Monday, April 27, 2015

Raising awareness vital in battle against esophageal cancer, caregivers say

Local family fights good fight against chronic illness

Note: I've known Maggie Nolan-Solsbury since I wrote a story for the New Haven Register three years ago about a fundraiser for her husband, Keith Solsbury, who is living with esophageal cancer.

Ansonia native Keith Solsbury, 52, has been fighting the good fight against esophageal cancer for nearly a decade. 
And he is winning the battle, thanks to the tireless efforts of a loving family.
Keith Solsbury
His wife, Maggie Nolan-Solsbury, and their two children, Brandon, 24, and Brianna, 22, have cared for him throughout several surgeries, chemotherapy treatments, and more. Keith Solsbury is unable to work, and the family is struggling financially. 

Esophageal cancer is the fastest-growing cancer in the United States, Maggie Solsbury said, yet there are no routine tests for early detection.

Brandon Solsbury commented, “People do not care about awareness. If it has not happened to them or someone close to them, they can’t see it! Some choose to ignore it, [they] cannot handle the fact that even if you are cancer free you can have years and years of complications. 
“Until people care about awareness before it hurts someone in their family directly, nothing will change and it will be a slow, painful, uphill battle that most will not win.”

Maggie Solsbury seeks to effect change and raise awareness about the disease. Her goal is to make April National Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month.
Several years ago she was successful in having April designated as Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month in Connecticut.

“Awareness can save lives,” Maggie Solsbury said. “Just because it is a rare cancer does not mean we should not count. The patients and families are never the same,” she said, after receiving a diagnosis.

She wants people to realize something seemingly simple such as chronic heartburn can cause esophageal cancer to develop.

Maggie Solsbury
In addition, risk factors include obesity, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and smoking. Those who have those risk factors can develop Barrett’s esophagus which increases the potential for developing esophageal cancer.

Maggie Solsbury serves as regional contact for the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Association.
According to information on its Facebook page, “the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Association is an organization dedicated to providing outreach for esophageal cancer patients, caregivers, and survivors; to increase public awareness of this disease, and to provide education and information in a supportive environment. 
The ECAA is a purely volunteer group with unpaid officers.” 

Maggie Solsbury said she has been comforted by the support she has received through online groups for families dealing with the disease.
One of those individuals is a woman who lost her 23-year old son to esophageal cancer in 2010.
She wrote on Maggie Solsbury’s Facebook page: 
“Here is my son Christopher's EC story which involves two moves, no health insurance, the naivete of my son to [not] take his symptoms seriously and follow-up, and the unwillingness of the medical community to recognize that someone that young could get this cancer and diagnose him properly.” 

Her story is quoted below:
“Chris was 22 years old when first became ill in April of 2009. At first he thought he had a stomach virus. Prior to that, there were no symptoms. At that time, he was working several part time jobs on Long Island and had no health insurance. The ACA was not yet passed, neither was parents being able to cover children up to age 26. 

“His initial symptoms were dysphagia, unexplained weight loss, and pain in the chest area. He went to a clinic and the ER. He was given a Rx of Protonix and was told to follow-up with a GI doctor. 
“He was never scoped until after he moved from Long Island to Pittsburgh in September of 2009, five-plus months since the initial symptoms and over a 50-plus pound weight loss. He finally made an appointment in November (the earliest he could get) with a GI doctor in Pittsburgh. 
“Unfortunately, he never made that appointment because he collapsed at work, two weeks before the appointment. Within 24 hours on Nov. 17 the University of Pittsburgh scoped him and diagnosed Chris with Adenocarcinoma of the GEJ and stomach, he also needed three blood transfusions because of low hemoglobin counts. I took Chris to downtown Pittsburgh to file for Medicaid and Social 
Security disability benefits.

“He had a PET scan two days before Thanksgiving; the diagnosis was Stage 4, metastatic gastro esophageal cancer with multiple lymph node involvement from his neck all the way down to his groin, and metastases to the liver. 
"The first week of December in Pittsburgh he had surgery to put in a port and an esophageal stent so he could eat and had another three blood transfusions. 

"On Dec. 17, Chris and I decided that he would come back to Connecticut with me for treatment as that's where my husband and I were living.
"Chris was readmitted to the hospital in Norwich on Dec. 22 because the esophageal stent did not stay in place and had to be surgically removed. He needed an additional three units of blood and chemotherapy was started on Dec. 28, 2009.
"My son was never able to eat again. He was readmitted to the hospital in Norwich March 3 because we could not control his pain level with oral pain medications.
"Chemo was not controlling the spread of his cancer. His cancer then spread to the peritoneal sac. He then needed a Denver catheter to remove the fluid. Chemo was stopped as was TPN. He never came home again. On April 28, the hospital transferred him to hospice in Branford, Ct.

