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

RhondaH · 12-23-2005, 12:30 PM

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!! This website is second to none. When I was first dx, I signed up for several breast cancer websites. Since that time, this has become the ONLY one I frequent due to it's excellent layout, content, support, information and overal quality. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

Rhonda Hoffman

sassy · 12-23-2005, 12:48 PM

Christine and Joe,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. This site is one of the "big rocks" in my support system. Had it not been for this site, Ii don't believe I would have sought for the treatment I received,nor would I have had the positive outlook for the future that I now have. Thanks so much!

Sassy
________
CALIFORNIA DISPENSARIES

Cathya · 12-23-2005, 02:44 PM

Christine and Joe; Thank you so much for inspiring to put together this site. Your site is my solace when I am fearful and I would certainly be lost without it. A very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year. Cathy

StephN · 12-23-2005, 03:14 PM

To all who frequent this site or are just now checking in - too much political correctness meddling into this Christmas and New Year holiday season. At least I can say it in "French":

Joyous Christmas and a most Happy New Year bringing good news for all of us who fight on against this horrible disease with the Her2 problem added in.

Without faith in God or a higher being, which we can express openly on this site, all of us would undoubtedly have a little less courage to face our life with cancer.

I join the rest of the posters on this thread in congratulating and thanking deeply Christine and Joe for having the thoughfulness and caring to spend so much of their precious time providing this forum.

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

Helen · 12-23-2005, 03:21 PM

Joe and Christine,
Thank you so much for the vision and sharing your gift. You have helped so many with this website. I hope you will have the most Wonderful Holiday Season ever! You deserve the very best.

To Everyone,
I also hope you and your family will have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for all the advices and support.

Helen

TriciaK · 12-23-2005, 04:32 PM

Thanks, Joe and Christine! This site has been a Godsend to me, and I mean that literally! You were truly inspired to start it and to keep it going throughout the world. I tell everybody about it! Here's wishing all a very merry CHristmas and a hope that 2006 is the year the C-Beast is conquered. Hugs, Tricia

Barbara H. · 12-23-2005, 05:12 PM

Thank you to Joe and Christine!!!! The first thing I do when I come home from school is to check this web site. I wish I had known about it four years ago. Unfortunately, it took brain mets and my daughter's searching the web to find it for me. The stories and the people who post here have given me so much to hope for, especially during a time when I had so little hope. I wish everyone here happy holidays and all the best for the new year.
Barbara H.

Sandy H · 12-23-2005, 05:52 PM

I feel so blessed to have this site and I look to all of you as an extended family that I would never have known without this disease. Some I have met in person, and others through e-mailing off this board and yet others only on this board. Each one of you are precious to me because I know you will always be there for support. God has a mission for each one of you and its to support each other. Wishing you each a very Merry and Joyous Christmas, a most healthy and Happy New year. Thanks Joe and Christine for all you do for us. Hugs, Sandy

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