Cathy’s Project, A Legacy for Earlier Awareness

In August of 2011, 65-year-old Cathy was competing in a golf tournament in Big Fork, Montana. During the prior year, Cathy had been experiencing abdominal discomfort. She visited her doctor several times, though received no diagnosis. Despite feeling ill during the tournament, Cathy played on, as she often had.

At the urging of her friends, Cathy visited another doctor, days later, at a hospital in Bozeman, Montana. Within one week, Cathy received a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, stage 3, and was bluntly told that she had two years to live.

For nearly four years, Cathy fought bravely, with family and friends by her side, enduring one major surgery, and several rounds of chemotherapy. She also participated in clinical trials, with the hopes of defeating her cancer and contributing to research that may help others. During these years, Cathy learned that ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at stage 3.

With the knowledge that early detection is the key to saving lives, we are grateful to Cathy and her husband for partnering with the NOCC to launch a new Earlier Awareness Initiative. The vision of this initiative is to promote earlier awareness of symptoms, and earlier conversations with healthcare professionals.