Survivor's Teaching Students

I'm not ready to say I'm grateful for cancer, but I definitely acknowledge the blessings that have come because of it. 

One of my favorite is the volunteer program I work with ... Survivors Teaching Students.  I am a presenter and Utah facilitator for a national program called SurvivorsTeaching Students, Saving Women's Lives^(R).  

The program is sponsored by OCNA (Ovarian Cancer National Alliance) as Ovarian Cancer survivors, we have a desire to raise awareness of the symptoms and risk factors of ovarian cancer among future medical professionals.  We currently do training with the U of U medical students, the PA students and will be doing our first presentation with the nursing students in the fall.

We have presenters that were Stage 2 to Stage 4 ... and ranging in age from 21 - 60 when diagnosed.  It has been an amazing and difficult program to be involved with.  I feel like we are having such an impact and are doing something that will help save the life of future cancer patients and make the Drs and PAs better at what they do.  

Two of our presenters have passed away ... it is an awful thing to get an email telling me that they can't help present anymore and then to continually google their names until I find their obituaries.   And my sweet friend Debbie is struggling and not doing great.  But she is a trooper and shares her story and inspires all of us!!!

We present to groups of 8 - 40 and do it about every 6 weeks.  

During spring break I got an email asking if I would get a couple of our people and do our presentation in Texas for a pharmaceutical company who is going to be the National Sponsor of our program.  With some last minute juggling Amanda, Linda and I headed off to Texas.  It was a super quick trip but we had a great time laughing and sharing stories and learning more about how hard it is for all of us and sharing our stories.  One of the sales reps came up to me after with tears in her eyes and said "I've been in sales me whole life and have never stopped to think about the patient.  I'll never walk in a Dr. office again without thinking of you and your kids and the patients."  

That is the kind of feedback we get whenever we present and I feel like because my Drs were so wonderful and did everything right -- that I can give back in this way.  

I was just asked to be on the Board of Directors for the new Utah chapter of OCNA.  

I love my Survivor friends!!!