Saving Grace
Veterans/Legends / Stand-Up / Women
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Comedians Unite Against Cancer
Female
59 years old
Colfax
United States
Last Login: 10/14/2009
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Mood:
optimistic
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Saving Grace's Comedian Bio
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| Bio | I am a stage four lung cancer comedian and I am really into promoting cancer advocacy. Early in May 2008 I filmed a national lung cancer PSA with Dana Reeve's sister Dr. Deborah Morosini that will begin to air this fall. | | Website | womenwhokickcomedybutt.com | | TV Shows | Good Morning America, Old Town Comedy Club, Laff It OFF with Grace | | Films | The Independent with J. Garfalo and Jerry Stiller |
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Saving Grace's Interests
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| General | Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. More American women die of lung cancer than breast, ovarian and uterine cancer combined. | | Heroes | WOMEN HONORED AND AWARDED THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
1905: Bertha Sophie von Suttner (Austria) - Author of influential book Lay Down Your Arms, and President of the International Peace Bureau.
1931: Jane Addams (US) - won jointly with Nicholas Murray Butler (US)- Addams was President of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and founder of Hull-House, a U.S. settlement house for immigrants families.
1946: Emily Greene Balch (US) - won jointly with John Raleigh Mott (US)- Balch worked with Jane Addams and also was President of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
1976: Betty Williams (Britain) and Mairead Corrigan (Northern Ireland)- Both founded the Northern Ireland Peace Movement, (later called the Community of Peace People) dedicated to ending the violence in Northern Ireland.
1979: Mother Teresa (Albania)- A nun in the Orders of the Missionaries which helped the poorest of the poor in India.
1982: Alva Myrdal (Sweden) won jointly with Alfonso Garcia Robles (Mexico)- Myrdal, a writer and diplomat, worked for many years to promote disarmament and world peace.
1991: Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma/Myanmar)- Human rights advocate, often a political prisoner, for her efforts to peacefully bring democracy to Myanmar.
1992: Rigoberta Menchu (Guatemala)- For her efforts to bring enduring reconciliation among all sectors of Guatemalan society, and for defense of indigenous rights worldwide.
1997: Jody Williams (US)- won jointly with the group she coordinates, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, for work promoting the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines.
2003: Shirin Ebadi (Iran)- lawyer and human rights activist, notably in defense of the rights of women and children in her society.
2004: Wangari Maathai (Kenya)- Founder of Green Belt Movement which promotes awareness of the need to protect of natural resources as a prerequisite to a sustainable and peaceful world.
MORE WOMEN HEROES
Chipeta, a Ute Indian worked all her life to promote better relations between her tribe and whites.
UNs Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, she works for the rights of women.
Susan B. Anthony led the early Women's Suffrage Movement.
Sojourner Truth, born a slave, she worked all her life for the rights of women and blacks. She is well known for her 1851 speech at the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.
Sacajawea guided Lewis and Clark across the northwestern territories.
Ruby Bridges bravely led the way to desegregation of schools as a child.
Rosa Parks made history when she refused to sit in the back of the bus.
Ada Aharoni works for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Adi Roche took responsibility for helping orphans of nuclear disaster.
Alicia O'Brien, at age 11 with inoperable brain cancer, was the inspiration for Cherie Bennett's novel, Zink.
Amy Biehl gave her life to end apartheid in South Africa.
Ann Armstrong-Dailey founded Children's Hospice International.
Anna Akhmatova is considered one of Russia's best poets.
Anne Frank 'When I write, I can shake off all my cares.'
Annie Mansfield Sullivan Macy developed new methods for teaching blind and deaf students.
Augusta Ada Byron developed the world's first computer program.
Aung San Suu Kyi seeks democracy for Burma.
Bella Abzug was a New York Congresswoman who fought for women's rights.
Cathy Freeman won races and respect for the plight of native Australian people.
Chiaki Mukai is the first female Japanese astronaut.
Chief Wilma Mankiller was the first woman to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Christine de Pisan was a 15th century French poet.
Claire Lalanne founded the Center for Nutritional Recovery.
Clara Barton was known as the 'Angel of the Battlefield in the Civil War and among other things she started the Red Cross.
