My Nonprofit Reviews

I was diagnosed with advanced stage Ovarian cancer in August of 2011. I went through surgery & chemo not really feeling a need for an outside support group. I was very focused on my battle and was fortunate to have a tremendous amount of support from family, friends and my medical team. I was a warrior with goals and milestones to meet....then in February 2012 I achieved that final goal, the last of 6 cycles of aggressive chemo..... cause for celebration, all tests looked good, it appeared everything worked as hoped... now life could get back to normal, as if the previous 6 months had never happened.!

Only the funny thing was, that "normal" never came back.... I found that I was becoming anxious before every Dr visit, everytime I had an unusual ache or pain I would immediately worry that the cancer was coming back, I was wondering why I did so well, when so many others weren't as lucky... I wanted the old "me" back, not this fearful, baldheaded stranger looking back from the mirror.

Then I found the Cansurvive support group and discovered that all of my feelings were normal (imagine that, it's just a new normal). I just showed up at the April 2012 Sunday meeting, didn't know anyone but I immediately felt at home. Everyone welcomed me with open arms, and I never felt like an outsider.... (I even won the door prize... but I still think that was rigged!) The thing is, we may not know each other when we walk in the door, but we are all in the same sisterhood and are there to offer support to each other, answer questions (almost anything that you ask, someone has a personal experience to share), laugh together, offer hope to each other and yes, sometimes cry together as well.

I live approximately 60miles outside Birmingham, so the Friday meeting is not really an option for me. I am so thankful that Cansurvive has the Sunday meetings and I try my best not to miss one. I would tell anyone who is either dealing with GYN cancer, or has a loved one affected to come to one of our meetings... I promise you won't regret it!

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