Well done!  Sorry!  Loretto.At 13:58 08/05/1999 +0100, you wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I've actually contacted Dennis Shields, the supposed originator of the
>'cancer girl' chain letter going around at the moment, and it is a
>complete hoax. It would be helpful if we all passed on his comments to
>the person(s) who sent the message. Anyway, here is what he said:
>
>
>Dear Ed,
>
>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.
>For further information, concerning this letter consult any of these
>sites:
>http://www.snopes.com/spoons/faxlore/mydek.htm
>http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACChainLetters.html
>http://www.datafellows.com/news/hoax/cancer.htm
>http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/news/0203/06ehoax.html
>
>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 [log in to unmask]
>
>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
>[log in to unmask] 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.
>-- 
>---------------------------------------------------------------
>  F  E  L  I  X   - The Students' Newspaper at Imperial College
>---------------------------------------------------------------
>Beit Quad,                    Phone/Fax: 0171 594 8072 external
>Prince Consort Road,          58072 internal phone
>London SW7 2BB                48072 internal fax
>[log in to unmask]                Editor: Ed Sexton
>www.su.ic.ac.uk/Felix/
>
>


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