Toledoans walk to raise awareness for ovarian cancer

Courtesy of Christine Valentine

Pictured are some survivors who participated in last year’s Ovarian Cancer walk.

In recognition of ovarian cancer awareness month, Ovarian Cancer Connections and the University of Toledo’s Medical Center are providing the community with a chance to support the cause.

The OCC’s 11th-Annual Ellen Jackson Ovarian Cancer Walk, presented by Buckeye Cable System, will be held Saturday, Sept. 19, at UTMC’s Eleanor N. Dana Cancer Center.

According to Christine Valentine, member of OCC and a graduate of UT’s nursing program, OCC is a local non-profit organization that raises awareness about ovarian cancer and offers financial assistance to women with ovarian cancer who are undergoing treatment.

“My passion for spreading awareness about the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer comes from friends and the many patients I have taken care of as a registered nurse and as a certified nurse practitioner,” Valentine said.

Two of Valentine’s very good friends and fellow nurses passed away from ovarian cancer.

“Less than one year after we became nurses, she [Sharon Goodell] was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer at the age of 33,” Valentine said. “Another friend, Kristine Faykosh, was a LPN who I worked with in my first nursing job. A couple years later, at the age of 25, she was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer.”

Goodell and Faykosh were 40 years old and 29 years old, respectively, when they lost their battles with ovarian cancer.

Valentine said ovarian cancer survivors find this walk to be a great way to show their support and to raise awareness.

“I am very grateful. I try to do as much as I can with the Ovarian Cancer Society; they’ve helped me out in so many ways,” said Alexandria Kuznicki, a seven-year cancer survivor and a member of OCC.

Kuznicki was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer when she was 15 years old.

“I didn’t attend the walk until I turned 18; I think it was partially because I wasn’t accepting of it [her cancer] for a long time,” Kuznicki said. “My first year there was very, very hard for me because no one really believed me because I was so young.”

Even with the obstacles she faced, Kuznicki said she was able to make it through high school with a lot of help from her teachers and she is very thankful for all that OCC has done.

Tiffany Johnson, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2014 said OCC and the walk itself both made her journey a little easier.

“Because [her cancer] was an aggressive and rare form of ovarian cancer, I needed a stem cell transplant,” Johnson said. “In the next few months, I went through fertility appointments, meeting with doctors in Columbus, Ohio for the transplant and getting my port placed for chemotherapy.”

Johnson said OCC checked on her regularly and donated gas cards to her and her husband for the long trips to Columbus.

Johnson could not attend the walk last year because her health was too poor, but she had friends who attended.

“It’s very humbling to see a community join together for a great cause and origination,” Johnson said. “It’s very important to get the information about ovarian cancer out there and talked about.”

Registration for the walk will begin at 8 a.m. and the opening ceremony is to begin at 9:30 a.m.

A public reception featuring the artist will be held on Thursday, Sept. 17 from 5:30 until 9 p.m.