I Am LiveSTRONG

I usually tend to stay away from sports news and controversy on this blog but after reading some comments and listening to news reports about Lance Armstrong and the LiveSTRONG Foundation, I feel I need to share my thoughts with my readers. 

Was Lance Armstrong wrong to dope? Yes. Was he wrong to lie about it? Yes. Am I disappointed in his actions? Yes. 

Do I still support the LiveSTRONG Foundation? Yes. Why, you ask? Unless you are a cancer survivor you may not understand this but I am LiveSTRONG and so is Brian, Katie, Crissy, Ron, Kendall, Henrike, Cindy and thousands of other survivors and caregivers. 

Let me explain.  Make believe you are Clarence, the Angel, from It’s a Wonderful Life ( My favorite movie). You go back in time and show me what my life would be like without my experiences with LiveSTRONG. 

If I didn’t attend the very first LiveSTRONG Survivors Summit Austin Texas in 2006 I would not be the cancer advocate I am today. You would not be reading this blog. Attending the Summit gave me the confidence that I could make a difference in the lives of other ovarian cancer survivors. 

If I had not attended the Summit there may not be a Gynecologic Cancer Support Group at my cancer center. Part of my action plan after the Summit was to establish a cancer support group specifically for gynecologic cancer survivors at my cancer center. With the support of my gyn-oncs and the center’s social workers the group was created. It is still in existence today almost 8 years later. 

If I wasn’t a representative at LiveSTRONG Day in 2007 I would never had learned how to advocate for increased support for cancer research and survivorship issues with members of Congress and my local officials. 

If I had not attended the LiveSTRONG Survivors Summit in 2008 I would not have presented a workshop on Advocacy at the Cancer Support Community- Central NJ ( CSC-CNJ) .  

If I had not met other cancer survivors from around the country at those Survivor Summits I would not have been aware of opportunities to raise awareness of ovarian cancer and survivorship issues. Thanks to Katie, I applied and was accepted as a Research Advocacy Network - Focus on Research Scholar and attended the Annual ASCO meeting in Chicago in 2011. I shared my experience at ASCO on my blog and presented two workshops on Understanding Cancer Research at CSC-CNJ. 

If I had not walked the Philly Livestrong Challenge raising funds for LiveSTRONG I might not have helped other survivors. 

So you see LiveSTRONG made a big difference in my life. It is not about the bike it is about hope and knowledge and uniting with other survivors.  I will continue to LiveSTRONG. 

Dee

Every Day is a Blessing!