concert on Tues June 29th at the Allwood Community Church-as part of the Music for the Soul Concert Series-and that was very moving and wonderful. Thank you to everyone who attended-there was something special about that concert. One audience member told me that he and his wife had a transcendental experience-how beautiful!

Music for the Soul Concert Series

"Inside/Out"
Tim Ferguson-bass, Rob Henke-trumpet, Diane Moser-piano
"Music for the Soul Concert Series"
July 28th
8PM-9:30PM
$10 Donation
Light Refreshments
Allwood Community Church
100 Chelsea Rd
Clifton, NJ 07012
973.777.6360
http://www.allwoodcommunitychurch.com/

"Inside/Out" is a new trio consisting of Tim Ferguson (bass), Rob Henke (trumpet) and Diane Moser (piano). On this debut concert-they will perform a variety of jazz and improvised music ranging from classic jazz standards to compositions by the members of the group and completely improvised pieces. Friends and colleagues for many years, Tim Ferguson approached Rob and Diane with the idea of creating a new trio using an organic approach to jazz and new music. “I was interested in exploring some different ways of improvising" explained bassist Ferguson "and I knew that Rob and Diane both have the kind of musical openness and sensitivity that I was looking for."
"Music for the Soul" is a brand new concert series at the Allwood Community Church in Clifton, New Jersey. The series began in May 2010 with a Jazz Vespers tribute to Mary Lou Williams with Diane Moser (piano), Tom Colao (flute) Ron Naspo (bass) and Rudy Walker (drums), followed by The Muse String Quartet under the direction of violinist Gary Ianco in June, and most recently a duo concert by Mark Dresser (bass) and Diane Moser (piano) in late June.
Audience members have commented on the series with "electrifying"..... "transforming"..... " a welcoming and inviting space"... "beautiful acoustics"..."one of
the most beautifully transcendent musical experiences I've had in years"........
For more info contact Diane Moser cbbmo@flash.net

Interesting article about Novarits-Gleevec-patents and India

Novartis is trying to get a patent for Gleevec in India...

On May 19, 2006, Novartis had filed seven cases in the court, against the government, Cancer Patients Aid Association and generic manufacturers, challenging the rejection of its Gleevec patent application.

Gleevec is used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia, a life threatening form of cancer. It is a $2.2 billion drug, posting double-digit growth figures.

The drug helps in prolonging the life of cancer patients. Several Indian pharma firms like Natco, Cipla, Ranbaxy and Hetero produce the generic equivalent.

While Gleevec sells for around Rs 1.2 lakh per patient per month, a generic drug costs Rs 9,000 per patient per month.

I didn't even know there was a generic version out there-but probably not available here in the states.

Life Fest 2010

I will be attending-through music-the Friday night gala of Life Fest GIST 2010:A Decade of Difference sponsored by the Life Raft group-an organization dedicated to helping those of us with GIST.
This rare disease that I have called GIST has only been around for 10 years. But what a difference 10 years can make. I am inspired by Tania Stutman, founder of the GIST Cancer Research Fund, who upon learning that she had this rare disease over 10 years ago-went door to door -by herself-soliciting donations that she gave to cancer researchers to figure out what GIST actually was.
On their website-it states that they have given away $1 Million to GIST cancer researchers to find a cure-that's totally awesome!
I am inspired by the folks at Life Raft who have organized this event called Life Fest, bringing together fellow GISTers, doctors, and researchers to educate and illuminate all of us about the recent medications, trials and what's next.
Both groups work tirelessly with doctors, researchers and GISTers towards understanding the disease, promoting and funding new research, networking with GISTers to find the right doctor, the right medication, testing and sometimes just a time to talk.
Without both of these groups-I would be completely lost-so I am extremely grateful to their hard work and dedication to helping all of us who have GIST.

When The Body Says No......

I just finished reading this amazing book "When The Body Says No" by Dr. Gabor Mate-it's about the relationship between stress and disease.
At times, it's difficult to read this book, especially when the various stresses of the various case studies become all too familiar.
But it's a fascinating book about the new study of psychoneuroimmunology-yep that's a big word-also known as PNI.
PNI is the study of the connection between the mind and the body and the role of our environment.
Before you throw up your hands and say-oh yeah-another new agey thing-let me assure you-this is very much NOT a new agey thing. Dr Mate is a family practitioner, and worked with biologists, cancer researchers, psychotherapists, oncologists and many other health practitioners in gathering his data to present this insightful book.
As I said before, it's a tough read, but the last chapter entitled "The Seven A's of Healing" provides a "plan" for healing and the prevention of disease.
When I talked to my oncologist many months ago about the level of stress I was feeling, he sort of shrugged it off as to yes-everyone has stress. That really angered me-and I told him so. Unfortunately, he had no suggestions for me, but he did listen a little more.
Fortunately, I found this book through my dear friend and fellow MacDowell Colony fellow-Billy Newman-a great guitarist and composer. Billy called me many times a week-for many weeks-after my return from the hospital-just to let me talk about what I was experiencing-which was incredibly helpful to me.
I've also had many wonderful conversations with fellow cancer patients, who have experienced the same "mind issues" that I have-which was very reassuring because of course, the doctors want you to think that you're the only one having these issues-and-these issues are not very important.
After you read this book-you're gonna see just how VERY important they are.