Here our the stories the struggles and triumphs of some of the patients whom are in need of our and your  assistance. All contributions go to these individuals who desperately need your help! Help save a life, from this potentially deadly disease! No one deserves to be in this type of pain, and agony for any amount of time. Being uninsured, or in need of financial assistance only makes the battle that much harder. I have learned from these patients, that the strongest women may come from the weakest bodies. The cancer may be in them, but they are NOT giving up with out a fight. Help them win their battle, donate today. 

www.giveforward.org/nonprofitcharity

Patient: Tara Durr

I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer 2 months after my 27th birthday in January of 2009. I could never have imagined what has happened to my life since. In one day I went from being a carefree 27 yr old to being handed close to the worse news possible. I woke up with severe pain in my left rib area. The pain got worse with every breath but I didn’t pay too much attention to it. I got ready and went to work hoping the pain would go away and when it hadn’t let up by lunch I went to the walk in area of my doctor’s office. I had been sick a few weeks before so I thought maybe I had walking pneumonia. I wish that was the case. My doctor’s office couldn’t find an obvious cause for my pain and my x-ray was fine so they sent me to the hospital for a CT. I almost turned around and just went back to work, thinking it was a pulled muscle or something that would get better on its own but I had a meeting I work I really didn’t want to sit through so I went on to get the CT. They had to do the CT twice because the technician thought he saw “something” but the first scan wasn’t low enough. After the second scan the technician told me that my doctor would be in touch and to go “enjoy the day because life’s too short.” Thinking back that should have been my first clue it was something big. I went back to work and waited for my doctor to call. Finally at 5:30 as I was walking in the door from work, my phone rang. They told me not to come alone but to come as soon as I could and to pack a bag for a possible hospital admission. I was scared beyond belief. I was in hysterics as I called my mother to come take me to the doctor since I couldn’t go alone. Everything after that is kind of a blur but I remember her saying cancer, and that it has spread to multiple areas. She referred me to a Gyn Oncologist at UVA Medical Center and within four days I was at UVA meeting the doctor and discussing my options. I was told I needed to have a full hysterectomy. I hadn’t even considered having kids yet but now this would never be an option for me.  I scheduled surgery, which went well until I acquired MRSA and a pulmonary embolism and was hospitalized for 2 weeks. I was able to start chemo 6 weeks after surgery and opted to try intraperitoneal chemo in which the drugs are drained directly into the abdomen through a port I had in my rib area. After three cycles I developed a severe staph infection and was hospitalized for 9 more days. While in the hospital, a scan showed that my chemo was not working. The cancer was coming back and had spread to my lungs and liver. It is very unusual for OVCA to spead outside of the abdomen and when it does it is very serious. We switched chemo drugs to try to find something that would work. We tried, and tried and it seemed like nothing would ever slow down this cancer that was taking over my body. In October of 2009 I was given my death sentence. I was told if we could not slow this cancer down that I had 6-18 months. I think I tried my best to ignore that those words were ever said and pushed to try something new. My doctor suggested Avastin, which isn’t approved to OVCA but I had nothing to loose to try it. After 3 treatments I learned it was working! It was actually shrinking my cancer! It was renewed hope for me to keep pushing to live. I have been on Avastin ever since and it is slowly loosing its effectiveness but I have learned not to give up hope.

 Through this entire process I had to stop working. The treatments took too much out of me and I slept a lot for the first 6-8 months. Since I had no income my house went into foreclosure and my car was repossessed. I was forced to move in with relatives. The financial toll it takes on you is the last thing you want to worry about and during the time I needed the most stability my life was turned upside down and I lost the comfort of home. I lost my insurance and being young with no children makes you ineligible for any government benefits. My Avastin chemo treatment cost $16,000 every 3 weeks and my blood thinner medication, which I will need for life, costs $3000 a month. That doesn’t include money needed to live life with the basic necessities. I hear that you can’t put a price tag on the cost of life but all drug companies do. The stress that bills and the lack of money put on a person only adds to the horrible reality of living with cancer puts on you. Money is the last thing cancer patients should have to worry about and knowing that there are people out there like Ashley Ratcliff and the Ovarian Cancer Patient Charity Project that want to make our lives a little easier lets me know I am not alone in my struggle. I may have cancer but cancer sure as h*l! doesnt have me! 



