Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

A Decade of Advocacy

It is surreal for me to think that I have been an advocate and sharing my story of cervical cancer for ten years.  I say this because after treatment, I just wanted to stay quiet.  Not talk about the whole ordeal and just move forward.

I am sure many survivors feel this way after treatment, but I have also met many that are very vocal about every single step of their journey.  I was not one of them.  I do not have any documentation about my journey.  The only thing I have are 35 hospital bracelets for each time I had a radiation treatment.  

It wasn’t until four months after treatment that my brother insisted on doing a cervical cancer walk. A coincidence? Perhaps. I will never know.  At first, I did not want to do it, but he insisted so much that I gave in. 

Walk to Beat the Clock – NYC

On September 19, 2009, at the Walk to Beat the Clock, I met Tamika Felder, a cervical cancer survivor and the founder of Tamika and Friends, which later rebranded to Cervivor.  That day I met other survivors as well.  They were sharing their cervical cancer stories.  These stories were similar to mine and told with such heart, passion and confidence.

First time meeting Tamika

I was in awe.  I was inspired and motivated but most importantly I did not feel alone anymore.  At that moment, I made a decision that I wanted to join the cause and the movement. I wanted to share my own story and let other women know that my journey did not have to be theirs and that they were not alone. 

My mission became even clearer when Tamika invited me to a Latino Summit in Washington D.C. It was there that I learned the statistics between cervical cancer and Latinas. 

To be able to share my own story I needed to be authentic, open and be able to deliver it with an open heart.  Tamika said to me at the very beginning “always tell your story from your heart, because when it comes from the heart people listen.” I have applied this statement to the hundreds of times I have told my story and I still do.  

First radio interview

I still remember the first time I told my story. It was March 28, 2010 and it was a radio interview in Spanish for 95.9 FM El Poder Latino (The Latino Power).  I was so nervous, my heart was pounding, but I remembered what Tamika had told me to do and I spoke from the heart.

On January 25, 2014, I attended the first Cervivor School, which took place in New York City.  Cervivor School is a life-changing event. It is empowering, informational, educational and inspirational.  We also get to share our views, our stories, our concerns, our goals, our obstacles and our strengths.  It is so important that survivors who become advocates are educated and informed with the latest facts to be able to bring the proper message forward. 

It has been a journey of highs and lows.  The reality of things is that not everyone is going to be interested in listening to your story or anything you have to say and this had to be OK with me. I did not let this discourage me.  As advocates, we set to save the world. Unfortunately, I came to the realization that I cannot save the world, I cannot even save New York City, where I reside, but if my message gets to one person in the crowd, I have completed my mission. 

Through the years, there have been many ways I have advocated: free cervical cancer screening events, health fairs and interviews with different media outlets. Not every presentation or interview has been perfect, but I can honestly say that I never did it for the accolades.  I do it to educate women that need to know that this cancer is preventable and treatable if found early.  We lose over 4000 women every year in the United States alone. These women were someone’s wife, aunt, daughter, mother, grandmother and their lives matter.

I am very proud of the work I do as an advocate and I am humbled to say that my advocacy work has been recognized.  

New York City Proclamation

All the work has been important to me, but I hold two events dear to my heart. The first is the proclamation for my advocacy, given to me by the New York City Council on January 10, 2015. This was one of the proudest moments of my advocacy world. 

Lasker Awards with Dr. Lowy

The other was being invited to the Lasker Awards  in 2017 where I met Dr. Douglas R. Lowy and Dr. John T. Schiller, the two scientists that were the recipients of that year’s  award for their technological advances enabling the development of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine which prevents cervical cancer and other tumors.  So proud that my story was featured in their submitted video. 

My advocacy journey has brought me full circle.  Today I lead a survivor fitness group as the Cervivor Wellness Instructor.  Survivor Slimdown is a Facebook group open to ALL CANCER SURVIVORS.  It is a space for inspiration, motivation and accountability as we learn to navigate our way to health after a cancer diagnosis.

I must say that the best part of my advocacy has been meeting my wonderful and inspirational Cervivor sisters.  Every single one of them has a story that matters.  Stories that show resilience, courage and strength.  Unfortunately, many of them are no longer here, but we keep them in our hearts.  We honor them by continuing to share their stories and legacies because they did make a difference. 

We all bond with the same mission to end cervical cancer and to make our generation the last one to fight this disease.

Advocacy in action!

My heartfelt thanks to Tamika Felder and the Cervivor organization for giving me a voice and a platform to share my story. This organization has supported me on my way back.  They have also supported so many other women fighting and surviving this disease. I will never feel alone again.

