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Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp Reaches Out To Keep A Breast Foundation
CANCER SURVIVOR - LAURA ROPPE GETS TO LIVE HER DREAM @ ROCK N ROLL FANTASY CAMP
By Staff Writer

RRFC is thrilled to welcome Laura Roppe, cancer survivor to gain her life-long dream of recording her music and singing. "Keep A Breast Foundation was completely blown away by Laura's story and we are delighted to select her to go to Camp," explains Amanda Nixon, advocate. RRFC will sponsor the fee's and support the dream that almost slipped away~

Roppe's story runs deep starting with a career as an Attorney, turned singer joining the music industry and the moment she was about to move up, she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. Her world spun out and changed for the next year. Her story is compelling - here is an excerpt from her initial letter she wrote to us~

"My name is Laura - I just turned 39 this month. I was diagnosed with Triple negative breast cancer in October 2008. -- A rare form that strikes young women. Only 10 percent of breast cancers are triple negative, and it is very, very aggressive. I literally just walked in from my first MRI since having surgery, chemo, and radiation treatments for this entire past year. I am awaiting the results right now, trying to keep it together...and there is your email.

Let me tell you why you might pick me (though I wish that every survivor of cancer could be given the opportunity to experience such a dream come true). Just yesterday, I was talking to my kids about what they want to be when they grow up. They are two girls, ages 9 and 7. One of them said a teacher and one said a writer. "What did you want to be when you were a kid, mom?" They asked me. And I answered immediately, "A rock star."

Now that childhood dream will come true for Roppe, as she emerges into the musical realm with the counselors at the camp. Roppe's bravery and cheery disposition is a true inspiration for all women and cancer victims alike. Please come support Laura and all the amazing campers graduating the 2009 RRFC at the world famous Whiskey A-Go-Go. Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp will showcase their campers in a BATTLE OF THE BANDS night after the camp session ends. The five-day camp is running November 17-22!

Headliners this year are Meat Loaf, Ace Frehley formerly KISS & Jon Anderson of Yes.

To get your tickets for this gala event and for more information on ROCK 'N' ROLL FANTASY CAMP call 888.762.2263 (BAND) or visit: http://www.rockcamp.com/

Can Music Make You Happy?
By Duane Shinn

How many times have you turned to music to uplift you?

Music affects us all. But only in recent times have scientists sought to explain the way music affects us at an emotional level.

It seems that the healing power of music, over body and spirit, is only just starting to be understood, even though music therapy is not new.

Doctors now believe using music therapy in hospitals and nursing homes not only makes people feel better, but also makes them heal faster. And across the nation, medical experts are beginning to apply the new revelations about music's impact on the brain to treating patients.

In one study, researcher Michael Thaut and his team detailed how victims of stroke, cerebral palsy, and Parkinson's disease who worked to music took bigger, more balanced strides than those whose therapy had no accompaniment.

Other researchers have found the sound of drums may influence how bodies work. Quoted in a 2001 article in USA Today, Suzanne Hasner, chairwoman of the music therapy department at Berklee College of Music in Boston, says even those with dementia or head injuries retain musical ability.

The article reported results of an experiment in which researchers from the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, Pa., tracked 111 cancer patients who played drums for 30 minutes a day. They found strengthened immune systems and increased levels of cancer-fighting cells in many patients.

“Deep in our long-term memory is this rehearsed music,” Hasner says. “It is processed in the emotional part of the brain, the amygdala. Here is where you remember the music played at your wedding, the music of your first love, that first dance. Such things can still be remembered even in people with progressive diseases. It can be a window, a way to reach them.”

The American Music Therapy Organization claims music therapy may allow for “emotional intimacy with families and caregivers, relaxation for the entire family, and meaningful time spent together in a positive, creative way.”

Scientists have been making progress in its exploration into why music should have this effect. In 2001 Dr. Anne Blood and Robert Zatorre of McGill University in Montreal, used positron emission tomography, or PET scans, to find out if particular brain structures were stimulated by music.

In their study, Blood and Zatorre asked 10 musicians, five men, and five women, to choose stirring music. The subjects were then given PET scans as they listened to four types of audio stimuli - the selected music, other music, general noise, or silence. Each sequence was repeated three times in random order.

Blood said when the subjects heard the music that gave them “chills,” the PET scans detected activity in the portions of the brain that are also stimulated by food and sex.
Just why humans developed such a biologically based appreciation of music is still not clear. The appreciation of food and the drive for sex evolved to help the survival of the species, but “music did not develop strictly for survival purposes,” Blood told Associated Press at the time.

She also believes that because music activates the parts of the brain that make us happy, this suggests it can benefit our physical and mental well-being.

This is good news for patients undergoing surgical operations who experience anxiety in anticipation of those procedures.

A 1992 study identified music listening and relaxation instruction as an effective way to reduce pain and anxiety in women undergoing painful gynecological procedures. And other studies have proved music can reduce other 'negative' human emotions like fear, distress, and depression.

Sheri Robb and a team of researchers published a report in the Journal of Music Therapy in 1992, outlining their findings that music assisted relaxation procedures, and effectively reduced anxiety in pediatric surgical patients on a burn unit.

“Music,” says Esther Mok in the AORN Journal in February 2003, “is an easily administered, non-threatening, non-invasive, and inexpensive tool to calm preoperative anxiety.”

