the Mount Kilimanjaro Trek: Hope to New Heights

I am bringing HOPE to New Heights with TEAM TEAL!

This year, I registered for the 2024 Mount Kilimanjaro HOPE TO NEW HEIGHTS trek because I want to raise awareness and funding for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. My support will help improve the lives of women, families and communities touched by ovarian cancer and I need your help. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today in support of my fundraising efforts. Together, we will show there is no limit (or height!) that we will go to help end ovarian cancer.

MY STORY:

I AM GOING TO CLIMB A MOUNTAIN. I am going to start at the very bottom and physically put one foot in front of the other until I reach the summit at 19,341 feet. I will be with a handful of other women whom I've never met, fellow survivors of ovarian cancer. We have different ages and backgrounds, different diagnoses at different stages, and different life stories. But next summer, cancer will bring us together in the most profound way. 

I am so grateful to be chosen by the NOCC as a member of Team Teal for the 2024 Mount Kilimanjaro Trek called HOPE to New Heights. The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC) is a 4-star non-profit organization on a mission to save lives through the prevention and cure of ovarian cancer via funding for advanced research and education. They also have programs in place to improve the quality of life of those diagnosed with ovarian cancer as well as families and caregivers. When I was finally diagnosed with dygerminoma in 2019, I had zero knowledge of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer and had no idea that my annual gynecological physicals and pap smear would not screen for the disease. In hindsight, I had almost every single very vague symptom and the cancer had already spread. We need to do better. 

Some have asked, "Why are you doing this?!" My response is and will always be, "Why NOT do this?! I CAN!!" Over the last four years, I have been NED, have had a recurrence, have had three major surgeries, parted with 6 organs, had three tumors removed, had a bizarre liver toxicity issue, a liver biopsy and have received 22 chemotherapy infusions. I have been weak in a wheelchair and strong enough to complete several triathlons. I have climbed my own metaphorical mountains and the fact that I am a survivor will NEVER be lost on me. Life is precious and short and I will do anything I can to pay it forward. I will climb to provide meals, childcare and transportation for women who need it. I will climb to support our mothers, sisters , daughters, nieces, aunts, and best friends. I will climb for the women who are grieving the loss of their fertility and for the women who will leave us way too soon. 

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today to support the NOCC and my journey above the clouds in the summer of 2024! LET'S DO THIS!!

In this year of great challenges, one even greater challenge remains....saving more lives from ovarian cancer. Dollars raised for the NOCC support national programs and local market initiatives to heighten awareness of the VERY subtle signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer, assist newly-diagnosed patients throughout the country, provide ongoing support to caregivers, and advocate for the advancement of ovarian cancer research. Help me connect with my community and show my passion for saving lives!