Clara Hale helped hundreds of children in Harlem and started the Hale House.
Clara Shortridge Foltz was the first woman to practice law in California.
Connie Samaras has created media archives for deep space voyages.
Corrie Ten Boom helped hundreds recover from the trauma of WWII.
Daphna Ziman is the founder of an organization that helps children around the world.
Diane Fossey worked to protect the endangered Mountain Gorilla
Dorothea Lange created photographs of great power and beauty, most famous for her photograph, Migrant Mother, 1936.
Dr. Caldicott has been a lifelong anti-nuclear activist.
Dr. Elizabeth Kalko and the Jason Project studies bats in the Panamanian rainforest.
Dr. France Cordova is a renowned astrophysicist who has broken gender
and cultural barriers.
Dr. Rosalie Bertell Anti-Nuclear Nun is a renowned scientist, eco-feminist and peace activist.
Dr. Shirley McGreal founded the International Primate Protection League.
Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh is a scientist dedicated to the study and conservation of bonobos.
Edith Cavell was a nurse who risked her own safety to help others during WWI
Edmonia Lewis was a 19th century sculptor.
Edna St. Vincent Millay 's poetry was both popular and critically acclaimed.
Eleanor of Aquitaine
was a powerful and independant woman in the Middle Ages.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a champion for freedom.
Elizabeth Blackwell opened the first medical school for women.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a pioneer in the movement for womens rights.
Zohra Ben Lakhdar is a physicist from Africa who does research on atomic spectroscopy.
Robyn Van En worked to save organic farming businesses in North America.
RAWA promotes women's rights through non-violent action
Raja Weksler helped her daughter survive in a concentration camp.
Rachel Carson was the mother of the environmental movement.
Oseola McCarty donated her life savings so others could go to college.
Maya Angelou is a writer and poet.
Mary Lyon established the U.S.'s first college for women.
Mary Harris Jones worked to free children from industrial slavery.
Marian Wright Edelman is one of the country's leading advocates for children.
Maria Montessori developed a new approach to education.
Madame Curie received the Nobel Prize for her discovery of Radium.
Madam C.J. Walker used her business success to oppose racial discrimination.
Lucy Stone was a pioneer for womens rights.
Lillie Hitchcock-Coit was a turn of the century firefighting hero.
Joan of Arc died for her beliefs.
Jessie Daniel Ames worked openly and actively on behalf of racial justice.
Helene Gayle is one of the leading authorities on AIDS research.
Hattie Elizabeth Alexander saved the lives of thousands of children through her work.
Harriet Tubman organized the Underground Railroad.
Frida Kahlo was an artist and survivor.
Frances Ellen Watkins devoted her life to speaking out against slavery.
Florence Nightingale revolutionized nursing.
Florence Ngobeni urges African leaders to work for AIDS prevention.
Florence Kelley was an outspoken leader against child labor.
Ellen MacArthur has broken numerous records with her courageous solo sailing adventures.
Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 2,000 poems in her lifetime.
Emma Lazarus wrote the poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.
Erin Gruwell teaches freedom through reading and writing.
Kelly Perkins climbs mountains to raise support for organ donation.
Judy Warner worked to create a public technology high school.
Effa Manley: The First Woman to enter Baseball Hall of Fame
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Saving Grace's Details
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| Status: | Single | | Zodiac Sign: | Aquarius |
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Saving Grace's Latest Blog Entry
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This one is for my Beautiful, Sarcastic, Hilarious, Incredibly Strong & Courageous Aunt
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Let's give lung cancer patients a fighting chance
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Saving Grace's Blurbs |
About me:
GRACE WHITE, WITH SLEEPY EYES, AT THE GAIL P. RAMOS STEP FOR SURVIVAL FUNDRAISING WALK ON AUGUST 23, 2009 AT LAND PARK IN SACRAMENTO, CA.
Grace White & Jovelyn Richards joined over 600 people and a sell-out crowd at the Oakland Coliseum for the first annual Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Awareness Day “Battle of the Bay–Oakland A’s vs. the San Francisco Giants.”
