Survivors Teaching Students
Today I told my story for the first time to the students at UCI Medical Center. It was a little intimidating for me to get up in front of everybody, but I'm glad I did it. There were four of us from the Ovarian Cancer Orange County Alliance (OCOCA) and we each had 7-8 minutes to read our stories.
One of the women is a woman who has been in surgery twice and in remission 4 times now. She had last spoken at UCI more than two years ago as she has been in treatment. She is truly amazing. She doesn't look like she's ever been sick a day in her life. She has so much energy. Her husband came with her, and even he said a few words about how it has affected their lives. She and I have the same doctors, so we compared notes after the meeting. We both really like our doctors and have a lot of faith in them.
One of the other speakers is the daughter of one of our members. She talked from the perspective of how ovarian cancer has affected their family. Her mother developed a massive infection after surgery, and she told how scary that was for all of them. She also talked about the fact that she was pregnant when her mother was diagnosed, and how that affected her.
Our program coordinator who is a 10 year survivor also told her story. She is a registered nurse, and she was very proactive with her doctor, so luckily for her, she was diagnosed at Stage 1.
All in all, it was very rewarding. If any of you are able to get involved in your local organizations, I think you'd find it rewarding. The women you meet are simply remarkable and so dedicated to defeating this disease.
I wish all of you a great weekend and a Happy Thanksgiving!
One of the women is a woman who has been in surgery twice and in remission 4 times now. She had last spoken at UCI more than two years ago as she has been in treatment. She is truly amazing. She doesn't look like she's ever been sick a day in her life. She has so much energy. Her husband came with her, and even he said a few words about how it has affected their lives. She and I have the same doctors, so we compared notes after the meeting. We both really like our doctors and have a lot of faith in them.
One of the other speakers is the daughter of one of our members. She talked from the perspective of how ovarian cancer has affected their family. Her mother developed a massive infection after surgery, and she told how scary that was for all of them. She also talked about the fact that she was pregnant when her mother was diagnosed, and how that affected her.
Our program coordinator who is a 10 year survivor also told her story. She is a registered nurse, and she was very proactive with her doctor, so luckily for her, she was diagnosed at Stage 1.
All in all, it was very rewarding. If any of you are able to get involved in your local organizations, I think you'd find it rewarding. The women you meet are simply remarkable and so dedicated to defeating this disease.
I wish all of you a great weekend and a Happy Thanksgiving!
Replies
I think your very brave and am so proud of you Diane. These talks can make a difference to the way medical professionals diagnose O.C., G.P.\'s in particular, it never entered my G.P.\'s head when my abdomen was the size of a watermelon it was the same in the E.R. I am thankful for all these wonderful ladies who give of their valuable time for the benefit of others. Keep up the good works. Love Carol xx
Diane- ditto to what Carol has said. You are very brave to do this plus at the same time, I\'m sure it was good for you to hear the success stories. The more we spread our word, the more ladies will be diagnosed sooner and have a better chance than what most of us are dealing with- kudos to you-joanne xxx
Awesome!
Thanks so much to all of you for your votes of confidence. I reallyappreciate it! Diane