March was National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and this year, I didn’t get around to putting up a blog post about it. Yet I did get around to doing some firsthand research. I am fifty-two years old, have a family history of pre-cancerous polyps and was overdue for a colonoscopy. So, I finally got around to scheduling one. For various reasons, I couldn’t get the colonoscopy scheduled until lateMay, but now, I’ve completed my colonoscopy and can write firsthand about…
I found a quote by the poet, Maya Angelou, that I thought suited the beginning of this post. “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes” As we hit the halfway mark of celebrating National Women’s Health Week, I think it is important to keep in mind all of the “she-roes” that are involved within our lives. Each individual has at least one woman in their life that they want to see maintain a…
On April 17, I was lucky enough to attend a Patient Navigation Conference hosted by the Connecticut Cancer Partnership. Along with Marie Yardis, the EDP coordinator at CHC and Corazon Irizarry, a fellow AmeriCorps member, we spent the morning listening to Rian Rodriguez speak about how patient navigation has evolved over the past twenty two years. For me, the concept of patient navigation is very new but was made easy to understand why there was such a high need for…
On Tuesday morning, I had the pleasure of accompanying Marie Yardis, the program manager of CHC’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection program to Hartford to learn more about the current situation behind funding for Early Detection Programs. The CT Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection program provides free mammograms and PAP tests to women who have no health insurance. This particular event was organized by the American Cancer Society to bring different people together, who all have a strong…
Lynda Juda is one of many women who has heard the phrase, “you have cancer”. Most often these words aren’t delivered in the comfort of a home or even with close friend nearby. Usually these words are uttered by medical staff within the walls of a an exam room. It can be a terrifying and lonely feeling. Lynda’s experience was different in that she didn’t feel alone with Rachel DeMarco and the other medical staff she encountered on this journey. She felt their sincere compassion and support from the beginning,…
I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Lynda, a strong, healthy woman dedicated to sharing her breast cancer survival story in order to promote early detection, along with promoting the importance of the mind, body, and spiritual components of healing. You see, Lynda was keenly aware that genetically the odds were against her when it came to the topic of cancer. Lynda’s mother was one of 12 children. Several of her mother’s sister’s, along with their daughters, lost their…