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To date, almost $100,000 has been donated to InspireHealth. Every F Cancer™ bracelet sold raises $50 for InspireHealth, with the purchaser receiving a charitable tax receipt for their donation. By selling 30 bracelets in the next 30 days, F Cancer Embrace Life will reach their initial goal of a $100,000 contribution.

Susan Fiedler, Founder, says "F Cancer Embrace Life is my personal initiative launched in October of 2008. I wanted to put my experience and connections to good use in the world, so I created the F Cancer bracelet to raise funds and awareness for InspireHealth, the clinic where I was treated. People love to wear or give the bracelet as a way to express their support of friends and family (and selves) who have cancer. Nothing against pink ribbons, but this bracelet tells it like it is."

InspireHealth is Canada's foremost integrated cancer care centre. It provides people living with cancer guidance on how to integrate research-informed natural approaches to healing into their cancer treatment and recovery.

Mr. Hal Gunn, co-founder and CEO of InspireHealth says, "Susan is a wonderful reflection of InspireHealth's empowered philosophy and self-engagement in health - courage, self-awareness and fun. Thank you for joining Susan in facing fear, supporting InspireHealth's vision of transforming a cancer diagnosis into inspired embrace of life, and ultimately, 'telling it like it is!' InspireHealth's mission is to support the establishment of such centers throughout Canada and to inspire integrated cancer care world-wide. Each bracelet worn brings us one step closer to our goal. Thank you!"

Today you can see celebrities such as Sarah McLachlan, Michael Franti, W. Brett Wilson, Lisa Ray and the Barenaked Ladies wearing F Cancer™ bracelets. 

Just weeks after a Barrie man was approved for a personalized licence plate reading "F CANCER", the Ministry of Transportation has reversed the decision and rejected the application.
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What do you do when life deals you a terrible hand? You make the bet you can of it. ELLE gets exclusive excerpts from the INSPIRING blog of a brave warrior who is battling multiple myeloma.

Lisa Ray is truly inspirational in the way she has put up her brave side and conquered life-threatening cancer with a smile.

The actor is sporting a bangle on her right hand and it has two words engraved on it — f**k cancer. It certainly says a lot about her attitude towards the deadly virus. Talking about whether she got into depression when she learnt about her cancer scare, Lisa says, "Of course, I have had my ups and downs. I think I was in denial for a long time. Cancer and all this happened for a reason. I believe that. I could see my attitude towards life evolving through the process of my treatment. The support I got was also a key factor in me tiding over it. Metaphorically a lot of people held my hand. I have to also tell you that my sense of humour is my secret weapon. Life is simple if one can look at its lighter side. Hope is also a big thing that helped me."

Like Lisa, tennis icon Martina Navratilova recently beat cancer. She was suffering from breast cancer. Lisa is urging her to spread hope to other cancer patients across the world. "She is a remarkable woman with great achievements. I hope that she would also take the gift of life and keep spreading hope to others cancer patients.

She should go out there and kick ar*e and she should also take care for herself because I know she must have worked really hard to get where she is. What really happens is, and I can relate to it, is that your whole life goes by and you never actually end up living — spending time with your loved ones, stopping and smelling the roses and all those those things you love doing but you don't end up doing until you get a cancer scare," she says.

Lisa is also in the process of signing a couple of big international movies. "I'm only back. I had a rebirth and so I'm not rushing into anything. I think I got a message that everything happens in good time," she says with a smile.

Lisa adds that her priorities of life aren't just work related. "Right now, I just like spending time with the people I love. Every moment for me is a celebration of life. I'm very content and satisfied. Each moment is special to me," she adds.

BT had broken the story that Lisa was writing her first book and when questioned, the actor confirms, "Writing is a passion I have always had. In a strange way cancer was the trigger that took me back to my passion. It is a gift that I want to keep pursuing. I will also continue to blog. I got so much support on my blog during my cancer journey. I'm introvert by nature and so writing helps me opening my heart and mind and is an easier way to connect to people," she signs off.

It's hard to believe it's been almost two years since the first F Cancer bracelet was sold and fundraising for InspireHealth through F Cancer Embrace Life was launched. As founder, I want to celebrate our success with you and share the highlights of this time.

The Beginning...

I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2007 and was treated with radiation. I was grateful for my recovery but feeling wiped out after treatment. That's when someone referred me to InspireHealth where I got practical information about nutrition, supplements and exercise. Following the guidance I received, I finally started to feel better.