"On May 8, 2010, Mother's Day weekend, my son Christopher Michael Bloom died at the age of 23 from this beast of a cancer. He never really had a chance, the doctors told me in two different states.”


Keith and Maggie Solsbury renewed their wedding vows on their 25th anniversary last year. This photo with their two children was taken on the day Keith came home from the hospital.

Maggie Solsbury said she is working with other families nationwide to establish a foundation to assist those who have been diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

Meanwhile, Keith Solsbury continues to valiantly fight the disease every day.
And the family is right there next to him.



Wesley Village in Shelton to host talk about memory care

'Dinner with the Doc' slated May 12
SHELTON - Lifestyle Transitions at Wesley Heights, a new memory support community on the Wesley Village Campus, will host a “Dinner with the Doc” memory care discussion at 5:30 p.m. May 12. 
The discussion will be led by Wesley Village Medical Director Dr. Daniel Wollman, who provides both primary care and consulting services for memory and cognitive deficits on the campus. 
Wollman
Wollman will facilitate a discussion for caregivers, offering strategies for dealing with memory loss and cognitive decline in older adults. 

This event will be held in the new Lifestyle Transitions memory care neighborhood at Wesley Heights, which is located on the Wesley Village Campus at 580 Long Hill Ave. 
Dinner will be provided and tours of “Lifestyle Transitions” will be available.
“Lifestyle Transitions at Wesley Heights” offers specialized assisted living in a secure, supportive environment for those living with memory loss. 

Seating is limited for this event; please RSVP to Lisa Bisson at 203.225.5024 if interested in attending. 
For more information, email Lisa Bisson, lbisson@umh.org or visit www.wesleyvillage-ct.org.


This is a press release from United Methodist Homes.


Restaurant to host Cinco de Mayo event in downtown Ansonia

ANSONIA - It’s time to spice up downtown Ansonia as Crave restaurant announces its annual Crave Presents Cinco de Mayo to be held May 3. 

The outdoor celebration will run from 1-9 p.m. in the 5,000 square-foot parking lot adjacent to the popular Ansonia Latin-fusion restaurant, 102 Main St. 

Admission is free. Table seating and tents will be set up throughout. 
Food and beverage tickets can be purchased on-site at the event.      

Two bands are scheduled to perform including Bobs Fault Band (1 p.m.), and the popular salsa band Orquesta Son Siete (3-7 p.m.).

The on-premise grill menu offering by veteran Crave Chef Fabian Delgado will include carne asada, tacos, fajitas, burritos, tostadas, and more. Beverages include frozen margaritas, Modelo Especial and Corona beer, wine, and sangria.

“As this annual event continues to grow in popularity, it offers to become an anticipated entertainment anchor to the City’s downtown,” said Crave owner Libby Meissner, now entering her eighth year of business. 

Last fall, the restaurant expanded into an adjacent 1,200-square foot space, including the addition of a popular Vanity Room featuring Thursday-Saturday live entertainment.

Parking is free throughout the surrounding downtown area. 


This is a press release from Crave.

Scouts to perform in 91st annual gang show in Derby

Photo taken from show's Facebook page
DERBY - Housatonic Boy Scouts of America Cub Scout Pack 3, Boy Scout Troop 3, and Venture Crew 33 Scouts are preparing for their 91st Annual Scout Gang Show, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. May 8 and 9 at Derby Methodist Church Fellowship Hall.

The church is located at the corner of Fifth and Elizabeth Streets, near the Derby Green. 

Tickets are $8 and are available from any Pack 3, Troop 3, or Crew 33 Scout or by calling 203-732-0343. 
A limited number of tickets will be available at the door. Proceeds from the show help send Scouts to summer camp at Ed Strang Scout Reservation, Cub Scout Day camp and the Scouts' upcoming camping trip to Derby, England.

The show is part old time minstrel, part variety show and part Gang Show, in the English Scouting tradition. First performed in 1922, and annually except for two years during World War II, the Derby Scout Gang Show has the distinction of being the longest running show of its kind in the world.

The late local Scouting pioneer and Derby Hall of Fame member Edmund D. Strang, had several friends involved in English Scout Gang Shows and he would attend the shows when visiting there. 

He eventually merged the minstrel and Gang Show concepts into an unique version of the Scout Gang Show, and the rest as they say, is history.

