From: Bryce, Katherine [Kbryce@sde.state.nm.us]
Sent: Monday, November 30, 1998 12:00 PM
To: 'tchan@dante.lbl.gov'; 'owner-majordomo@tholia.llnl.gov'; Charles
Hymes
Subject: If you don't have this already (Little Girl Dying of Cancer)

I received "Little Girl Dying of Cancer" a couple of weeks ago and
immediately suspected it was a hoax.  Another recipient researched it and
got these responses from the alleged sender.  

I don't know what, if anything, you want to do with this, but this is the
info we got.  You three are my favorite references for "weird stuff received
by email."  Because we got responses from the officials who are named in the
chain letter, I thought you might use it for documentation, or something.
This sort of thing annoys the bejesus out of me, so I will do anything to
stop its circulation!

Katherine Bryce
Secretary III
NM Department of Education
Vocational, Technical and Adult Education
505-827-6654

>From Dr. Shields:

Thank you for your email.  Unfortunately, this letter is a complete hoax;
it has nothing to do with me, Albert Einstein College of Medicine or the
American Cancer Society. Several versions of this letter are now
circulating, so please ignore all of them and DO NOT PASS IT ON. I would be
very grateful if you would forward this note and the information below to
the person(s) who sent you this letter, hopefully this will stop its
circulation.
Thank you for your help.

The statement below from the ACS should provide some clarification.

Fraudulent Chain Letter

      This statement may be copied or reprinted by online users

The American Cancer Society is greatly disturbed by reports of a
fraudulent chain letter circulating on the internet which lists the
American Cancer Society as a "corporate sponsor" but which has in
no way been endorsed by the American Cancer Society. There are
several variations of this letter in circulation, including one which
has a picture of "Tickle Me Elmo" and one that is essentially a
paraphrase of the letter below.

The text of the original message reads as follows:

LITTLE JESSICA MYDEK IS SEVEN YEARS OLD AND IS SUFFERING FROM
AN ACUTE AND VERY RARE CASE OF CEREBRAL CARCINOMA. THIS
CONDITION CAUSES SEVERE MALIGNANT BRAIN TUMORS AND IS A
TERMINAL ILLNESS. THE DOCTORS HAVE GIVEN HER SIX MONTHS TO
LIVE.

AS PART OF HER DYING WISH, SHE WANTED TO START A CHAIN LETTER TO INFORM
PEOPLE OF THIS CONDITION AND TO SEND PEOPLE
THE MESSAGE TO LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST AND ENJOY EVERY
MOMENT, A CHANCE THAT SHE WILL NEVER HAVE. FURTHERMORE, THE
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY AND SEVERAL CORPORATE SPONSORS
HAVE AGREED TO DONATE THREE CENTS TOWARD CONTINUING CANCER
RESEARCH FOR EVERY NEW PERSON THAT GETS FORWARDED THIS
MESSAGE. PLEASE GIVE JESSICA AND ALL CANCER VICTIMS A
CHANCE.

IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, SEND THEM TO THE AMERICAN CANCER
SOCIETY AT ACS@AOL.COM

As far as the American Cancer Society can determine, the story of
Jessica Mydek is completely unsubstantiated. No fundraising
efforts are being made by the American Cancer Society
using chain letters of any kind. Furthermore, the email address
ACS@AOL.COM is inactive. Any messages to the American Cancer
Society should be instead sent through the American Cancer Society
website at http://www.cancer.org.

This particular chain letter with its heartbreaking story appears to have
struck an emotional chord with online users. Although we are very concerned
that the American Cancer Society's name has been used to manipulate the
online public, we applaud the good intentions of all who participated in
this letter. We are pleased to note that there are so many caring
individuals out there and hope that they will find another way to support
cancer research. Jessica Mydek's story, whether true or false, is
representative of that of many cancer patients who benefit daily from the
efforts of legitimate cancer organizations nationwide.