Patient Name: Christine Raines

Well, I really don't know what else to tell you that you already don't know I am 38 years old.
I was diagnoised in June of 2009 with Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer. I had a fusion of my C3 & C4,disks in
my neck in Nov. 2008. After the surgery everything was great no more pain but, I begin to have really
bad headaches and I was tired all the time. I consulted an Internist in Jan. 09. he said it was probably
nothing but, let's do an MRI and get a second opinion with my OBGYN. I was so relieved when my OBGYN
told me there was nothing to worry about,after all he had also done my total hysterectomy back in 2001 
so I trusted in him after all he had went back and checked the previous pathology report, and it was all good.
I still remained so tired, and I was eating half of what I usually ate but, I was not loosing any weight.
So I consulted my Internist again, he sent me to another OBGYN who had found several small tumors and 1 large
tumor in my OMENTUM. so he wanted to do surgery in June 2009, to remove the large one he thought he could get to.
So in June 2009 I under went the knife.
After surgery he came up to me and said it's Cancer I just told your family, there will be an Oncologist contacting you.
He was very cold. I was in disbelieve,still trying to come out of anistisia.
By the time I got up to my room my whole family was in tears.
All I could do was asure them I was goin to beat this, I started my first round of Chemo in Aug. 2009 in Oct 2009 
the tumors had not shrunk and 1 tripled in size so in Nov, 2009 we went a different route I found an OBGYN to go in
and do a Debulking surgery. She removed all 6 tumors. With the help of 9 doctors in the room.
I am now taking medication and so far so good no tumors in 11 months.
I still do CT scans every 3 months. They will come back there is a 100 percent chance of this the longest any one has ever lived with this disease in Jon Bonna Ramsey's mother at 14 years and she died I have had this since 2003-2004 the doctors believe.
MY advise is NO ONE knows your body better than you do so if 1 doctor doesn't do what you need keep going there is someone out there that will listen...
My Oncologist, and Urologist are great and have restored my faith in doctors again. There are good days and there are bad days,(sometimes more bad than good).  an  if all of this is not bad enough  getting fired from a job that I have worked at for 14 years is. So I take 1 day at a time, and we pray alot more in this house than we use to. I just want to live long enogh to see my grandchildren some day.
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Thanks for reading and caring enough to donate. This is truly a silent killer..                                   Christine


Patient Name: Sherrill Anderson

I have been diagnosed with cancer in my abdominal area.  They say they can't  operate.  We are doing alternative medicine therapies.  We are struggling financially because my husband has to take care of me pretty much 24/7.  He does some part time work here and there, but we are relying on help from people.  The donations are drying up here
so I don't know what we will do then. 

I applied for disability & medi-cal in July, but they denied the medi-cal and disability can take a long time to get things done. Any help we can get
would be appreciated to help pay for rent, food, bills, etc.  

Thank you for your concern.  Attached is a picture showing my condition.
Sherrill Anderson


More Patients Names and Ages/ Story Currently Not Available For Public Reading

* Sherrill A.-55 Currently Homeless. In serious need of financial assistance! 
* Karen Geilen-39
* Donna Stewart-Age 52
* Margaret Reed- Age 4
* Donna Kay Poston- Age 49
* Nora Lanchance-52
* Candace Drake-52
* Mechelle Adams-43
* Mary Anderson-51
* Tammy J. Willeford- 52
* Marrissa Riceford- Age 22
* Anabelle Ramos- Age 17
* Amber Miliiano- Age 19
* Candace Marks- Age 22
* Ashley Romano-- Age 24
* Cecilia Carmichael- Age 30
* Tatyana Ambrosse- Age 13

To sponsor these patients or for more Information on these patients and stories send request to ocpcp@aol.com.

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