The world works in ironic and sometimes painful ways Yvette Jives, a nurse and social worker in North Carolina, has spent a lifetime helping others. She developed a women’s health program at the community center where she worked for 15 years (after working for 14 years in a hospital), monitoring patients’ cervical and breast cancer … Continued
Sandy Sullivan has a favorite quote that she keeps pinned to her bulletin board. It reads, “If you’re lucky enough to get a second chance at something, don’t waste it.” It’s a powerful statement for anyone, but especially poignant for someone surviving ovarian cancer. And yet, Sandy has always lived her adult life – even … Continued
“Eyebrows are sisters, not twins.” This is the best advice Morgan Gaynor received when she was in treatment for ovarian cancer. She laughed as she admitted it, acknowledging that it may seem ludicrous considering, but for the 31-year-old woman from Red Bank, New Jersey, it was poignant. “There’s something about the eyebrows and eyelashes that … Continued
In the “days BC (before cancer)”, Jess BeCraft was a self-proclaimed DINK (dual income, no kids). A career-driven, world-traveling, Chicago-loving woman, Jess and her husband decided a little over three years ago that they were ready to start a family. “We knew life would dramatically change,” Jess said. “But we had no idea just how … Continued
Jane Rubin speaks quickly, with sentences not so much ending but flowing seamlessly into new thoughts and directions. Listening to her talk about her life and her work is like listening to someone try to cram an epic novel into a paragraph. Her interests and hunger for learning know no bounds. Jane, a 20-year breast … Continued
There are many adjectives one can use to describe ovarian cancer: relentless, cruel, a monster. But Dr. Sunila Pradeep also finds it ironic. “Women spend a lot of time and energy for the next generation. They are playing a major role in continuing life on earth. And then when many of them have fulfilled those … Continued
If you had to describe Lana Holland in just one word, ‘soothing’ would be the word to use. She’s been a massage therapist for more than a decade, calling forth through her hands her earlier training as a social worker. Her voice – gentle, measured, yet filled with conviction – makes you feel as if … Continued
Jesse Dunn’s fondest memories are of sitting in front of the wood stove in his family’s Vermont home, wearing a pair of headphones and listening to his parents’ collection of tapes and records. That’s where he fell in love with music and developed his musical roots. Jesse, aged 38, now lives in Lake Tahoe and … Continued
Cockroaches after a nuclear war. That is really the best way to understand what Dr. Ugo Cavallaro, a cell biologist and biochemist, is working on in his lab in Milan, Italy. He is trying to understand why an ovarian cancer tumor, which is successfully removed along with surrounding tissue, can manifest itself again. “This happens … Continued
She has swum in the Amazon, gone ice fishing in the Arctic, traveled the Galapagos, and hang-glided in New Zealand. But the biggest trail Dr. Beth Karlan has blazed throughout her life has been in the field of gynecologic oncology. Dr. Karlan is Professor and Vice Chair of Women’s Health Research in the Department of … Continued
Stacy Saravo, like anyone who’s been given a terrible diagnosis, has received her share of well-meaning but dumb advice. (“Eat lemons! They’ll cure cancer.”) But there’s one moment that takes the cake. She was undergoing chemotherapy, feeling uncomfortable, had no eyebrows, and her immune system was low … yet she decided to go to the … Continued
Dr. Ron Buckanovich, an OCRA grantee, uses a metaphor to describe his work. “If I’m trying to get into Chicago and the highways that get me into the city are blocked off, no matter how important my job is, I’m not going to get there.” He’s talking about immunotherapy and the fact that the cells … Continued
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