Comics, sax man, step up for cancer victim
Cantina hosts benefit for ailing woman
By Rich Freedman/Times-Herald staff writer
Several comedians and musician Andrew Beal perform April 23 at City Lights Cantina in Vallejo in a fund-raiser for cancer victim and stand-up comic Grace, White, above. (S.N. Jacobson/Courtesy photo) Matt Larson figures he has a good thing going. And, perhaps, helping someone out this time around would be an even better thing.
The host and producer of "Comedy at the Cantina" at City Lights Cantina was so thrilled at the sell-out response of the unveiling of the stand-up comedy show in February, he's returning for an encore with a benefit April 23 for Bay Area comic Grace White.
White, a Grass Valley resident, is in advance cancer and needs financial help to keep her health insurance, Larson said.
"We've all had problems with health care. Add cancer to that and it's, I'm sure, an almost unbearable situation," Larson said. "So I thought, since our first comedy show did so well, we'd do another one and raise money to help a woman who can't earn a living as a comic any more."
Larson, a long-time Vallejoan, snagged stand-ups Dan St. Paul, Ngaio Bealum, Andrew Norelli, Johnny Steele, Joe Klocek and Anthony Hill for the 8 p.m. event. this Sunday, 5 to 6 p.m., at the Cantina
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Saxophonist Andrew Beal of Vallejo provides music at intermission.
"It's amazing how these guys stepped forward so quickly," said Larson, adding that all the comics are performing gratis.
"When they heard the show was for a benefit for someone who they all know and love, the comics were lined up to help out," Larson said.
"Comedians are a rare breed of folks that must watch out for one another, just like players on a sports team," said Larson, a member of the Rats in the Alley improv troupe.
"We wanted to keep it affordable, especially with the economy the way it is," Larson said. "Obviously, we're not going raise a ton of money. But, as much as anything, we hope to lift Grace's spirits."
If people want to help but can't make it to the show, "we'll gladly take a donation for Grace from anyone in any denomination," Larson said.
A successful show won't only be good for White, it'll be good for Vallejo, Larson said.
"We've got enough things to worry about without having to leave town to find some decent entertainment," Larson said. "The more shows we do here at the Cantina, the stronger the community will get and the more excited they'll be to support all of the arts in Vallejo."
Larson said he'll do a "meet and greet" this Sunday, 5 to 6 p.m., at the Cantina and sell tickets in person.
"We're already half sold out, so it's looking good," Larson said.
What: "Comedy at the Cantina" fund-raiser for cancer victim Grace White
Who: Johnny Steele, Dan St.Paul, Andrew Norelli, Ngaio Bealum, Anthony Hill, Andrew Beal, Matt Larson
When: Thursday, April 23, 8 p.m.
Where: City Lights Cantina, 415 Virginia St., Vallejo
Tickets: $10 advance, $15 door
Info: comedyatthecantina.com
Cancer no laughing matter, unless you're a comic with it
VETERAN COMEDIAN HOSTS FUNDRAISER
By Bruce Newman
Mercury News
At 58, Grace White had spent nearly a decade on the road performing "combat comedy" in such outliers of the known comedy constellation as an Idaho Falls roadhouse, grange halls in Montana and at the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D., where half-naked people often rushed the stage. "Also completely naked people," she said recently, clarifying.
White could do stand-up in any situation, no matter how harrowing. When her doctor called last November to tell her that she had inoperable lung cancer, White responded with a joke.
"He said, 'It's a really grave situation,' " White recalled. "I said, 'That can't be. I haven't been to Paris yet.' Then I told him I would appreciate it if he wouldn't use the word grave in my diagnosis. So I guess I was making jokes."
She had been shopping at a Staples when the call came, and suddenly stand-up - both as a career choice and a means to avoid falling down - was no longer an option.
"My legs started to go out from under me, and everything started spinning," White said. "I started to go over and this lady reached out and caught me. She got me to the doctor's office, and then she said to me, 'Just wait here for a minute. Because I'm going to go in and chew your doctor's ass.' "
Her performing career ended with the cancer diagnosis, but White has managed to overcome the debilitating effects of her illness to produce a benefit show for the American Lung Association of California at Rooster T. Feathers Comedy Club in Sunnyvale Wednesday at 8 p.m. Half a dozen comics from her traveling show, Women Who Kick Comedy Butt, will attempt to raise money - and awareness - for the struggle that White now calls her "life's work."
