Survivors Teaching Students

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!