I haven't written a blog post in quite some time. It seems that life got in the way of my writing. Then, once I had time, I couldn't seem to find the spark to get me writing, until yesterday.
We were heading out to an appointment and set up Carplay to use Waze on the built in screen in my husband's car. That got me thinking about how I found my way to different places when I first learned how to drive. This was many years ago, so what follows might not make much sense to some of my readers and for others - yes, we are that old!
I would ask my Dad for one of his ESSO road maps. I'd look up the street coordinates and using the rows and columns, find my destination. Then I would plan my route. I'd usually write down the directions - Take Route 22 till Route 82 and go north etc. I would bring those notes in the car with me and off I went. I tried to gauge how long it would take based on how far away my destination was. If there was road work I'd just have to hope they had detour signs telling me where to go. And if there was traffic, I'd just sit in it. I wouldn't take other roads because I wasn't sure if they would take me closer or further from destination.
Yesterday process for directions was different. We plugged in the address in the app and the screen in the car highlighted our route in blue on a map as a voice gave us directions. The screen showed us our speed and our arrival time. As we drove, I saw so many other Waze users ( cute little icons)
close to our route. Most were getting on or off the NJ Turnpike. Then the app gave us notifications about two cars on the shoulder of the road. These notifications came way before we even saw the vehicles. This happens because other Waze users tell the app they just passed a disabled car on the shoulder or they saw a police car. The app also told us how far it was to our next turn. And soon it told us we had arrived at our destination on the right.
Now you might ask why am I talking about directions and traffic alert applications. What did this have to do with cancer? Over the past 20 years, I have gone from reading books about ovarian cancer, seeing brochures about peer support programs in my gyn oncs office and looking at flyers about support groups on the bulletin board in the waiting room. Just like using a paper map to find a location.
Today, I read published journal articles about ovarian cancer online the day they are published. I interact with fellow survivors and health care professionals on various social media platforms from Inspire and Smart Patients to Facebook, X and BlueSky. The ability to find support and information online is like those fellow Waze drivers giving me an update of traffic ahead. Those drivers have already experienced the traffic accident and can warn me of what lies ahead. Just as there are fellow cancer survivors who can act as a "driver" to tell me what side effects to expect when in chemo, what it is like being in a clinical trial or how important it is to have genetic testing.
I know we do have cancer centers and organizations that offer resources and support such as OCRA, FWC, SHARE, FORCE, Cancer Hope Network, and others. But are those resources readily available to all women with a gynecologic cancer as easily as those drivers on Waze can warn me of cars on the shoulder? Or are women turning to AI or Dr Google to find answers? We all know that some sources can be misleading and offer solutions that may even be harmful.
So lets all make an effort to have information available for women diagnosed with gyn cancers and make sure that information is from reliable and accurate sources. We can help "drive " and support the experience of women with cancer.
Dee
Every Day is a Blessing
