Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

By Kimberly Marcott Weinberg Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing A University of Pittsburgh at Bradford nursing professor and student left today for a medical mission in Cameroon, West Africa. Tammy Haley, coordinator of the Bachelor of Science in nursing program at Pitt-Bradford, and Amy Silvis, a nontraditional nursing student from Bradford, will be making the trip with Christina Siewe, a nurse and native of Cameroon. Siewe and her sister, who is also a nurse, founded the Good Samaritan Clinic in their childhood home in Ekona, a town of about 23,000 in the interior of Cameroon. Siewe has lived in the United States for many years, and she and her husband, Dr. Youmasu Siewe, came to Bradford when Dr. Siewe became the director of the Center for Rural Health Practice at Pitt-Bradford. The couple joined First Presbyterian Church, which has taken on sponsorship of the clinic. Haley learned about the medical mission through church member and Pitt-Bradford employee Dr. Holly S...

State Rep. RoseMarie Swanger (R-Lebanon) was among the testifiers at Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee public hearing in support of House Bill 369, her legislation preventing anyone under the age of 18 from using a tanning bed. “We have a generation that has found a way to exacerbate the already-harmful practice of sunbathing by bringing it indoors in the form of tanning beds,” Swanger said. “It is imperative that we educate our youth as to the damage done by ultraviolet (UV) rays, both indoors and out of doors, which is why I proposed this legislation.” Swanger served as lead testifier at the hearing and was followed by individuals dealing personally with effects of melanoma -- including Amy Silvis of Bradford -- as well as doctors who have seen first-hand the effects of tanning bed use. “The World Health Organization has declared UV tanning beds ‘carcinogenic to humans,’ ” testified Gavin Robertson, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, pathology, dermatology and surgery, and direct...

Today is "Don't Fry Day" -- a day to remind yourself and others to take precautions to protect your skin. Melanoma survivor Amy Silvis of Bradford will be on today's LiveLine at 12:30 p.m. on 1490 WESB and at WESB.com to talk about her experiences, pass along some tips, and give us a preview of what she'll be discussing when she testifies in front of the House Judiciary Committee in Harrisburg on Wednesday. For more information on Don't Fry Day go to EPA.gov

Cancer survivor Amy Silvis holds onto cancer survivor Ainsley Griesbaum after the unveiling of the Kids & Cancer "Harley of Hope." The custom-painted Harley will be given away after the July 16 Kids & Cancer Benefit run. For more information go to http://kidsandcancerbenefitrun.com/ This little guy greets Smokey the Bear, who was a guest of the Bradford Township Volunteer Fire Department. Parker Shonts landed a great job -- handing out the balloons.

Amy Silvis, a cancer survivor and volunteer with the American Cancer Society, tells us Friday is Don't Fry Day. To help reduce rising rates of skin cancer from overexposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun, the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention has designated the Friday before Memorial Day, May 28, 2010, as “Don’t Fry Day” to encourage sun safety awareness and to remind everyone to protect their skin while enjoying the outdoors. You can find more information by clicking on the following link: http://www.skincancerprevention.org/Events/DontFryDay/tabid/113/Default.aspx