One month after my 21st birthday, and just before I was scheduled to begin my senior year at Ohio State University, I was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma. My whole world was turned upside down. I was paralyzed by uncertainty and fear, with a focus on surviving.
Little did I know that treatment was just the first of many hurdles. I was equally unprepared for the challenges that I would face after completing treatment as I attempted to resume the normal activities of life. I struggled to communicate with my family about how devastated I was by both the physical and emotional impact of cancer. I questioned my faith, lost friends who couldn’t handle the severity of my diagnosis and wondered if I would ever return to an active, healthy life.
As I look back on the 7 years since my diagnosis, I am more grateful than ever to have life. I am still young in years on earth, but wise beyond my years in life experiences. I value relationships like I never did before cancer and know with absolute certainty that the rest of my story, cancer or no cancer, is being written by my all-knowing, loving heavenly father who offers me a hope that nothing in this world can compare to.
1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime – a staggering statistic that affects each one of us. As an “orphan cancer,” sarcoma rarely receives the attention it deserves in the research community. Together we can change that. I am alive today because of the expertise and care of an amazing team of doctors and nurses at The James. Through the Steps for Sarcoma event, we all have the opportunity to be a part of helping to eradicate this devastating disease. Join with me and the doctors and researchers at the OSUCCC-James, to find new treatments – and one day a cure for sarcoma patients everywhere.
-Mary Connolly, sarcoma survivor
Little did I know that treatment was just the first of many hurdles. I was equally unprepared for the challenges that I would face after completing treatment as I attempted to resume the normal activities of life. I struggled to communicate with my family about how devastated I was by both the physical and emotional impact of cancer. I questioned my faith, lost friends who couldn’t handle the severity of my diagnosis and wondered if I would ever return to an active, healthy life.
As I look back on the 7 years since my diagnosis, I am more grateful than ever to have life. I am still young in years on earth, but wise beyond my years in life experiences. I value relationships like I never did before cancer and know with absolute certainty that the rest of my story, cancer or no cancer, is being written by my all-knowing, loving heavenly father who offers me a hope that nothing in this world can compare to.
1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime – a staggering statistic that affects each one of us. As an “orphan cancer,” sarcoma rarely receives the attention it deserves in the research community. Together we can change that. I am alive today because of the expertise and care of an amazing team of doctors and nurses at The James. Through the Steps for Sarcoma event, we all have the opportunity to be a part of helping to eradicate this devastating disease. Join with me and the doctors and researchers at the OSUCCC-James, to find new treatments – and one day a cure for sarcoma patients everywhere.
-Mary Connolly, sarcoma survivor
