Check out our YouTube video, "Hush, Baby", a tribute by Lis Garassino for her brother, Joe.
Help us help others by buying the video at iTunes. Proceeds benefit the Cancer Research Institute.
Hush, Baby - Single by Olya
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Her brother's death inspires a sister's song - now on iTunes!
For Immediate Release
About the Cancer Research InstituteThe Cancer Research Institute (CRI), established in 1953, is the world’s only nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to transforming cancer patient care by advancing scientific efforts to develop new and effective immune system-based strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and eventually cure all cancers. Guided by a world-renowned Scientific Advisory Council that includes three Nobel laureates and 29 members of the National Academy of Sciences, CRI has invested more than $225 million in support of research conducted by immunologists and tumor immunologists at the world’s leading medical centers and universities, and has contributed to many of the key scientific advances that demonstrate the potential for immunotherapy to change the face of cancer treatment. To learn more go to: http://www.cancerresearch.org
Contact:
lisbethgarassino04@fulbrightmail.org
May 1, 2013
New York, NY – A New York’s woman’s musical tribute to her 29-year-old brother who died of a rare cancer in January is now being sold on iTunes to benefit cancer research.
Proceeds from Lis Garassino’s original song, “Hush, Baby,” in memory of her brother Joe, will benefit the Cancer Research Institute, a nonprofit organization based in New York City dedicated to harnessing the power of the immune system to conquer all cancers.
Garassino was inspired to write the lyrics for “Hush, Baby” after her brother was diagnosed with Stage IV cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer), on June 15, 2012. After a brief and devastating illness, Joe passed away on January 20th. Joe received treatment for his cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of NYC and at St. Vincent’s Elizabeth M. Pfriem SWIM Center for Cancer Care of Bridgeport, CT.
About Joe’s Song, “Hush, Baby”
On January 2nd, as Lis Garassino and her family prepared to leave St. Vincent's Medical Center of Bridgeport, CT, to take Joe Garassino of Stamford, CT home to hospice care, the nurses told her she would be riding in the ambulance, too. Lis would be responsible for carrying her brother’s supply of morphine. A hospice nurse would be waiting at their home in Middlebury, CT.
When Lis learned Joe was going home that day, she messaged her friend Olya, (Olga Kisseleva) a Moscow-born musician. Only a few days earlier, Lis had written the lyrics of a song for Joe, and Olya had read them and agreed to write the music over the next few weeks. Things had changed. Lis now needed Joe’s song as soon as possible. That night, through her tears, Olya created the music and recorded "Hush, Baby." By early morning on January 3rd, Lis had a copy of "Hush, Baby" to play for her brother.
Joe loved the song and told Lis, “Put it on a thumb drive for me, quick!" not realizing that she would never leave his side. Joe passed away peacefully at home a few weeks later.
For more on Joe's story, see: http://connectwithjoe.blogspot.com
By purchasing Joe's song, "Hush, Baby," you are helping advance a cure for all cancers.
New York, NY – A New York’s woman’s musical tribute to her 29-year-old brother who died of a rare cancer in January is now being sold on iTunes to benefit cancer research.
Proceeds from Lis Garassino’s original song, “Hush, Baby,” in memory of her brother Joe, will benefit the Cancer Research Institute, a nonprofit organization based in New York City dedicated to harnessing the power of the immune system to conquer all cancers.
Garassino was inspired to write the lyrics for “Hush, Baby” after her brother was diagnosed with Stage IV cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer), on June 15, 2012. After a brief and devastating illness, Joe passed away on January 20th. Joe received treatment for his cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of NYC and at St. Vincent’s Elizabeth M. Pfriem SWIM Center for Cancer Care of Bridgeport, CT.
About Joe’s Song, “Hush, Baby”
On January 2nd, as Lis Garassino and her family prepared to leave St. Vincent's Medical Center of Bridgeport, CT, to take Joe Garassino of Stamford, CT home to hospice care, the nurses told her she would be riding in the ambulance, too. Lis would be responsible for carrying her brother’s supply of morphine. A hospice nurse would be waiting at their home in Middlebury, CT.
When Lis learned Joe was going home that day, she messaged her friend Olya, (Olga Kisseleva) a Moscow-born musician. Only a few days earlier, Lis had written the lyrics of a song for Joe, and Olya had read them and agreed to write the music over the next few weeks. Things had changed. Lis now needed Joe’s song as soon as possible. That night, through her tears, Olya created the music and recorded "Hush, Baby." By early morning on January 3rd, Lis had a copy of "Hush, Baby" to play for her brother.
Joe loved the song and told Lis, “Put it on a thumb drive for me, quick!" not realizing that she would never leave his side. Joe passed away peacefully at home a few weeks later.
For more on Joe's story, see: http://connectwithjoe.blogspot.com
By purchasing Joe's song, "Hush, Baby," you are helping advance a cure for all cancers.
Hush, Baby - Single by Olya
About the Cancer Research InstituteThe Cancer Research Institute (CRI), established in 1953, is the world’s only nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to transforming cancer patient care by advancing scientific efforts to develop new and effective immune system-based strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and eventually cure all cancers. Guided by a world-renowned Scientific Advisory Council that includes three Nobel laureates and 29 members of the National Academy of Sciences, CRI has invested more than $225 million in support of research conducted by immunologists and tumor immunologists at the world’s leading medical centers and universities, and has contributed to many of the key scientific advances that demonstrate the potential for immunotherapy to change the face of cancer treatment. To learn more go to: http://www.cancerresearch.org
Contact:
lisbethgarassino04@fulbrightmail.org
For siblings and friends who have experienced loss, go to: http://www.joessister.com
Friday, April 19, 2013
Joe's song,"Hush, Baby" to be released May 1st on iTunes!
