Morgan Newman

Cervivor School Nashville Was Outstanding

The 13th patient advocacy training known as Cervivor School was held in Music City U.S.A. or better known as Nashville, Tennessee. This was an intimate group, made up of first-time and returning attendees and we hosted some of the most dynamic speakers to educate and empower our 2022 class.

Like any other Cervivor School, we kicked it off with a special Welcome Reception where attendees were able to mingle and get to know each other right off the bat. We heard inspiring words from Heather Banks, Lead Advocacy Educator, and Tamika Felder, Cervivor Founder and Chief Visionary.

Tamika and Heather kicked off the first day with a dedication to and moment of silence for those who have died from their cervical cancer and are no longer able to share their stories. It was a powerful reminder that our mission to end cervical cancer is not over and there is still much work to do. Tamika also shared how putting a human face to cervical cancer is a critical part of our cause and why we should share our stories.

Later we heard from Community Engagement Liaison, Morgan Newman, Lead Cervivor Ambassador, Carol Lacey, and Cervivor Ambassadors, Karla Chavez and Karen North. They shared what it means to be a patient advocate, how they fulfill the role to make an impact, and what advice they have for others in mastering survivorship and advocacy. Then we heard from Michelle Whitlock, author of  “How I Lost My Uterus and Found My Voice,” and how she decided to use her voice after cervical cancer followed by empowerment groups and a session on life during and after treatment with Heather.

Cervivor Ambassadors Carol Lacey and Morgan Newman led an interactive session, Healing Through Writing, in honor of Erica Frazier Stum who thought of and led the session in the years prior. After listening and sharing each others’ creative writing, we ended the day by creating an individualized advocacy action plan to be put in place after leaving Cervivor School.

Day two is our Medical Day where we get the latest and most advanced information on the human papillomavirus (HPV), the HPV vaccine, and cervical cancer screening. We started the day by understanding cervical cancer screening guidelines, the impact of the patient perspective, and how important it is in our advocacy work. It was a great reminder from Dr. Lia Bos that our stories are powerful and when we partner our voices with physicians and clinicians in the field, we leverage our impact even more. We also heard from Andrea Stubbs, MPA, representing our community partner, St. Jude, and their HPV Cancer Prevention Program. She shared her work and provided ideas and information about supporting HPV vaccination efforts so we can powerfully advocate for vaccination as prevention!

We were inspired by Catherine Tyler as she led us through a discussion on living with and through significant illness and treatment while staying true to our aspirations and our authentic selves. And Tamika and Heather helped our attendees practice potential advocacy scenarios, establish advocacy norms, and finalize our advocacy action plans to put in place after leaving Cervivor School.

Lastly, we rounded out the Cervivor School weekend with a graduation ceremony for our attendees and Tamika awarded not one but two Cervivor Champions for 2022!

Jenn Myers
Kimberly Williams

Jenn Myers and Kimberly Williams have both embodied what a Cervivor Champion is.

Jenn is a metastatic and recurrent cervical cancer patient currently undergoing treatment and is still leading and advocating despite it all and Kimberly continuously shares the importance of vaccination and cancer screening when it comes to HPV, cervical cancer, and communities of color.

Our newest Cervivor School graduates are empowered, ready to share their stories, and eager to connect with leaders in their local communities. Team Cervivor cannot wait to see their advocacy in action and how they decide to make their survivorship count!

We would like to extend our gratitude to our Cervivor School Sponsors Hologic, Seagen, Genmab, and Genentech.

Patient Advocates Matter

My cervical cancer story began when I was 24 years old. I had graduated from a local dental assisting program and worked in the field for only a couple of years when I was diagnosed on World Cancer Day 2015. I was completely devastated that cancer was happening to me! I mean, I knew I had a cervix but I was naive to the fact that I could get cancer “there.” And wasn’t it most common for older people, not younger people, to get sick? That’s when I realized how gravely wrong I was. Didn’t I just witness a high school friend succumb to cancer just a year before? She passed away at the young age of 27 and I truly thought that was going to be my destiny. I didn’t know anyone else my age that was going through it.

All throughout my treatment, I placed blame on myself for getting cancer, and even though I felt that deeply, I knew I wanted to do something more to help others. I wanted them to know about cervical cancer and how Planned Parenthood saved my life with their preventive screening services. I wasn’t sure how to start advocating or sharing my story, so I started spreading awareness by handing out little ribbons I made. (Some of my friends still wear them to this day).

If you would have told me back then I would become an award-winning patient advocate, I never would have believed you. You see, I’ve suffered from social anxiety throughout my entire childhood and adult life. It wasn’t until I was finished with cancer treatment that I found out about Cervivor, signed up for Cervivor School, and grew into the patient advocate I am now.

I have been involved with the organization since 2017 and have been presented with some pretty incredible opportunities – including employment by the organization. I started in 2021 when everything had been pretty virtual but this year, in-person events have started happening more frequently. Team Cervivor, consisting of Cervivor Founder, Tamika Felder, and myself, made the decision to attend the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (aka ASCO). As a first-time attendee, I can say I was completely blown away! This event was massive and full of oncology’s leading cancer researchers, clinicians, thought leaders, industry partners, advocates, and so much more!

We kicked off the week-long conference with a breakfast meeting in which we were able to connect with so many people – putting names to faces that we’ve been working with via Zoom meetings and emails for the last few years. We had a constant line of people waiting to talk with us about our work and hear our stories. It could have been the lack of caffeine but it really didn’t hit me until midway through that breakfast – the impact of our work as patient advocates is crucial in the oncology world. This made me even more proud to be working for the organization that gave me my voice.

Dr. Martina Murphy was one of these people who expressed just how important our work is including our Comfort Care & Compassion Program. She says, “Cervical cancer is a disease where we need so much more attention and work. The impact of this group is powerful.”

We continued to attend meeting after meeting and heard a consistent message across the board: we are dedicated to putting equitable patient care as our priority. We heard how patient advocate voices have a seat at the table and how we are leading engagement for some important topics across social media platforms. The realization hit me once again: We make a difference every day. Patient advocates matter.

Now, we made sure to celebrate a little while we were in Chicago too. The Sunday of the conference was a day recognized as National Cancer Survivors Day and we had A LOT to celebrate: Tamika was 21 years cancer free and was given the most exceptional gift and I was just days from officially being 6 years cancer free. We made sure to spend time with some friends and partners – both new and old, to eat incredible food, and to take time to unwind.

It has truly been eye-opening and so rewarding to see the kind of impact my story has had in the last several years. It’s been a lot of hard work and it’s taken time to see the results. But I know it’s not just my story in this. It’s the collective of our stories pushing for the same mission: to end cervical cancer once and for all.

Morgan Newman, MSW, Outside of her Community Engagement Liaison position at Cervivor, you can find Morgan nurturing her relationships with local community partner organizations like the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACSCAN), the Iowa Cancer Consortium, and serving as a board member for Above and Beyond Cancer. Learn more about Morgan at Cervivor.org.