EyesOnThePrize.org Press Room
National Cervical Cancer Month (USA) release
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE January 9, 2001
CANCER SURVIVORS
THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA UNITE TO ESTABLISH NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION TO
SUPPORT WOMEN WITH GYNECOLOGIC CANCER
No matter how
much family and friends love and care for you, if they haven’t
walked the walk, there is absolutely no way that they can understand
what is going on…
EOTP saved my
sanity and let me recognize that I was feeling the same anger and frustration
that goes with the territory...
I am so thankful
for this site and for the unbelievable love and support that you give.
I don’t know what I would do without all of you. You are all helping
to keep my head "above water"…
--
users’ comments regarding EyesOnThePrize.org web site
PITTSBURGH –
Motivated by their experience with gynecologic cancer, 10 women living
throughout North America recently united to form a non-profit organization
as a one-stop-shop of information and support for women who find their
fertility, femininity, and very lives threatened by reproductive cancer
and its treatment.
Last year, more
than 77,000 women in this country received an unexpected diagnosis: cancer
of a reproductive organ. This means that on average, one woman in the
United States is diagnosed with gynecologic cancer ever seven minutes.
While these types
of cancer – cervical, endometrial/uterine, ovarian, vulvar, vaginal,
tubal and gestational – are rarely discussed, they affected more
women than lung cancer (74,600 women diagnosed in 2000) and colon cancer
(50,400 women diagnosed in 2000).*
Susan Donley of
Oakmont, Pa. -- who serves as president of EyesOnThePrize.org –-
explains, "Newly diagnosed cancer patients want information, but
even more than that, they want to hear the voices of other women's experiences
and that is what makes EyesOnThePrize.org unique among other cancer sites.
By uniting survivors of all cancers, we create a stronger community."
We saw a need to
provide a welcoming place for women to share experiences and gather information.
So much of what we suffer is similar in its devastation, regardless of
what kind of gynecologic cancer it is," says Donley. "We knew
women with these cancers were searching for quality information and support,
because that's what we were looking for and couldn't find it. So working
from all corners of North America, we created it and the response so far
has been overwhelming!"
More than 11,000
individuals have visited the web site each since its launch in May 2000.
The most popular
features of the site include the "My Story" section where women
share their cancer journeys in written memoirs. In the "FAQ"
section, survivors offer answers to "Frequently Asked Questions"
from their own unique experiences, giving multiple personal perspectives.
"Resources" points the way to hard-to-find information on the
web and in libraries and bookstores. Visitors who join the email discussion
list get their dose of warm daily support from other members who are ready
to share laughs, tears, and hard-won knowledge of living with cancer.
The most recent addition, "In Your Community," provides a searchable
database of local gynecologic cancer support groups.
Managed entirely
by the 10 survivor-volunteers, without formal sponsorship or funding,
EOTP has succeeded in providing emotional support and information for
women living with gynecologic cancer. By incorporating as a non-profit
organization, EyesOnThePrize.org founders hope to raise funds to expand
their support and advocacy activities.
The organization’s
founders – separated by thousands of miles between Maine and California,
Ontario and Alberta – met on an Internet support list in 1998 and
1999.
"We see the
benefit of fostering partnerships between professional medical organizations
and EyesOnThePrize.org as the voice of women who are living with these
cancers that hit below the belt. It’s just common sense," states
co-founder Cathy Black of Hamilton, Ontario. "We know that by combining
our voices we can make ourselves be heard."
EyesOnThePrize.org
was named in honor of Beverly, a fellow cancer sister who lost her life
in 1999. She closed her email messages with the expression "keeping
my eyes on the prize" as a potent reminder that hope is so important
and that "all of us are in the race together."
###
* source: National
Cancer Institute
CONTACT: Mary
Beth Mueller (412) 351-7702 pr@eyesontheprize.org
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