The next doctor she visited following the drive-by diagnosis told White that she had stage-4 lung cancer - the most advanced form - and that she would be dead within three months. That was 10 months ago. "Their way of dealing with me was to give me all kinds of drugs and to let me go," she said. She lost 30 pounds in three months, before she decided to stop taking most of the drugs. "I was on my way out," White said, "lying on the couch preparing to die."
Dealing with pain
Her daughter, Alyssa Cook, had moved into her mother's Colfax home in the Sierra foothills to take care of her. "She needed help to do anything," Cook said, "even to comb her hair and walk to the bathroom."
After the first few rounds of chemotherapy, there wasn't much hair left to comb. "I looked like I had mange," White said. "I saw how upset my daughter was, and heard my grandson say that I was deserting him. So I decided that for as long as I have left, I'm going to be sober, and I'm going to deal with this pain, and I'm going to do the best I can every day."
She stopped the chemo treatments, shaved her head and commenced her comeback. "When my daughter asked me how I was, I would say, 'I feel great today!' Well, not really. But the mind is so powerful. I feel like, 'I am not going now. I am not going to be that sick now.' "
A big part of what keeps White going is her determination to shed light on how under-funded lung cancer research is in this country. While breast cancer received $971 million in government research funds in 2007, lung cancer received only $226 million, even though lung cancer has a much higher mortality rate, according to the Lung Cancer Alliance.
Lung cancer stigma
"Lung cancer has a very big stigma," White said. "Like, if you have it, you deserve it." At one of several fundraisers conducted for White by fellow comedians when she was without an income following her diagnosis, a woman approached her with a donation. "She held the money out, then pulled it back and asked me, 'Did you smoke?' " White recalled.
The answer, in fact, is no. White was not a smoker. But 15 percent of new lung cancer cases afflict non-smokers, according to Cancer Alliance statistics, and more than 60 percent of new cases involve either non-smokers or smokers who had already quit.
On White's MySpace page, she refers to herself as a "Stage 4 Cancer Comedian." You may have to have handled naked hecklers with saddle rashes to see the humor in that.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED
Direct contributions can be made through the American Lung Association of California
While working as a standup comedian, and producer of the comedy tour Women Who Kick Comedy Butt, I was diagnosed with stage 4 inoperable lung cancer. The comedians in my tour Women Who Kick Comedy Butt immediately created this page for me, they help me keep it updated and they, along with many others, started fundraising like mad.
I am now fighting hard, to stay alive so I can see how everything turns out (Bush, the Iraq war, inflation, my credit score).
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!
The support of my daughter Alisa, the comedy community and many, many others, has and continues to help me in every way. The generosity demonstrated has filled my heart with gratitude, continues to blow my mind and has inspired me to become involved in helping others with cancer, working for better air quality and becoming involved in cancer advocacy.
I am speaking at events for the American Lung Association of California. I shot a national PSA to create awareness for the need for more funding for lung cancer research and early detection with Dr. Morosini (Dana Reeve's sister) that will begin to air Oct 2008. Additonally, my daughter, my 2 grandchildren and I will soon be featured in a photo shoot that demonstrates, at a glance, how lung cancer effects everyday people.
When I was diagnosed last November, the doctors told me that I had three months to live. Well, I’m still here, still fighting strong and advocating for better lung cancer screening and treatments. Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women and approximately 25% of women and 15% of men with Lung Cancer have never smoked.
That’s why I’m teaming up with the American Lung Association of California to support Senate Bill 458
, which would create a new Lung Cancer Early Detection and Treatment Research program.
I’m not asking you to make a donation to the lung association, but I am asking that you take two minutes to take action so that we can increase lung cancer research in California. With a few clicks you will send a letter to your state Assembly Member and state Senator in support of SB 458 and more lung cancer research.
Comedian Grace White thanks her hometown Colfax, CA for their unwavering support during her struggle with lung cancer.
 STAGE TIME MAGAZINE ARTICLE
 BONNIE J. ADDARIO LUNG CANCER FOUNDATION
 www.abreathawayfromthecure.org
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