Ovarian Cancer Walk! Sponsor Me! Sponsor Me!

In honor of my dear Mama, I am going to walk in the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA) Silent No More 9th Annual Walk/Run on September 13th. My mother was diagnosed on September 6, 2007 and boy have our lives changed since then. My Mom has been through SO much in the past 11 months. I cry just thinking about it all. Seriously. Anytime I ponder it, I start tearing up! You just never believe THAT word will affect YOUR family. I remember the SHOCK I felt about my Dad's cancer. The shock was twice as bad about my Mama, because there was such little hope floating around. Stage IIIc out of 4 stages, words like "inoperable", survival rates, etc. But the Lord is in charge and HE has seen my Mama (and all of us) through.

Ovarian cancer has been called a silent killer because the symptoms are often things we experience as women anyway:
- Bloating Pelvic or abdominal pain
- Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly
- Feeling a frequent or urgent need to urinate

ONE OF MY GOALS IS TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THIS DEADLY DISEASE, FOR WOMEN TO BE AWARE OF THE SYMPTOMS SO THAT MAYBE ONE MORE LIFE CAN BE SPARED. It is better to get checked and find out that it is nothing than to "put up and shut up".

Also, it was so hard for my Mom to tell something was wrong because she was having many bladder infections which cause the same symptoms as listed above! Her surgery to move a tube (in the wrong place since birth) is how they found her cancer. However, I noticed something was wrong before that. I attributed it to the aforementioned problem, but looking back, I wish I had pushed for more. If you notice something is off, don't excuse it.

If you live locally and would like to walk with me and be a part of "TEAM PAULINE", registration is $20 and that includes a t-shirt and quality time with me! I am not a runner, so I will be WALKING the 2K part, not running the 5K part. We can walk slow! It isn't a race! So think about joining me.

My other goal is for "TEAM PAULINE" to get to the $500 mark. If you would like to sponsor me, I will collect your pledge personally (make checks out to MOCA); you can mail it to MOCA, 4604 Chicago Avenue SouthMinneapolis, MN 55407; or you can do it directly here, whatever is easiest for you. Just make sure you enter Pauline Wilson under the "WHO SHOULD THIS DONATION BE PLEDGED TO?" part on the website or include a note that it is to be pledged to her if you mail it in.

The money generated from Silent No More helps Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA) will:

- Fund ovarian cancer research
-Raise awareness of the disease through medical education programs and awareness campaigns
-Provide support to women with ovarian cancer and their families

1 in 57 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer. For more facts, click here.

I am doing this post in TEAL as that is the color of the ovarian cancer ribbon :) Thank you for your consideration and PLEASE! Be grateful for your health today!