Why I Want To Eradicate Breast Cancer
~Dr. James Coleman~
I was fortunate to have been born and reared in the all-black town of
Mound Bayou, Mississippi. There I received my early education and
religious teaching and mother's love. All of which contributed to my high self
esteem.
Women Have Always Been Important in my Life Writing about my passion, my heart and soul for breast cancer research,
has given me a renewed burst of energy to do what I need to do to raise
the
necessary funds for my research project. This is an aspect of
this project I would prefer not to do. Unfortunately, it takes money
to
fund any project. This project will help people live a full life.
This
is what
I hope to give women, an opportunity for a full and productive life. I
would gladly fund the project with my heart and soul but, that isn't
Final Thought
To make a heartfelt donation to help fund the proposed study, Click Here
Dr. James Coleman
I saw my mother alive for the last time one Sunday after church during a routine
visit to see her at the local hospital. During this visit, her facial appearance
had changed so dramatically that I just wanted to cry. Toward the end of
visiting hours, my mother, in her weakened voice, called me to her bedside and
said good-bye like she had always done during previous visits. However, in my
heart, I knew that it was different this time. I kissed my mother good-bye while
she held my hand with a weak squeeze. Tears come to my eyes even today as
I write this portion of my story. I can still see the expression on my
mother's face as she told me good-bye and I have wondered if through that
last squeeze along with the experiences she had
taught me through her practices of self healing that I knew one day I
would help
to save women and their children from feeling the pain of loss I felt that
day.
As with all young children, my mother meant everything to me and her passing was
a tremendous loss. She was my best in-home teacher who always stressed the
importance of education. I owe all of academic achievements and accolades
to her because she gave me that early foundation. Each of the four times
that I graduated from an educational institution I was always deeply saddened
because my mother could not be there to see the fruits of her early labor. Today
as a man who can look within and see life in a new dimension, I realize my
mother was there. She walked me through my education and when I received
my accolades they were her accolades as well.
I felt so helpless because I could not do anything to save my mother. This sense
of not having the power to save my mother has given me the determination and
strength that is needed to fulfill my passion to preserve women.
The Hidden Tears
The day of my mother's funeral, my father called my older brother, Gus, and me
together and told us he didn't want us crying and acting a fool at the
church. My father told us, "Your mother is gone but I will take good
care of you all." To him taking care of a child simply meant food, clothing
and shelter. My father did his best he could to give us what mother had,
while continuing his job in taking care of us. At the funeral, I wanted to cry
but I managed to resist the temptation out of fear of a scolding by my
father. His scolding were in many ways tougher then the whippings
from my mother. A few months thereafter, I started to stutter profoundly.
I missed my mother but could not cry about my loss.
I became deeply depressed and embarrassed from the stuttering and my mother was
not there to fix the problem as I thought she could. I had to manage on my
own for the first time. I developed all kinds of skills and strategies to
hide the fact that I was a stutter. Mainly, I pretended to be very shy and
introverted. This way, I didn't have to talk much. The
stuttering re-directed my whole life, including career choices, and cause me to
do the things in life that did not involve talking. I choose to be a bench
scientist working with test tubes and microscopes.
Most people never knew that I was a stutter. In fact I courted Lois, now
my wife, for over a year without her ever knowing that I stuttered. We
married when I was 29 years old. Nine months later she gave birth to our
son, Bradley. When I went to the hospital to see them, Lois discovered for the
first time that I stuttered. Since that time, Lois and I have talked my
stuttering only twice. I brought up the subject only then because I was
very intoxicated from consuming alcohol. I am sure my brothers and
sisters knew that I stuttered but we never discussed the matter. They knew it
was very painful and embarrassing for me.
I had been socialized that boys and men are suppose to be tough and not cry.
Like the British, I had to and did develop a stiff upper lip. I learned to
stuff the pains of life without realizing the lessons they could teach me. It
was through self examination that I have come to realize that our love and
passions come from within. And that it is through our experiences in life,
although they might seem painful, are truly our joys once we learn to see them
in a new perspective.
Early Childhood
My mother always came to my rescue and saved me from what could have been tragic events in my young life. I believe that it may have been her
real
magic the love that taught me a new angle on the reality of what cures
the body and soul. I learned through my own experiences that there is a
way
of preventing accidents through communication and education.
Until the age three, I had a fascination with an open fire. I
learned
to
respect fire one winter day. That afternoon my mother left me at home
with Gus
who was then age seven. On a daily basis mother walked about one-fourth
of a
mile to our mail box. Gus soon found himself in his own little world as
I
started to play with the red hot coals in the open fireplace. My little
red
sweater caught on fire and one of the red hot coals stuck to my wrist. I
ran out
of the house screaming for my mother who at this time was about 25 or so
yards from the house.
My mother made a salve containing powered sulfur and molasses and
applied it to the burned area and wrapped it with strips from a white
sheet.
Although my burns were third degree, my wrist never became infected. I
had a
complete recovery without any professional medical attention. I've often
wondered
if it was the magic of love that cured my burns or was it the magic of
the
concoction that was prepared out of love.
At age 7, I began my career in the medical field. I circumcised myself
so I could look like Gus and the other boys. In those day midwives
delivered
baby, parents generally were slow about taking male babies in to be
circumcised -- probably because of cost. Many male babies didn't
require
circumcision. The foreskin peeled back automatically or over time.