So far, according to the same report, researchers cannot be certain why music has a calming affect on many medical patients. One school of thought believes music may reduce stress because it can help patients to relax and also lower blood pressure. Another researcher claims music allows the body's vibrations to synchronize with the rhythms of those around it. For instance, if an anxious patient with a racing heartbeat listens to slow music, his heart rate will slow down and synchronize with the music's rhythm.
Such results are still something of a mystery. The incredible ability that music has to affect and manipulate emotions and the brain is undeniable, and yet still largely inexplicable.

Aside from brain activity, the affect of music on hormone levels in the human body can also be quantified, and there is definite evidence that music can lower levels of cortisol in the body (associated with arousal and stress), and raise levels of melatonin (which can induce sleep). It can also precipitate the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkiller.

But how does music succeed in prompting emotions within us? And why are these emotions often so powerful? The simple answer is that no one knows yet. So far we can quantify some of the emotional responses caused by music, but we cannot yet explain them. But that's OK. We don't have to understand why music can make us feel better emotionally. It just does.

Music That Will Help You During The Holidays
By Susan Dunn

This might be a time of year where you're looking for some different ways to soothe, level, motivate, energize yourself, and otherwise get on top of your cascading emotions.

1. Need to get solidly centered

Try anything with a big solid bass, up loud, but make sure the lyrics don't interfere. The right brain will dominate and you'll hear the music first, but your left-brain will still be getting the lyrics.

Our Pick: “I Loved 'Em Everyone,” by T. G. Sheppard

2. Need to deal with something heavy, such as if last year your father died on Christmas Eve.

Our Pick: Only classical music will work for this. For such a deep need, to maintain your grip when something's rocked the foundation of your world, we recommend, Beethoven's “Eroica.”

“Eroica” means “heroic” and that you will need to be. Beethoven lived through the worst thing that can happen to a person. It's there, in his music.

3. To get lightly level

Our Pick: Nothing will probably ever compare to Pachelbel's “Canon.” After that we give 5 stars to George Winston, particularly “December.” There are no ups and downs and that may be just what you're aiming at. :)

4. To rip the heart out of Christmas, like when you want to just sit down in front of the tree and cry at the beauty and the splendor of it all and get it over with and then eat a pint of Haagen Daz and go to sleep.

Our Pick: Pavorotti's Christmas video, Panis Angelicus duet with the little boy, especially if you had a little boy who now has whiskers on his cheeks. Or Placido Domingo with the Vienna Boys Choir. Then you can pull out your heart and put it on the table beside you.

5. Want something Christmassy but light

Our Pick: Harp music is good for this, like for baking cookies to. It doesn't pull the emotions. It's close to the lyre, the instrument the Greek god Orpheus played to soothe the savage beasts, and to win a favor from Hades, the god to whom there is no altar (death), the god with whom there is no bargaining.

Completely upbeat, light and fun is “A Reggae Christmas,” by Various Artists, and yes, my friend, “sensei” does rhyme with “pear tree.” Listen to it on the way in to work. That's girl's laughter will carry you through your day. Go here (http://tinyurl.com/y6sp) to hear samples. The Ras Family, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and June Lodge's “Joy to the World” will bring joy to YOUR world.

6. Need to get some work done, sick of Christmas, got the kids around, underfoot, and bored?

Our GP Pick: (1) “Great Balls of Fire,” Jerry Lee Lewis. How could you possibly be “mindful” with that going on? It's great fun. It will clear the air. (2) “Don't Worry Be Happy,” by Marley.

7. The out-laws are coming, I mean the IN-laws, and you, exhausted, crabby and high on sugar as you are, must clean the house and you aren't exactly in the MOOD for a Christmas Carol, if you know what I mean

Our G Pick: If you haven't cleaned house with your two preschoolers marching along behind you to a John Philip Sousa march, you haven't lived. Give the little one a paper hat and get out his toy drum. Ok, now quit laughing and taking pictures and get back to work, you!

Our PG Pick: Got older kids you need to get working with you? Call it “the main event,” and put on the Jock Jams, “Let's Get Ready to Rumble.”

8. Need to be inspired and also to get in touch with the spiritual side of Christmas
Our Pick: Handel's “Messiah, Hallelujah Chorus,” of course. Just the chorus, unless you're an aficionado and can afford to tire yourself out.

Remember, if you will, that when you hear “The Hallelujah Chorus,” you are to stand up. Do this. Right there at home in your living room. It will do something for you.

9. Now, or any time you're beginning to feel just slightly resentful of all your “blessings”

Our Pick: “Lord, What Did I Ever Do,” by the Oak Ridge Boys is great for attitude adjustment.

10. For the peace that passeth understanding

Our Pick: Stille Naq, Noite de Paz, Noche de Paz, Sainte Nuit, Cicha Noc, Glade Jul, Stille Nacht, Po La`i E, or, as many of us know it, Silent Night, the lullaby that's been translated into every language on earth, composed by the greatest unsung duo in musical history, Mohr (lyrics) and Gruber (melody).

We also recommend “Ave Maria.” Especially the Caccini, arranged by Brinums, sung by Inessa Galante, available here:

www.dimusic.co.uk/Caccdeb2.ram For more, see:

www.susandunn.cc/vivoperlei.htm .Let them still your heart and bring you peace.

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