When I learned Joe was going home, I immediately messaged my friend, Olya, to see if she could help. Only a few days earlier, I had written these lyrics for Joe. Olya, a Moscow-born musician, had read my lyrics and agreed to work on making them into a song over the next few weeks. Things had changed. I now needed the song as soon as possible. That night as Olya cried, she created the music and recorded "Hush, Baby." By early morning on January 3, 2013, I had a copy of "Hush, Baby" to play for Joe.
Joe loved his song and said, "Lis, put it on a thumb drive for me, quick!" not realizing that I would never leave his side. Joe passed away peacefully in our home on January 20, 2013.
Joe's death came fast and brutally. On June 15, 2012, he had been diagnosed with Stage IV cholangiocarcinoma, (bile duct cancer). By purchasing Joe's song, "Hush, Baby" on iTunes, you are helping advance cures for all cancer. All net proceeds go directly to the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), the leading organization for new research, vaccines and treatments that seek to eradicate all forms of cancer.
For more information on the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), please visit http://cancerresearch.org.
For siblings and friends who have experienced loss, please visit http://JoesSister.com.
Thank you for reading our blog. I love you, Joe!
Love from Joe's sister, Lis
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Expanding My Vocabulary
Lis and Joe Nov '11, Brookfield, CT
The vocabulary of my life keeps growing and growing. I am struck by all the new words that have become part of my life over these last months. Words I had known, but now I own.
One day in June 2012, the vocabulary of my life exploded wide-open.
"Mom, I have a malignant tumor."
My world stopped turning. I would be forever changed.
Listening to the surgeon who diagnosed my son Joe, I found the vocabulary to ask the questions to which I dreaded to hear the answers.
Over the next months, my vocabulary kept expanding to include words I had known, but never dreamed would apply to any child of mine - Stage IV, metastatic cancer, terminal diagnosis. Words like oncologist, chemotherapy, radiation, cholangiocarcinoma. The list, always swelling— Port-A-Cath, nausea, pain management, kyphoplasty. Kyphoplasty? "A spinal procedure in which bone cement is injected through a small hole in the skin into a fractured vertebra with the goal of relieving back pain caused by a vertebral compression fracture..."
Some words, words I had used and thought I knew well took on new meaning in my life: Love. Hope. Family. Friends.
And as the months ticked by, more words joined the lexicon — palliative care, prayer shawl, hospice, sorrow, grief, bereavement and gratitude. Yes, gratitude.
On a sweltering day less than a month after Joe’s diagnosis, I saw the words in big black letters, Chemotherapy Suite. When my strapping 28 year-old son should have been in his air-conditioned office in Stamford closing some big deal, he would be receiving his first chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. But there we were with Joe's big sister, Lis walking right beside him, always right beside ever ready to offer her love and support.
No mother could ask for more. To have your children love one another. How could gratitude not join my list?
Joe's life was shorter than some and longer than others, but I’m comforted that his life had great meaning and impacted many people. Joe acted with extraordinary grace during his last months on this earth. On another summer afternoon, Joe and I sat visiting with Josh, Joe's good friend. In just a few hours, Josh and Erin's wedding would take place at sunset on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Jamestown, RI. As we enjoyed our bottle of wine, Joe turned to Josh and said quietly, "Josh, it's about to be forever..." And Josh's broad smile in reply would have lit a marquis in Times Square. Joe's illness destroyed his body, but it never changed his big heart.
The vocabulary list of my life is long. There are sections which I wish I could erase. Just as there are words I would not trade for anything. As Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, "Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."
Look at the lexicon of your life. Make sure the most important words lead your list, too.
Love to all,
Doreen
Listening to the surgeon who diagnosed my son Joe, I found the vocabulary to ask the questions to which I dreaded to hear the answers.
Over the next months, my vocabulary kept expanding to include words I had known, but never dreamed would apply to any child of mine - Stage IV, metastatic cancer, terminal diagnosis. Words like oncologist, chemotherapy, radiation, cholangiocarcinoma. The list, always swelling— Port-A-Cath, nausea, pain management, kyphoplasty. Kyphoplasty? "A spinal procedure in which bone cement is injected through a small hole in the skin into a fractured vertebra with the goal of relieving back pain caused by a vertebral compression fracture..."
Some words, words I had used and thought I knew well took on new meaning in my life: Love. Hope. Family. Friends.
And as the months ticked by, more words joined the lexicon — palliative care, prayer shawl, hospice, sorrow, grief, bereavement and gratitude. Yes, gratitude.
On a sweltering day less than a month after Joe’s diagnosis, I saw the words in big black letters, Chemotherapy Suite. When my strapping 28 year-old son should have been in his air-conditioned office in Stamford closing some big deal, he would be receiving his first chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. But there we were with Joe's big sister, Lis walking right beside him, always right beside ever ready to offer her love and support.
No mother could ask for more. To have your children love one another. How could gratitude not join my list?
Joe's life was shorter than some and longer than others, but I’m comforted that his life had great meaning and impacted many people. Joe acted with extraordinary grace during his last months on this earth. On another summer afternoon, Joe and I sat visiting with Josh, Joe's good friend. In just a few hours, Josh and Erin's wedding would take place at sunset on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Jamestown, RI. As we enjoyed our bottle of wine, Joe turned to Josh and said quietly, "Josh, it's about to be forever..." And Josh's broad smile in reply would have lit a marquis in Times Square. Joe's illness destroyed his body, but it never changed his big heart.
The vocabulary list of my life is long. There are sections which I wish I could erase. Just as there are words I would not trade for anything. As Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, "Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."
Look at the lexicon of your life. Make sure the most important words lead your list, too.
Love to all,
Doreen
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