If
I had been a little more patient, the same thing could have happened to
me. The reason this was
so important to this seven year old was that I was loosing each and
every
urinating contest to Gus. I was sure the foreskin was retarding my
gusto and
causing me to loose the contest.
Needless to say, I made a big mess of the situation. I never
intended
to inform my mother about what had happened. I thought I would get a
good whipping for playing with myself. It wasn't until the second day
after we were standing side by side behind our barn in yet another
urinating contest when Gus recognized that I had a problem! I was
urinating in his pocket.
Obviously, my urethra had become misalign from the fist-size swelling.
Again, my mother made a concoction for use in soaking my private part.
Again, thanks to the magic of love and my mother's care I had a
complete recovery after about 4-5 weeks.
While my mother was in the hospital, a neighbor, Miss Vicki, came to the
house everyday to cook, clean and wash clothes for me, my brother and
two sisters. After our mother passed Miss Vicki moved in with us. Miss
Vicki played games with us a lot and that helped to make the loss of our
mother less painful. She told us stories, jokes and riddles for that
made us
laugh. She also helped us practice our speeches for making
presentations at
church on special occasions. Miss Vicki made sure our clothes were starched
and ironed for school and church. She also made sure my sister's hair
was well groomed and contained pretty bows.
My widowed father married Thelma, and she took Miss Vicki's job of
caring and nurturing us. Thelma and my father had four other children
together. Thelma made no distinction in the way she treated us and her
natural children. While away in college, Thelma always made sure my
tuition was paid on time and that I had extra spending money for
personal items and treats. During my four years in undergraduate
school, Thelma
always sent me and my brother and two sisters care packages, consisting
of home baked pies and our favorite chocolate cakes. Thelma attended
all
of my graduations from undergraduate through the doctorate. We always
felt
like one of her children because Thelma made no distinctions.
Let me mention these special women. My mentor in graduate school, a
female professor, was instrumental in molding me as a research
scientist.
Last but not least, while a graduate student I met a fellow researcher,
Lois. We became good friends and married about two years later and
remain so
today. She is a very caring and loving person who has helped me with my
current breast cancer research in countless ways. The only way that I
can re-pay
all of these wonderful and caring women who have been an integral part
of my life
is to complete this breast cancer project.
Impact on Women's Health
My passion to make a positive impact on the health of women started when
I was 9 years old and my mother passed away at the tender age of 39.
In 1965, it brought me to tears when I examined the breast cancer
statistics for women. Since women had been so important in my life, I
decided then
to use my research skills and professional experience to save women
because
no one could save my mother. It grieved me sincerely that my government
and
corporations with their enormous resources had done little to nothing to
eradicate this dreadful disease. My sole intentions have simply been to save women from this preventable disease. I am dedicated to this
project for
humanitarian purposes alone because no one saved my mother. But for my
mother, I am sure I would have chosen not to do anything about women's
health.
As a research scientist, I was driven to make my mission in life to
reduce the high incidence of breast cancer by conducting studies to find
the
major causes of this ravaging disease. During the preliminary phase of
my
research, I experienced personal pain, ridicule and loss of lucrative
job
opportunities. Many said that I could be a very rich man by now if I
would measure success in dollars and support the establishment and not
rock
the boat. I have never been motivated by material gains. My joy comes
from
helping others. I am absolutely certain at this point that I have the
answers to what are the major causes of breast cancer and fatal breast
cancer.
reality.
The reason I ask for the help of the government and the public, is to
help
me give back something that I believe will have an impact on the lives
of
men and women.
The Breast Cancer Research Project
In 1994 after I had complete all of the preliminary research, I wanted
someone else to be the spokesperson to promote the fund raising efforts
because I still had the problem with stuttering. Since I knew I would
head the organization and be its principal spokesperson, my first task
was
to work on my stuttering problem.
I spent the next three years researching stuttering to ascertain if it
could be overcome or managed. The main thing that I learned from this
effort
was to relaxing during public speaking and let the audience know up
front
that you are a stutter. Thereafter, I meet with several groups for
organizational meetings. I acknowledge at the outset that I was a
stutter. Low and
behold what had been an ongoing stuttering problem for about 52 years,
disappeared after the third meeting. Within the next few months, the
Cancer Research Center of America, Inc., a tax-exempt, nonprofit,
scientific
organization, was established.
It is a passion to both womanhood and my mother's spirit to conduct this
breast cancer study. I have the academic training, professional
experience and research tools to save hundreds of thousands of women
from the
ravages of breast cancer. I believe the cure is for women to be able
to make
informed choices about what they put in and on their bodies. I have
spent all the money I have on the project. My time is my gift. I
ask now for assistance and support from the government and the public.
My hope is for everyone to understand that education is the key to
saving lives.
We all have our strengths, it is knowing when to ask another to help
make our circle complete that gives me the confidence to reach out to
the world.
Please don't hesitate to ask questions, to question my motives and
techniques. It will be the efforts of others who will make this project
a success for all the people of our world. My study can only be a
success
through the guidance of others. Comments and questions are welcomed and
appreciated
To learn more about the proposed study, Click Here
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