As I reflect back on Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month I can’t help but to think about the first time I came face to face with this disease. My mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer a couple of days after I graduated from college. Before that day I had never heard of this kind of cancer, we didn’t have a family history and I only knew one or two people with some type of cancer. The thoughts and emotions you experience when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer are indescribable…Why her? Why us? Why now?
Throughout September, I met others who have been personally affected by ovarian cancer at run for her Kickoff events across Southern California. At each stop along the way, I listened to their stories: the father who lost his little girl at the age of 23, the mother whose only daughter succumbed to ovarian cancer while still in college, and the husband who lost his wife and the mother of his young children.
I also heard many stories of hope: those who, like my mom, were diagnosed early, completed treatment, and are celebrating their ‘second chance’ at life.
The courage and strength of everyone I met is so inspirational. When you share your story, you have the power to bring hope to patients and families who need it. You also join the community of patients, advocates, caregivers, and survivors who are working together to find a cure for ovarian cancer, improve early detection methods, and spread awareness so that no one else has to lose a loved one.
My sisters and friends, of our dear sister Karen Hall Moran, for whom we are walking in Memory of, lost her battle with cancer this past April and the year before she lost her husband to prostrate cancer. Both Karen and Michael fought their cancers with dignity and grace and were surrounded with family and love to the end. We miss both of you so much and are excited to try and make this walk every year going forward.