I was diagnosed with stage 3b colon cancer in August of 2019, age 36, and found COLONTOWN in November of that year. I had felt completely unmoored by my diagnosis and was drowning in the physical, emotional and mental weight of facing cancer as a young mother. Finding COLONTOWN was like being thrown a life-preserver and pulled onto an impressive ship full of experienced and strong sailors. My neighbors in COLONTOWN saw me safely through the darkest period of my life.
By the end of 2020, I had completed COLONTOWN’s Empowered Patient Leader training, built even stronger bonds with my fellow neighbors, and was volunteering as the admin for our “ON THE RIGHT SIDE” neighborhood, specific to those of us whose cancer originates in the right colon. Working with my fellow “righties” has given me purpose in my disease.
My professional experience is an eclectic array of small business management, writing, teaching, designing, marketing, homeschooling, as well as university annual giving and development! I have a B.A. in Humanities from Southern Virginia University. I’m excited to put to work my skills and experience in supporting an organization and mission which I know has the ability to provide patients with support and tools that are life-changing and life-saving.