We are told that cervical cancer is preventable. We are also told that you did everything right to prevent getting it.  Please explain how you ended up with cervical cancer?

CB: It's true - I followed the standard protocol for women in the United States, and I went for my annual pap test every year since I was 18 years old. Every year from 1987 until 1999, I was given "normal" results. Every year I thought I was ok. But what I didn't realize was that pap tests are not completely accurate. In fact, the traditional pap smear that I was getting each year can be up to 50% inaccurate - giving women (such as myself) false negative reports. Cervical cancer is typically a slow growing cancer, taking years before it becomes invasive. That means that each year the cells were changing in my body, and the Pap test missed these changes. Finally, when I went in for my annual pap in 2000, the cancer was very advanced and the pap picked it up - but it was not soon enough to spare me from radical treatments. I needed to have a hysterectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, and internal radiation in order to live.

How did you come upon the idea of Popsmear.org and tell us what its mission is?

CB: I came up with the idea for PopSmear.org after I had recovered from my treatments and was reclaiming my life. I had learned so much about cervical cancer and realized how preventable it was, I decided I had to do something about it. I wanted to prevent anyone else from having to be in my shoes. So I decided to hold a benefit concert to raise awareness and educate women about the disease and its cause - HPV. The concert was very successful, and therefore I decided to create a non-profit organization so that I could continue this work. The mission of PopSmear.org is to educate women in the United States and worldwide about HPV, cervical cancer, and the best technologies available to assure cervical health.

And the Yellow Umbrella Tour?  Tell us about the name and how it came about?

CB: I think people get inspired in different ways at different times in their lives. For me, a life changing moment came when I watched the movie "Harold and Maude" a year and a half after my battle with cancer. Maude is an eccentric older woman who embraces everything about life, and she teaches a young boy, Harold, to do the same. Her spirit and vitality were incredible to me, and in one scene she is carrying a yellow umbrella through the rain with a bounce in her step. I saw that umbrella as a symbol of life and individuality and strength - I eventually wrote a song about those very things. It's called "red roots and blue nails." The song's chorus rings with "I've got my yellow umbrella, yeah, and I'm doing the cosmic dance (Maude referred to music as the cosmic dance) - and I refuse to count time - just make it last." That spirit is the spirit behind my life and behind PopSmear.org. So I decided I wanted to take this message on the road, and when it came time to name the tour, it seemed perfect.

We’d like to know a little more about you personally, like how you got into music and how you decided to become a professional musician.

CB: I was very lucky. My parents took me to piano lessons when I was 4 years old, and I loved it. It came very naturally to me, playing the piano and music in general. I studied classical piano for the next 17 years and participated in everything musical I could get my hands on. I competed in competitions, I accompanied choirs and orchestras and string quartets and soloists - you name it. I got involved with theater and participated in a dozen different musicals, was always in choirs and special groups. I loved it because I could express myself completely - in ways I never could on my own.

CLUW supports the
Yellow Umbrella Tour!

CLUW promotes first national tour for cervical cancer awareness