I have been giving this amazing
opportunity last week that helps support women with Ovarian Cancer. There is an
organization called Survivors Teaching Students, (STS), and I have gotten in
contact with them about coming in and speaking to medical students about my
situation. They were so delighted and happy I reached out because a lot of the
students in the Cleveland area wanted to talk with someone who was close in age
so they could feel a better connection. At this moment, I knew I had to do
this.
Ever since I was first diagnosed
all I would say is how I wish there was someone who I could talk to, who was my
age, so that I could relate to them. Cancer affects you in many different ways
depending on what stage in life you are in. For me, I was 18 years old. Cancer
didn’t affect my bills or my kids,
husband and/or grandkids. I was too young to have any of those. Cancer affected
my social life at school and with friends. That is pretty much it. I just
started college and was beginning to make new friends and I was just plucked
away from all of that. Everyone who I would talk to never really understood how
hard that is for someone simply because they were way passed that chapter in
life.
I am so excited to talk with these
medical students because they will be able to relate and see how much cancer
really affected me personally.
“Welcome to Survivors Teaching Students: Saving Women’s Lives®, a program of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance!
You are joining an innovative and critical effort to educate students in health
professional programs nationwide about ovarian cancer. Our goal is to increase
the number of health care providers who recognize the risk factors and symptoms
of ovarian cancer so that the disease is detected earlier.” This is a piece straight
from their handbook that I have to read, which describes what exactly this
organization does. STS is so important because many women don’t realize they
have cancer until it is too late. Causing their diagnosis to go unnoticed for
months to years. By sharing with people in the medical field we will be able to
provide them with knowledge so they know what to look for in women. The
symptoms are so common that ovarian cancer is overlooked immensely. It was
overlooked for me 3 times before it was caught.
I have to
write my whole journey so that it will be 5-7 minutes and then send it to the people
in charge of the organization for the greater Cleveland area. I then will go
and talk with partnering schools, as of right now they have done a class at
Lake Erie, and share my story and answer questions.
I am so
excited for this opportunity and I know it will open up so many doors for me. I
always wanted to get involved with cancer in some way and I am happy that I found
this opportunity. I will definitely keep everyone updated on what is going on
and when my first class will be!
