cap in hand

The more observant among you will have noticed the addition of a "donate" button to my sidebar.

I've called it the "tip jar" to make myself feel better about having it there.

This is something I have resisted doing for a long time (although I have never judged others with these little do-hickeys) because it felt too much like sticking my hand out (which it kind of is). And, as cancer patients go (and actually, as people go), I am incredibly fortunate. I live in a country with universal health care, I have good private insurance, which includes long-term disability and we are a two income household.

But my income has dropped considerably on disability insurance (which is a percentage of what I was making when I went off and not indexed to inflation). And this blog (and by extension, cancer - the irony is not lost on me) has opened up a whole new world, in which I would like to continue to participate.

There are a number of conferences in the coming months that I would love to attend:

The World Conference on Breast Cancer , in Winnipeg, June 4-8.

BlogHer, in San Francisco, July 18-20.

The Cancer Bloggers Reunion (organized by the Assertive Cancer Patient), in Seattle, July 23-25.

Now, the world certainly won't end if I can't participate in these events but I would love to go to at least one of them. I do feel that I have a real contribution to make, that I will learn a lot and that my writing, this blog and my community (online and off) will all benefit.

So I am looking at myriad ways to keep costs down. But I'll still need to find funding to attend even one of these conferences. To that end, I have opened a savings account into which I am putting my ad revenue (a whopping $100 since December). And if anyone clicks on the tip jar, it will go in there, too.

So if something I write particularly resonates with you and you have a little extra dough, by all means, click away. Or if you've always wanted to buy me a beer (or a glass of wine) or even take me to lunch, now's your chance.

And a note to my friends who sent me to BlogHer for my 40th birthday last year and to my family members who have already been unbelievably generous: this request DOES NOT APPLY to you! In fact, I think the button won't work if you try to use it.

Off to chemo today. Not minding so much now that I know I'll have three glorious weeks off.