The smell was unmistakable. I recognized it immediately – a fungating infection. It’s what happens when a cancer breaks through the skin and the puss oozes out and aerosolizes, producing an unsurprisingly foul odor. This is what late stage cancer looks like if left unchecked, like many cancers were 100 years ago or still are today in the developing world. But I encountered this case this month, and Yvonne, the woman who sat crying before me, lives in Los Angeles. She lost her job two years ago and when her insurance expired, she was too ashamed to seek help for a mass she felt in her right breast.  Now the tumor had replaced her entire breast and blasted through the skin. Being cared for now — so late in her illness — was surely not what she would have wanted; and just as surely, it could have been avoided. How did we let this happen in America?

I was volunteering at the CareNow Free Clinic in the Los Angeles Sports Arena, one of more than 700 doctors, nurses and health professionals who had turned out to serve the local community. CareNow is a nonprofit founded to bring medical care to underserved communities, and the Los Angeles event was organized by Don Manelli, indefatigable president of the group. He was aware of what we would see here today, as was I, having volunteered at similar clinics in Little Rock, Arkansas and in Moorsville, N.C. We also conducted our own clinic for The Dr. Oz Show in Houston in 2009 and saw over 1,800 patients in one day. But simply having been down this road before does not mean you’re ever fully prepared for it. (Excerpt from Time "Enough Is Enough" by Dr. Mehmet Oz. Photo credit Adam Taylor)

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Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2011 Introductory Institute this past weekend. We are always so energized by the amazing work RCT practitioners are doing in schools, agencies, and communities. We are grateful everyone had such a great time.

Stay tuned to the JBMTI website for more photos from the Institute as well as the video of the Jean Baker Miller Memorial Lecture.

We hope to see you all at the Intensive Institute in June!

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Maurice Sendak, author of children's literature favorites Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen, recently gave a touching interview on NPR's Fresh Air with host Terry Gross. Sendak talked about his new book Bumble-ardy, life, and love. Below are a few interview highlights. Enjoy!

On his current writing

"I feel like I'm working for myself at this point. If it's publishable, fine. If not, it makes not too much difference. Because I claim that this time is for me and me alone. I'm 83 years old."

"I'm writing a poem right now about a nose. I've always wanted to write a poem about a nose. But it's a ludicrous subject. That's why, when I was younger, I was afraid of [writing] something that didn't make a lot of sense. But now I'm not. I have nothing to worry about. It doesn't matter."

On wishing he had children, sort of

"I would infinitely prefer a daughter. If I had a son, I would leave him at the A&P or some other big advertising place where somebody who needs a kid would find him and he would be all right. ... A daughter would be drawn to me. A daughter would want to help me. Girls are infinitely more complicated than boys and women more than men. And there's no doubt about that. We just don't like to think about it. Certainly the men don't like to think about it. I have lived my whole life with a dream daughter."

On not discussing therapy sessions with his late partner, a psychoanalyst

"It just seemed like, why? It just seemed inauthentic and incorrect to burden him with that. My therapy went on forever. My being gay was something of not great interest to me. The person I lived with — we lived together for all of those years so we make trips to our favorite places in Europe, so that we could read our favorite books, so that we could listen to music.

"I couldn't deal with 9/11 the other day. I couldn't bear it. ... That evening of 9/11, they conducted Mahler's 2nd Symphony. ... And I sat there and cried like a baby listening to the music."

On being gay

"Finding out that I was gay when I was older was a shock and a disappointment. ... I did not want to be gay. It meant a whole different thing to me — which is really hard to recover now because that's many years ago. I always objected to it because there is a part of me that is solid Brooklyn and solid conventional and I know that. I can't escape that. It's my genetic makeup. It's who I am."

On his life

"I have nothing now but praise for my life. I'm not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can't stop them. They leave me and I love them more. ... What I dread is the isolation. ... There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die, but I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready." (From Fresh Air's website)

Listen to the full interview

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Trying to find a girl's costume this Halloween that doesn't include fishnet stockings or a corset?  It feels like it gets harder every year. With a little creativity, you can encourage girls to resist sexualization and enjoy Halloween on their own terms!  Here are a few tips from our awesome tip sheets:

This Halloween Let Her Creativity Sparkle (Not Just Her Costume)

1. Sit down with girls and listen to what they like and why.

2. If she is set on pink and glittery, let her pink and glittery DO something like take on a dragon or save the universe!

3. If she loves scary stories, let her go traditional and be a witch, monster, or ghost.  Encourage her to look as scary as she can!

4. Costumes labeled "for boys" are not off limits!  There are plenty of female police officers and fire fighters in real life.

5. If she is learning about amazing women from history at school, Halloween is the perfect opportunity to make learning fun!  Why not a Joan of Arc costume or a Mozart costume?  Be creative!

Visit the Hardy Girls, Healthy Women website for more info

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JBMTI is pleased to announce that Callie Crossley, award-winning journalist and WGBH radio host, will be the moderator for the  upcoming colloquium," Telling the Truths About Race: Reflections on the Politics of Connection in "The Help," on December 1, 2011 at the Wellesley College Club.

Ms. Crossley is host of “The Callie Crossley Show” on Boston’s WGBH-FM, 89.7.  ‘Intelligent talk’ is the hallmark of the one-hour daily show which covers current events, local happenings, arts and culture and water cooler buzz.  The talk show is the latest chapter in the career of Crossley, who has been an award winning broadcast journalist, a documentary filmmaker, and a television and radio commentator. In addition to her radio program, Crossley offers regular commentary on media for Beat the Press, which airs on Boston based WGBH-TV, and for Fox25 TV’s Morning News Show. She appears occasionally on national news and information programs including CNN’s Reliable Sources, The PBS News Hour, and The Takeaway, and is a regular contributor to Tell Me More with Michel Martin.  

Crossley’s busy career includes public speaking and moderating. She is a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow guest lecturing at colleges and universities about the collision of old and new media, media and politics, media literacy, and the intersection of race, gender and media.  

For the last eight years, Ms. Crossley has served as Program Manager for the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard directing the speakers program.  

Prior to her current work, Ms. Crossley was a Producer for ABC NEWS “20/20” reporting health/ medicine stories. Crossley produced the Oscar® nominated hour of the acclaimed documentary series, Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years 1954-1965.  “Bridge to Freedom” focused on the Selma, Alabama voting rights campaign. Crossley produced the film while working for Blackside, Inc., a Boston based independent film production company for which she also served as Senior Series Producer on the 2003 PBS documentary series “This Far By Faith: African-American Spiritual Journeys.”  

Crossley has won major film and television awards, including a national Emmy, a Peabody, a Christopher, an Edward R. Murrow award, and the top Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia award (Gold Baton), considered the Pulitzer Prize of broadcast journalism.   

She is the recipient of two Harvard Fellowships, Nieman Fellowship, and a Fellowship from the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. She is also the recipient of two honorary degrees from Pine Manor College and Cambridge College.  

She is a member of the judging Jury for the Alfred I. dupont -Columbia University Awards. She also sits on several Boston based Boards including the Ford Hall Forum, Cambridge Reads, and the Boston Book Festival.  

Crossley is also a wine enthusiast. She talks about wine on NPR, authors the wine blog “The Crushed Grape Report,” and is a member of the Boston Wine Writers.

Visit www.calliecrossley.com

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