A Holiday Greeting from the HER2 Support Group

Joe · 12-23-2005, 08:43 AM

Tomorrow, December 24th is the 4th Anniversary of the HER2 Support Group. This website was the vision of my wife Christine, who wanted to help other breast cancer patients after she was told that she was in complete remission.
This site was first published on Christmas Eve 2001, my Christmas gift to her and in turn her gift to all of the women who were suffering from this insideous disease.

All I can say is "What A Ride !!!" 500,000 hits from over 80 countries and almost 2 million pageviews. It certainly wasn't the small group that Christine first thought it would be.

I would like to thank all of you as without your support and cooperation we would be just another of the estimated 17,000 breast cancer support sites on the internet.

To all of our Christian members, we wish you a Very Merry Christmas, to our Jewish members, a Joyous Hanukkah. To members of other religions. feel free to post greetings to others on your special religious holidays as we feel we all benefit through God's help and intervention.

2005 was a great year highlighted with the clinical trial results of adjuvant Herceptin. From talking to researchers and oncologists, 2006 should even be a better year. Our most sincerest wish is that modern medical research will put this website out of business as there will be no longer a need for us.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and our Board of Advisors we wish you all a "Merry Christmas"

Warmest Regards
Christine and Joe

African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja: Rehus-Beal-Ledeats
Chinese: (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Chinese: (Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
(Catonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Choctaw: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
Danish: Glædelig Jul
Duri: Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak
Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
or Zalig Kerstfeast
English: Merry Christmas
Eskimo: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Farsi: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish: Hyvaa joulua
Flemish: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
French: Joyeux Noel
Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew: Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi: Shub Naya Baras
Hawaian: Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
Iroquois: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.
Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Navajo: Merry Keshmish
Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul
Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philipines: Maligayan Pasko!
Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese:Feliz Natal
Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Spanish: Feliz Navidad
Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Tagalog: Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Vietnamese: Chung Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
Yugoslavian: Cestitamo Bozic

12-23-2005, 09:22 AM

10/10 Joe for you efforts. Hats off!.

My experience of such groups is that they are essentially held together by individuals with driving force. You are clearly such a person.

What a present!.

To global cooperation and community in the new year.

Very many thanks for your efforts.

Happy christmas,

RB

Ginagce · 12-23-2005, 10:00 AM

God Bless Joe & Christine!

Since finding this site, I have been invigorated with a new sense of "fighting the fight" which I am embarassed in front of all you to say that I was starting to lose. Thank you for all your efforts. I am so very grateful that there are people like you in the world that when faced with lemons, make something so good come of it.

A Very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Gina

12-23-2005, 10:13 AM

With Gods help and people like you who care so much we will get rid of this demon of a disease. god Bless you all

12-23-2005, 12:01 PM

Joe and Christine,
Happy holidays to you and your family. It's so clear to me why you are winning the battle over cancer, Christine...this support group says it all!

12-23-2005, 12:02 PM

oops, from Celina

geraldine · 12-23-2005, 03:20 PM

Joe and Christine

Thanx for a wonderful site..! I have told so many people about it at the hospital I attend. Its very inspirational

Merry Xmas and best wishes for 2006

Geraldine

sherri · 12-23-2005, 06:02 PM

Dear Christine and Joe,

Merry Xmas and happy holiday to you. You are great couple and I'm glad I had a chance to meet and know you in person. It gives me hope to see there are people like you in the world. I wish you happiness and health. You have changed and touched so many lives. Thank you.
Big hug,
Sherri

lindaw · 12-23-2005, 07:34 PM

Dear Christine and Joe

Hope you enjoy the Christmas break and thankyou for constantly providing us with information , support and hope so that we may too.
love
Lindaw

Sheila · 12-24-2005, 06:10 AM

Christine and Joe
A very Merry Christmas to you both and all the others on this site...you have both given so much to all of us....helped so many....I can't imagine not having this site....you have created a special bond between all of us on this site even though most of us have never met...
Thank You from the bottom of my heart.

al from Canada · 12-24-2005, 07:58 AM

Dear Joe and Christine,

Wishing you the very best this holiday season, and also to say what a pleasure it was meeting the both of you, Sandy, Ginger and Steph at SABCS. Those of you that haven't met Joe and Christine personally, you do know their goodness as it is personified in this site. Wishing all the members and guests to the board a safe and happy holiday.

Al and Linda

Joan · 12-24-2005, 12:55 PM

Dear Joe & Christine,

Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas.

I am so grateful for your efforts and hard work starting and maintaining this site - it is a godsend to so many.

Access to the site makes me feel that I am not alone and I have learned so much from everyone who posts.

The site and the information I glean gives me the confidence I need to fight this disease - the site is good medicine for me.

Thanks to you, Christine and all who post.

Joy, peace, happiness to all during this wonderful season of the year.

Joan

kristen · 12-24-2005, 01:24 PM

Dear Joe and Christine,

I wish for you a very Happy Holiday Season, filled with family and friends. I too, echo the sentiments that are written above. This is a wonderful site and both of you should be very proud of your accomplishments! Congratulations on 4 hard worked years and all the time and energy you have put into this site and into each and every one of us, who has benefited from your generousity.
Even off site you two have answered questions and located people and helped me with questions I wouldn't otherwise have known to call. God Bless you Both~
Much Love to you both,

CLTann · 12-24-2005, 02:19 PM

Although I am relatively new here at this site, I feel that the pioneers who started this project really and effectively helped many of us, both in spirit and in real health. We cannot ask a better couple who had the vision and compassion to undertake such an important mission. I perused this site every day for new information and prayed silently for many fellow victims hit by the dreadful disease in so many different and unpredictive ways. Hope next year will be a better year for all of us. Thanks again for all you have done for us.

Ann

pauline · 12-24-2005, 06:35 PM

Dear Christine and Joe

A very Merry Christmas to you and your family and the best of wishes for 2006 and ever after!!

A big thankyou from me for all that you have done for all of us in building up this amazing group.

And to everyone else who uses this board-my warmest wishes to all of you for a safe and happy Christmas and a positive and rewarding 2006.

Onward and upward!!

Cheers
Pauline.

Alice · 12-24-2005, 08:33 PM

Joe & Christine,

All I can say is THANK YOU!

I hope you and everyone that contributes to and responds to this site has a wonderful christamas. All of you have been a big help to me when I needed it most.

Thank you and god bless you all,

Alice

Becky · 12-24-2005, 09:02 PM

Finding this website and all of you was the best gift I got this year. Without you, I might not have had the encouragement to fight for my one year of Herceptin as well as all the other battles and obstacles I have faced in this year.

In turn, I am happy to help all of you in any way I can, either answering and supporting you as well as spreading the word. I am happy to host the chat room moderated topics with Maryanne and do all I can for you as you have done for me.

I wish all of you the very best holiday season and the greatest new year.

Love, Becky

lu ann · 12-25-2005, 11:36 AM

Dear Christine, Joe, and everyone who visits this sight, Thankyou and God Bless you for all the hope, support and love you have given me. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All. Blessings, Lu Ann.

sarah · 12-27-2005, 03:47 AM

Christine and Joe;
Like everyone else who visits this site, I am extremely grateful that you started this site and that I found you. It is such a great help, inspiration and gives one hope. I know I have friends out there that understand. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I would be lost and alone without you. You have helped in so many times.
May the New Year be better for you and everyone.
love Sarah

Tami · 12-27-2005, 06:43 PM

We are truly blessed that you guys set this incredible site in motion 4 years ago. The lives you continue to touch and save are too numerous to count at this point. Blessings to you both and continued health and happiness to you and your girls in 2006.

All the best
Tami