MAILBAG - Oct. 9, 2007

It was a cruel irony that only days before Glendale’s annual Relay for Life, Glendale’s only fitness class for cancer patients and survivors (held at Glendale Memorial Hospital) was canceled. Even worse, this class was the only ongoing program (barring psychological support groups) for cancer survivors in the entire city.

The Relay For Life, which raises funds for the American Cancer Society, is a worthy cause, but their focus is on education, prevention and patients in active treatment. Although Pasadena, Burbank and Sherman Oaks all have cancer centers offering a variety of classes and programs focused on restoring, maintaining and improving patient health after the difficulties of cancer treatment, Glendale has none.

It was heartbreaking to see the reactions of the mainly elderly cancer patients and survivors upon being told that their twice-weekly class was canceled. This was Glendale’s only cancer-related fitness program and was taught by instructors specially trained to take into account various cancer surgeries and treatments.

I can attest to the importance of this class. After treatment for breast cancer, entailing three surgeries and six months of chemotherapy, I was weak, had reduced mobility in my right arm and was minus one abdominal muscle and one breast.

The instructors knew how to tailor a program to my needs. Just as importantly, being around other survivors made me feel comfortable about my appearance and positive about my future.

This program made a real difference in real people’s lives, and now it’s gone. And we have nothing to replace it.

I can travel to neighboring cities for cancer programs. But Pasadena, Los Angeles and Sherman Oaks are too far for most of these older, frail patients.

Who is looking out for elderly or disadvantaged cancer survivors in Glendale? Where are our programs?

Glendale Adventist is attempting to grow their cancer center, but they need resources and financing.

The Wellness Community is an excellent resource. Although they serve our geographical region, at this time they offer no programs in Glendale. If there is no local funding available, perhaps one of our local hospitals could coordinate with The Wellness Community to offer survivorship programs in Glendale. Cancer patients live with ramifications of their diagnosis and treatments their entire lives. It is crucial that Glendale finds a way to provide local survivorship programs.

LAURA FRIEDMAN

Glendale

In Wednesday’s issue of the Glendale News-Press, June Casagrande, “A Word, Please” columnist, noted the sad (or not-so-sad) loss of the hyphen due to the influence of the Web (“Don’t give in to hype on hyphens”). Technology has thrust all manner of bad grammar habits onto those who love correct English. Many of these habits are enumerated in my book, “The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success.” Some are worried that the hyphen may go extinct. Well, I for one will cheer.

As Casagrande — author of “Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies” — notes, the Brits don’t agree with Americans on some points of hyphen-using anyway. Worse, the style guides can’t agree and the dictionaries don’t either.

But the Internet is promulgating worse than just this distressing disappearing-hyphen syndrome. It has encouraged us to push all kinds of words together. That comes from what I call the “domain name influence.” Or domainnameinfluence, if you will. Book or bookcover? Bookfair or book fair. Backmatter or back matter? Hard copy or hardcopy? You get the idea. Even with the zero-tolerance approach to grammar I use to keep authors out of hot water with agents and publishers (and therefore make it more likely they’ll get published), I am making style choices everywhere else but in query letters. Simply put, I love to stick words together.

Word-bonding is a time-honored tradition in English. As an example, the word “therefore.” So word-gluing is sort of back to the Germanic roots we came from. (The Germans use Fingerhut for “finger hat” — or, in translation, thimble.)

Poets have pushed words together for ages, too. So, do I care? Not a whit. In my deepest recesses, I think grammar snobs are great big meanies, too. It’s just that I don’t want any of my readers to get caught in a net spread by those meanies — and they are everywhere waiting to put a kink in one’s career if they show up in resumes.

Back to the zero-tolerance thing. If you want to impress a literary agent or future boss, please don’t add hyphens in words they are convinced are correct only one way. It’s nonfiction, not non-fiction. Though I don’t get a red squiggle with either version of the word on my Amazon wordspeller ’cause it isn’t as fussy as your run-of-the-mill grammar snob will be.

CAROLYN HOWARD-JOHNSON

Glendale

Regarding the class-size reduction item in Thursday’s Glendale Unified School District Board of Education Meeting Wrap-up: As mentioned, the Glendale Unified School District Board of Education has unanimously voted upon the approval of submission of an application to the California Department of Education requesting class-size reduction for the kindergarten-through-third grade 2007-08 school year.

Reducing class size is imperative as children are developing cognitive, social and mental processes in these early stages of development. Small class size, individualized instruction and counseling are some of the few common characteristics for a successful program.

By projecting the proposal, teachers will be able to copiously educate, identify and guide high-risk students throughout the school year. Furthermore, students will also have the advantage of more pronounced teacher-student relationships and advance in higher education.

I highly support and encourage this positive educational notion as it will take on a domino effect resulting in the success of the students, the school and the community.

BIANCA FAJARDO

Glendale