What People Say About BWC
My Illness and My Family
In March 2005 I was diagnosed with stage III C ovarian cancer.
My initial surgery was exactly three years ago on April 26, 2005.
The surgery went well as I was told they found all of the cancer.
I began chemotherapy six weeks later and endured a six-month regimen of three very strong agents.
I experienced all of the typical side effects; nausea, hair loss (I was a cute baldie) and no appetite.
But the worst was extreme nerve pain in my legs and feet.
To this day I have neuropathy in my feet from the initial round of Taxol.
I don’t know what I would have done without my family. My mother and father came to MD from PA to take care of me after surgery. My husband misses work to be at every appointment, every treatment. My son and daughter cook, clean, take me shopping and give me many hugs. Extended family send me gifts, great e-mail messages, and many articles about state of the art treatment for cancer-including nutrition, new drugs and new forms of therapy.
These past three years I have had three recurrences of ovarian cancer in a few lymph nodes. I have been on three different chemotherapy cycles and participated in one trial. I have been hospitalized numerous times and have had many ups and downs. I am currently in treatment and am happy to report that I am having some success with the current drug, Doxil. During this time, my family has had serious issues that needed my attention and I tried to balance my home life, family and illness, and at times it has been very difficult for me. But family and friends and the wonderful nurses at the hospital all say that I have a great spirit and a positive outlook. My infusion nurses at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins have even said they voted and agreed that I should get the “Best Patient” award.
Joining the Baltimore Women’s Classic 5K
Before I had cancer, I would never have considered getting involved in something like the BWC; funny how one’s outlook can change.
On one of my initial doctor visits after my surgery, my husband and I were waiting in the doctor’s office and he happened to pick up a flyer advertising the BWC.
We briefly discussed it there and commented on what a wonderful thing it was to raise money for gynecological cancers.
After we got home, he e-mailed all of his family members and asked if they wanted to help “save women’s lives.”
The response was an overwhelming “YES.”
So in 2005, my daughter, two of my sisters-in-law, and four nieces all formed team “Kutzclan” for our first endeavor with the BWC.
My husband, son, brothers-in-law, and nephews all worked as volunteers.
One of my nieces designed our “Kutzclan” logo, a hibiscus flower with a teal ribbon, and we all had T-shirts made to wear on this special day.
We loved our first race and decided to make it a yearly event.
In 2006, another sister-in-law was able to join our team, and in 2007 we added two cousins to the team. Since we are all so competitive, we created our own family awards, such as Best Time (out of our family), the Money Bags award for the one who raises the most in pledge donations, and the Helping Hands award, for the one who does the most at home to ensure we are fed, on time to the race, and of course the clean-up! In 2006 and 2007 we did a bang-up job collecting donations and won the award for the team that collected the most pledges. In February we enjoyed using our award at “Little Havana” restaurant in Baltimore when we had an occasion to have the family together again. This year our goal is to raise $5000.00, and while it is nice to win an award, that is not the reason we set this goal.
Embracing the BWC
I believe my family originally wanted to take part in the BWC because the goal is to raise funds for ovarian and uterine cancer and they wanted to do this in support of me.
But after seeing them in the actual 5K race, I saw something else develop in each family member.
I think they realized how important women’s health and fitness is to all of us.
One sister-in-law has since participated in other 5K races in Pennsylvania where she lives.
Another has become a fitness trainer for senior citizens in New Jersey and has worked even harder at maintaining her own physical fitness.
My niece has also started running marathons with “Team in Training” to raise money for leukemia and other blood cancers.
In January 2008 she ran her first 26.2-mile marathon at the Epcot Center in Disney World.
So while the BWC has benefited others by raising necessary funds, it has also benefited my family by raising our own health awareness.
I have not been in any type of physical condition to participate in the BWC 5K, so in 2005 and 2006 I was a spectator cheering on my family. In 2007 I joined our awesome men volunteers and helped in the running of the volunteer check-in station. In 2008, I plan to actually try to walk as much as I can of the race course with a little help from my friends. Many nieces and my sister-in-law, Susan, offered to walk with me no matter how slow I am and then push me in a wheel chair as needed. I guess this may be cheating a little, but for me to be able to complete a mile or so of the course will be a tremendous accomplishment.
I support the BWC for many reasons.
I support it for family reasons.
We all gather at my house in Gambrills, Md., and have a wonderful weekend of family togetherness, swimming, partying and of course volunteering and participating at the Baltimore Women’s Classic.
I support the BWC for women’s health awareness and fitness.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and healthy weight greatly lowers a woman’s chance of developing many cancers.
I support it for my daughter, for her own health, fitness and cancer awareness.
Since my ovarian cancer is a family heredity issue, I am obviously concerned for her future.
Raising awareness and funds for programs will help in the fight against this “silent killer” so maybe my daughter won’t have to face what I and many aunts did.
And I support the BWC for me and other women like me with gynecological cancers. Funding for research and programs is necessary for educating women of the early signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. We don’t want this disease to afflict our future generation. There are new drugs being developed every day that can and will prolong our survival time. Without grants from charities and philanthropy, we wouldn’t have trials to participate in or new meds to take away the nausea that my aunts had to endure. With funding, research, education and programs for women...
There is hope.
—Lori Kutzko