Cancer doesn’t discriminate against race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, geography, or age.
Ovarian cancer is often dubbed the “silent killer” and typically associated with women in their 50s and 60s. But that was not the reality for one 15-year-old girl.
She endured months of dismissed symptoms—missed periods, persistent abdominal pain, bloating, fatigue, and feeling full after small meals—despite repeated visits to emergency rooms, primary care, and urgent care clinics. Shortly after celebrating her 16th birthday and looking forward to summer break in 2005, she received a devastating, rare diagnosis: stage III ovarian cancer.
In June 2026, she entered her 21st year of survivorship—a milestone marked not only by resilience, but by the lasting physical impact of two surgeries that altered her reproductive health through the loss of her ovary and fallopian tube, along with late-stage treatment effects that continue to shape her daily life. Yet, she entered this 21st year with an unwavering commitment: to co-create solutions for critical gaps in care for patients from rural communities, advocate for true health equity, and push for progress in stagnant treatment regimens for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with ovarian cancer.
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and the need for action and mobilization is urgent. Individuals and families facing abdominal cancers frequently present at advanced stages, often encountering severe barriers to accessing information and life-saving treatments.
If you agree that your zip code shouldn't determine your access to care, I invite you to stand with me and support the Abdominal Cancers Alliance in their mission to empower, connect, and uplift the abdominal cancer community to save and improve lives.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽:
𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲: Your financial support directly helps us centralize education, improve treatment pathways, and secure better outcomes for patients facing ovarian malignancies.
𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲: If you are unable to donate, you can make a powerful impact simply by sharing this page. Spreading the word brings crucial visibility to this cause, amplifying our message to reach those who need these resources most.
Together, we can!