One day, I was visiting my friend Ameen, and I noticed a beautiful metal cuff covered in Arabic script sitting on a shelf. He told me that it was a special bracelet from a mosque in India, and that the writing, from the Koran, was meant to protect the wearer. I loved this idea and decided I would make my own charmed bracelet. After all, I'm a jewelry designer; what better way to express what I'd been through?

Believe it or not, "Fuck Cancer" was the first protective phrase that came to mind. The strong language worked for me. Not because it was shocking or obscene, but because it was honest, sassy - and funny! "Fuck Cancer" said that cancer hadn't killed the rebellious, daring part of me. Once I had made the bracelet and showed it around, all my friends wanted one, including one of my doctor pals! Everyone loved the subtlety and elegance of the design combined with the raw emotion of the statement. People who'd lived with cancer "got it" immediately. It was what we all felt, but what no one wanted to say.

I realized I had found a great way to raise funds and express thanks -- F Cancer Embrace Life was born.

1000 Bracelets and 50,000 Dollars Later...

I am proud to say that since Oct 2008 we have sold over 1000 bracelets and raised more than $50,000 for InspireHealth.

To raise awareness of the cause and provide an outlet for people to buy bracelets, I created a website that has attracted thousands of visitors. I have also raised funds directly through donations for InspireHealth through our friends on Facebook where I have created an online community for sharing news and stories.

I've also had some amazing celebrity friends who have helped spread the word. Sarah McLachlan. The Barenaked Ladies. Michael Franti. W. Brett Wilson. There was even coverage at the 2009 Junos where Sarah and the Barenaked ladies did their thing on the red carpet, all sporting F Cancer bracelets! You can see the youtube video on the F Cancer Embrace Life website

Inspiration begets Inspiration

I still follow the guidance I learned through InspireHealth -- I am stronger and fitter than I have ever been in my adult life --I feel terrific!

I have also been incredibly inspired and moved by the stories that other cancer patients and their supporters have shared through the F Cancer Embrace Life website and our Facebook page. As a community we have shared our own stories on how cancer has affected us -- like the recent post from a Facebook friend whose wife bought him an F Cancer bracelet after he quit smoking -- his response to losing his sister to lung cancer. We also heard from Tony, in recovery from leukemia, who recently celebrated his fortieth birthday inLas Vegas, where he marked the occasion by getting an F Cancer tattoo.

These stories of love, hope and courage continue to inspire me to embrace my own life and I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have taken the time to share your stories and to all of you who have purchased bracelets and contributed to InspireHealth.

F Cancer Embrace Life!

Susan Fiedler

The cheap plastic yellow LiveStrong bracelets by the Lance Armstrong Foundation have raised millions for the cause, but really, who is going to wear that on a daily basis, if at all? Of course the dollar cost is no biggie and a worthwhile, inexpensive purchase, but isn’t it better to have a piece of jewelry that you can proudly wear? Vancouver jewelry designer and cancer survivor Susan Fiedler of Soul Flower has been turning heads with her elegant sterling silver bracelet engraved with the words we all feel — “Fuck Cancer.”

“I did not make the bracelet as a marketable item. I made it for myself and then other people wanted it,” Fiedler tells Samaritanmag. “I realized that it could be this great conversation starter. A lot of people felt the same way I did. The strong sentiment does scare people, but a lot of people feel really strongly about it in a way that they might not about a pink ribbon. It’s bold and it’s personal.”

In a little over a year, the sale of 710 bracelets, to date, has raised $35,500 for Vancouver’s InspireHealth, an integrated cancer care clinic where Fiedler was treated.
Jewellry designer and cancer survivor Susan Fiedler

Cancer doesn’t run in Fiedler’s family, and she says there was no reason she should’ve got the potentially deadly disease. She took care of herself, ate healthily and stayed active, but cancer doesn’t discriminate. When, in October of 2007, at the age of 40, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer, it was like being hit by a ton of bricks.

"The type I [had] is not necessarily based on factors like smoking or getting too much sun, the things that lead to other types of cancers. The only thing that it’s tied to is possibly toxins in the environment and I wasn’t a farmer, exposed to pesticides and toxins. Just bad luck, basically," she explains.

"I was told that my initial diagnosis was most likely going to be stage 4 and that was most likely going to be incurable, chronic and probably fatal. I was totally shocked. When the test results came back three weeks later, it had come back as not as life threatening as the doctor had originally thought. I thought that once I recovered I wanted to show my gratitude for that and felt I had been given a real second chance."

Fiedler, who was born in Toronto and grew up in Vancouver, spent her summers as a teen working for her friend’s family jewelry business. She eventually took over the owner’s job, which involved buying goods overseas. At the age of 21, Fiedler founded her own sterling silver jewelry company Soul Flower, which has grown from two silversmiths to employing more than a hundred people to meet production and sales demands.

