Tim's Scrapbook Newsletter

Volume 1, Number 3

Sunday, December 6th, 1998

Ovarian Cancer Whispers ... so LISTEN!

--> Updated 27 November 2005 [ Click here ] for details

I'm very tired as I write this in the wee hours Monday morning, but I have some important information to share.

The first week of my campaign to rally support for a new GeoCities neighborhood, http://www.oocities.org/Jerusalem/, has prompted some readers to write to me. More importantly, they have written to comments@geocities.com. Please keep the comments coming!

This week, I have something much more important to share. It started with a piece of chain e-mail that I received Saturday. Let me tell you -- I am always skeptical when I get e-mail that starts "THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION. PLEASE READ IT AND FORWARD IT." In fact, it bugs me so much that I have developed a vaccine. (That's right -- a vaccine for e-mail viruses!)

Anyway, as is my custom when getting e-mail with lots of uppercase letters, I searched the Web. I use the AltaVista search engine. It allows you to type a question in. I've had great success getting my questions answered. The question I asked was "What does a CA-125 blood test do?" That's all it took to convince me that this was an example of a "benevolent virus" -- a piece of chain e-mail that has a purpose worthy of propagation throughout cyberspace. This story is one I have no problem passing on to everyone I know.

By the way, I searched the Web for "Carolyn Benivegna" and found only one document on the whole Web (http://htnews.com/archive/522/living/engage.html). It's an engagement notice for the son of Paul and Carolyn Benivegna. I searched the White Pages. I ended up tracking down the author in Naples, Florida, and I talked to her on the phone! She is presently in remission. She asked me to include her e-mail in this letter, so I did that.

She told me that 14,000 women die of this every year. "It's criminal," she said. [As of 27 November 2005 the latest version of Carolyn's letter can be found at http://alum.mit.edu/www/tbc/causes/cancer/index.html - tbc]

<>< Tim

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