My mother (amongst others) is always kind enough to post a link to my recent entries on Facebook. When she reposted my last entry she summarized it better than I could myself by saying: “Moving on means creating what you need sometimes.” She hit the nail right on the head with that synopsis. High five Mama!

In my last entry, I expressed the need for camaraderie with other young adults facing similar circumstances. I also talked about the need to pay it forward in some way. Here are my developments thus far!:

1.) Camaraderie:

After posting on the StupidCancer Northeast message board I received a lot of feedback from other twenty-somethings looking for a similar experience. I began corresponding with another young woman in Providence and we organized a Stupid Cancer Providence meet up! (Thanks Jocelyn!) I don’t know if the turnout will be big but even if it’s just 3 or 4 people that would still be 3 more people that I didn’t know previously who have the inside perspective on such a unique experience.

That being said, on November 20th, 7pm @ Fat Bellies in downtown Providence, we will be hosting a Stupid Cancer Northeast Meet Up. It is geared toward Rhode Islanders but anyone in Mass or CT that is willing to make the trek is more than willing to come! This will be a casual opportunity for young adults that have or have had cancer to mingle. We can talk about everything from the icks of chemo to the BULLCRAP Red Sox play that ended the game last night. I am going to reach out to my social workers at W&I to spread the word as well.

Friends and supporters are also welcome! This is NOT a fundraiser, just a “hang out”.

2.)  This IS a fundraiser

Donna, the president of the RI Chapter of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition was kind enough to respond to my inquiry quickly and was overwhelmingly supportive of my fundraising proposal. I need to complete paperwork on both ends but it looks like we will be teaming up to host a charity event to benefit the RI NOCC.

The NOCC will provide materials to educate visitors on the signs, symptoms, and support systems for OC. Like I said before even if we raise 100 bucks and one person reads the damn flyer, we are an inch closer to finding preventative measures to screen for OC.

Once I have the paperwork confirmed I will share the details, stay tuned!

As my Mom said, “you create what you need”. These events are small and a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of things but if they help a little, I’m satisfied.