After she beat cancer, Fiedler was visiting the home of her friend Ameen Merchant, and noticed a beautiful metal cuff covered in Arabic script, whose words were meant to protect the wearer. She was immediately inspired to create her own charmed bracelet and "Fuck Cancer" sprang to mind. She launched the silver cuff bracelet, engraved with "Fuck Cancer," in October of 2008, and sells it worldwide through www.fcancerembracelife.com at a cost of $150 for large and $125 for small. Fifty dollars from each purchase goes to InspireHealth.

"It’s like a community centre for cancer patients, integrated cancer care free of charge to compliment the conventional care you’re getting," Fiedler explains. "For example, if you’re getting chemotherapy, you can get complimentary acupuncture, complimentary nutritional counseling and complimentary yoga therapy. There’s a whole bunch of different therapy you can access, and doctors that are actually doctors, who have a holistic inspired practice."

Among the Fuck Cancer bracelet customers are singer Sarah McLachlan, entrepreneur/Dragon’s Den panelist Brett Wilson and the band Barenaked Ladies. "They’re friends of mine and clients of Soul Flower," says Fiedler. "They have all been personally touched by cancer. They got it immediately because there’s a real rock 'n' roll element to the bracelet. So they were happy to lend their support. Ed Robertson from Barenaked Ladies lost his mother to cancer this [past] year."

Fuck Cancer bracelets are available online, in Vancouver store YYoga, and from InspireHealth. Fiedler plans to expand the line to stores in Ontario and is in talks of creating new items that are more affordable.

Fiedler says she’s really proud of the way the bracelets have touched and reached so many people with orders from the UK, Australia and U.S.

"People are starting to recognize that cancer patients need more than just conventional treatment. Where there’s a gap is between having your treatment and getting on with your life. There is a lot of unmet emotional and social needs of people who are cancer survivors or who are going through treatment," she says. "Basically, that’s what I'm trying to address, create more community for people who’ve been through this experience."

Inscribed on an elegantly simple silver bangle, and resembling an EEG lifeline, is the defiantly positive message: F*ck Cancer. The work of Vancouver-based Susan Fiedler, who knows firsthand what it takes to face this disease, this charmed bracelet was an expression of her own experience, but she found many cancer survivors using the same motto, and was delighted to find it expressive of a shared attitude.

“I knew a designer F*uck Cancer bracelet would be terrific fundraising item and conversation starter. I wanted to create something that felt substantial; something strong and beautiful, to make myself and anyone who wears it feel that way.”

Susan’s company, Soul Flower, is marketing the bracelet to raise funds for InspireHealth, Canada’s foremost not-for-profit integrative cancer care centre. Fifty dollars from each sale for the F*ck Cancer bracelet is donated directly to InspireHealth.

You can help. Purchase a bracelet, spread the word, join the Facebook group, tell your story.

So, in the meantime, I’ll try to enjoy each day as much as I can - and take the advice that’s inscribe on a gift from my brother Moses, the founder of this magazine. It’s a handsome silver bracelet, and he wears one exactly like it in solidarity. The engraving looks like the squiggles on a medical monitor. But if you look closely, you can read the legend: F**k Cancer!

Sure, pink ribbons and yellow wristbands send a positive message, but here’s a bracelet that doesn’t mince words. Embracing the strong and courageous spirit of many cancer patients and survivors, these bracelets by Vancouver jewellery company Soul Flower are delicate in design but strong in their message. Engraved within an ECG-like lifeline are the fighting words “F–k Cancer”—a sassy, life-affirming message juxtaposed with the tasteful design of the simple silver bangle. Moreover, designer Susan Fiedler donates $50 from the sale of each bracelet to InspireHealth, the Vancouver integrative cancer care centre. Now that’s soul, sister! Available at YYoga (yyoga.ca ) and soulflower.com . —Erica Gehrke

Soul Flower has long been a favorite jewelry line of mine because, Susan Fiedler (the socially conscious designer behind the line) is committed to creating gorgeous jewels at affordable prices. From belly rings to finger baubles my jewelry box is full of Soul Flower.

In the vein of designing with soul, check out her F Cancer bracelet. No more of those horrible rubber wristbands - this sterling silver bracelet really makes a strong statement about kicking ass on cancer.

"Nothing against pink ribbons, but this bracelet tells it like it is." Ann Powers, Pop Critic, LA Times.

A portion of each sale of a Soul Flower F Cancer bracelet goes to fight cancer. And even celeb fans (both whom I adore) Sarah McLaughlin, and Michael Franti of Spearhead are F Cancer friends.