Patti is a Cervivor Ambassador and Cervivor’s Wellness Instructor who manages our Survivor Slimdown Facebook group. She is a retired NYPD police officer and an 11 year cervical cancer survivor. She resides in NYC with her husband of 21 years where she’s a Group Fitness Instructor and a Health Advocate.

Breathe in Self-love, Exhale Gratitude

These words will be in the forefront of my mind as I continue through Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.  We welcomed Deb Jennings of Sounds for the Soul to lead us in our first Self-Care Sunday session. It was a self-guided meditation with singing bowls, flutes, and chimes. I’ve had some experience with meditation and used to practice it quite frequently. However, like most things in 2020, I fell out of habit.

Starting the session, I was eager, slightly nervous, yet super excited. I haven’t hosted many virtual events in my lifetime. I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to relax but I would quickly be proven wrong. In fact, I was not expecting my body to react the way it did in today’s session. 

Deb started in with her singing bowl and what felt like a gentle nudge into a guided meditation. A few minutes passed by as we were breathing in a self-love affirmation and breathing out another affirmation of gratitude.There were several pitches and frequencies starting to awaken my heart and my mind. My body was resting. I was overcome by a chill as we welcomed in the helping energy of our higher selves. It was then I heard the sound of a flute and a beautiful song voice. The mantra stated, “I release control and surrender to the flow of love that will heal me.” It was exactly what I needed in that moment. I felt the tears welling up, pooling, then releasing a stream ever so gently down my face. Relief, probably the first I have felt that in many months and I’m not the only one.

Re’gina, a cervical cancer survivor located in Wisconsin shares, “This session also allowed me to remember a place I loved as a child, fond memory of San Bernardino mountains, Lyttle creek, pine trees, river rocks and mountain water… ahh. I’ll be keeping this memory alive for future meditation and happy placeness.”

Lorie, another cervical cancer survivor located in Michigan shares, “Her soothing voice, emotive language, and sound bowls brought me to a place of peace, so much so that I liked her page immediately when the session ended. The moderator and guide made my morning more peaceful.”

As you can see, spiritual things are felt and experienced when we give ourselves permission to receive those messages. Some trigger a release of emotions we didn’t know were even there. We cannot ignore the incredible messages embedded into Deb’s guided meditation, the ones that resonated with our community were anywhere from self-love and gratitude to forgiveness and healing and last but not least, leaning into our community for support.

Sunday evening proved to be yet another important lesson in self-care, love, and gratitude for many who attended. Cervical cancer survivor and yoga/meditation teacher, Tara Casagrande, led a candlelight foot scrub and meditation.  It was the perfect way to round out a self-care Sunday.

Tara’s words were effective.  She explained the root chakra and its connection to the area where the cervix is located.  Tara emphasized how this small act of self-compassion could have a lasting impact.  She taught us how to appreciate the relationship between one’s self and their feet.  It was imperative to understand just how much work they’ve been through in the past year.  This was a moment to give appreciation and gratitude for them. 

Tamika, Cervivor founder and 19-year survivor, described the sensory experience from the texture of the scrub, to the warmth and the wetness of the water, and then catching the sweet, familiar scent of vanilla. She is adding the mantra of the evening into her daily affirmations: “I feel safe.  I’m at home in my body.”

Tasha, a cervical cancer survivor in Florida, stated how before the COVID pandemic hit, it was a regular thing for her and her daughter to go have spa days.  She has made a goal to practice the self-care routine once a week with her daughter using the recipe provided.  She also enjoyed playing some smooth jazz while unwinding during the event.  In her own words, “I love it!”

Emily, a cervical cancer survivor in Iowa says, “I didn’t have the ingredients for this scrub tonight, but I went through the motions anyways and it felt like a foot massage. Connecting with my feet and my toes, it felt good. A few weeks from now when I’m with my parents, I can see my mom and I sitting on the edge of the bathtub and doing this together as a little foot massage/girl time.”

Self-care is not selfish. In fact, without experiences like this to make us more self-aware, we often jeopardize our health and well-being while running ourselves ragged. Most of us that know how hard we can be on our own self.  We can be our own worst critics, but we need to allow some grace.  We see the incredible emotional support we receive every day within our community, and we want to encourage all of us to take it a step further. Let’s hold each other accountable in developing good habits including self-care.  

Stay tuned as we have more opportunities throughout the month of January with our Wellness Wednesdays and our virtual Pap Rally & Run. Join us and treat yourself to some self-care!

Morgan Newman is a metastatic cervical cancer survivor, a Cervivor Ambassador, the 2018 Cervivor Champion recipient, 2019 Iowa American Cancer Society Action Network advocate and the 2020 Advocate of the Year by Above & Beyond Cancer.