About

mom-and-i-ocnaYour browser may not support display of this image.My name is Donna Blankenship and I am a daughter of Ovarian Cancer.. I wish with all my heart that I did not have this title behind my name, but I have grown to accept this fate and even have strength and pride in this title. I grew up as an only child and the love of my mother and father’s lives. From day one my mother loved and cared for me in an over and above kind of way. She was completely devoted to all that was important to me and my life, past, present and future. Like most mother daughter relationships we had our years filled with tension and stress upon our relationship, however those walls broke down when I had a daughter of my own. With the diagnosis of ovarian cancer we became as close as we have ever been. I became her caregiver, shoulder to cry on and constant companion throughout her journey with the disease.

When I lost my mother to the disease I know that her fight was not over. I know that I must continue to advocate for change in the current state of this disease. I am inspired by the memory of my mother and the future for my daughter. I encourage all women who care about women’s issues and the future of health reform to join me in this fight for change for the next generation.

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  • Facts

    Every hour, approximately 10 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer such as ovarian, cervical, and uterine cancers. Each year, we lose over 26,000 of our mothers, sisters, daughters and friends to one of these terrible cancers. This is a tragedy. Research shows that many of those deaths could be prevented if more women knew the risk factors and recognized the early symptoms of gynecologic cancers so that they could discuss them with their doctors. Ovarian cancer has a 90 percent survival rate if detected in Stage One and only a 20 percent survival rate if detected in Stage Three or Four.

  • Do you recognize some of the common symptoms of ovarian cancer?

    * Pressure or bloating in your abdomen
    * Constant and progressive changes in bowel or bladder patterns
    * Persistent digestive problems
    * Ongoing excessive fatigue
    * Abnormal bleeding

Your Mother is Always with You

She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street.

She’s the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks.

She’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re not well.

Your mother lives inside your laughter.

She’s crystallized in every tear drop.

She’s the place you came from, your first home.

She’s the map you follow with every step you take.

She’s your first love and your first heartbreak.

And nothing on earth can separate you.

Not time, Not space, Not even death will ever separate you from your mother.

Torch

She hoped, She had dreams, she had wishes.

She thought, she pondered, she feared, she asked, she waited, she prayed, she heard, she froze, she wept, she grieved.

I wept, I grieved, I feared, I loved.

We clenched our fists, we loved harder, we laughed more, we prayed more, we sang louder, we sang louder, we cried often, we fought the good fight, we learned how to live.

I will remember, I will fight, I will stand, I will ask, I will demand, I will honor, I will preserve a life that had much left to live.

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