Derby’s Scout Gang Show has been written up in Yankee and Scouting Magazines and in 1999, it was also featured on National Public Radio’s “Lost and Found Sounds” program. When honoring Strang and the longevity of the show in 1985, President Ronald Reagan referred to the Gang Show as “Connecticut’s finest example of controlled chaos.”

The term Gang Show goes back to 1932 when Ralph Reader was directing a scout show in London as a way to raise money for the local Scout camp swimming pool. 


According to Reader, “One night during rehearsals word was brought to me that the title of the show had to be decided that evening so that posters could be got ready for the initial announcements to the public. We had just broken for coffee. Then I told one of the boys to call the cast back to continue rehearsals. 
As they all crowded back into the room I said to the youngster, "Are they all back?" He looked at me and in a Cockney voice said, "Aye, aye, Skip; the gang's all here." I stood rooted to the spot. "The gang's all here!" "THE GANG'S ALL HERE!' That's it! That was the title we had been looking for. We were a Gang and the Gang was all here. Yes sir, I thought, that's IT.” Gang Shows immediately took off all over the United Kingdom, and Australia and some even in the USA. 
Although shows are still performed by Scouts throughout the United Kingdom and former British colonies, the Derby Scout Gang Show is the only show of its kind still being performed in the USA. The Derby Show will feature Ralph Reader songs “We’ve Been Making Memories” and “These are the Times”.

Strang was the Gang Show director, Interlocutor and driving force for 70 years. Troop 3 Scoutmaster Randy Ritter has been directing the show for the past 21 years. Ritter said, “The annual show enables our Cub Pack, Scout Troop, and Venturer Crew to work together towards a common goal, and the Scouts gain self confidence performing while learning traditional songs and we raise funds to support our Scouting activities.”


More than 100 to perform
Marc Weissman will be accompanying the Scout soloists and chorus as the pianist and Troop 3 Scout Matthew Moran will serve as Chorus Director. 

The "endmen" or fun men, who will be telling jokes for the show are Assistant Scoutmaster Michael McMahon, and Scouts Steven Tracz, Dominic Livoti, Michael Shea, Colby McLiverty, Anthony Bartholomew, Justin Patten, and Joseph Szewczyk.

More than 100 Scouts, leaders, and parents will be performing. Rodman Kneen Jr. has been directing the "stooges" who perform one-line run on gags, for more than 60 years. 


Kneen, whose first performance in the show was as a Cub Scout in 1932, is celebrating a remarkable 83 years in Scouting. 

Stooges in this year’s show include Crew 33 Venture Scouts Joshua Moscato, James Chopak, Adam Sroka, Jason Edwards, and Ben Grasso. It is the Stooges who will perform an ongoing gag bringing up an ever-growing tree sapling throughout the show, searching for its owner, Mrs. Jones.

The theme for the show is "Stay on the Sunny Side of Life" and will feature fun songs from the show through the years. 

Highlights include Boy Scout Thomas Robertson performing “Hello Mudduh,” Cub Scout Kevin McGuire singing “Hoop Dee Do” and Venture Scout Michael Shea singing “I’ve Gotta Woman.”
In addition, the Scouts will be performing traditional Scout Gang Show classics such as “Hello Dolly,” “Aba Daba Honeymoon,” and “Rubber Ducky.” Special guests include Donald King, former Derby Mayor and current Town/City Clerk Marc Garofalo and Sarah Beth Widomski.

In addition to Garofalo, Center Stage director Gary Scarpa, former Ansonia Mayor Bill Menna and Shelton Aldermanic President John Anglace all performed in the show as youths. 

The show's most famous alumnus is TV, stage, and movie actor Brian Dennehy, who performed "Be A Good Scout" on the same Derby Methodist Church stage in the 1948 show.


This information is shared from the Gang Show Facebook page.

BHcare to showcase clients' art at library in Branford


As part of BHcare’s May is Mental Health Awareness Month activities, an art show will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 8 at James Blackstone Memorial Library, 758 Main St., Branford.

Witness the talents of BHcare clients who use photography, sculpture, painting, and other
forms of art to help them in their recovery from mental illness and addiction.

Admission is free and light refreshments will be served.

For information about BHcare’s May is Mental Health Awareness Month activities and events, visit www.bhcare.org.


This is a press release from BHcare, a regional community provider of behavioral health, addiction prevention, and domestic violence services for the Shoreline, Greater New Haven and Lower Naugatuck Valley communities.  
For more information, visit www.bhcare.org.