Barbara Keenan has been suffering from breast cancer for 16 years.  She has had a difficult and painful battle with the disease, and that battle has had a profound effect on her son.  Michael Keenan has vowed to help his mother, and others, by trying to do something about cancer.  To forward that goal, he has recently founded the Barbara Keenan Foundation for cancer research.

The Barbara Keenan Foundation is a small non-profit group completely dedicated to finding a cure for cancer.  The foundation sponsors fundraising events and donates 100 percent of its profits to noted, cutting edge cancer research facilities dedicated to finding a cure for the disease.  No one at the foundation draws a salary.  All time is donated by the five board members, including Michael and the foundation's research director Dr. Daniel DePrince.

The foundation's latest fundraising effort is the sale of a calendar featuring naturally beautiful women in exotic locales posing in swimsuits.  The calendar is called "True Beauty," and is definitely not a run of the mill swimsuit calendar. It has been created using only volunteer models and photographers, and focuses on inner beauty as well as outward.  Each photograph is accompanied by motivational ideas from the women involved. According to Michael, "my mother is a very beautiful woman, not only physically but spiritually, and I wanted to honor her with something that, was entertaining to look at and also went a little deeper into the positive philosophies of life."

No one who worked on the True Beauty calendar was paid, and absolutely all proceeds will go to cancer research.  As an added incentive, all purchasers of the calendar will be entered in a drawing to win an all expense paid trip to Jamaica for two.

May the sun always shine upon you,

Michael Keenan, Voorhees, NJ

One week ago, while vacationing with my family in Minnesota, I learned of my mother’s sudden death. She was only 58-years-old and had not been ill, so news of her death was quite unexpected.

My mother is dying. Try saying that five times without getting teary-eyed or feeling a tight squeeze in your heart. It doesn’t matter if it is true for you now, or not yet, or in the past. The pain is saddening, confusing, and inevitable.

“It’s not the end of the physical body that should worry us. Rather our concern must be to live while we’re alive.” — Elizabeth Ross

Life and death go together, and we all know it. This essay has been coming for awhile, due to three separate events. Earlier this year, one of my great aunts died, and her daughter wrote a short piece about what she learned from her Mom. Beth’s words are poignant and valuable. This essay will close with her words.