By Richard Corman (photographs) and Jenny Song (text)

Bringing the Message Home

CR meets with several survivors who have discovered ways to help their communities

By Richard Corman (photographs) and Jenny Song (text)

Sometimes, Carmen M. Diaz feels like she’s the only Latina ovarian cancer survivor in New York City. She’s not a pessimist; she just knows the facts. Diagnosed with stage IIIc ovarian cancer in 2004, Diaz knows that 75 percent of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, and that the five-year survival rate—for all stages—is less than 50 percent.

Since her diagnosis, Diaz has been an active advocate to eliminate the disparities she sees in ovarian cancer care. A volunteer with the group SHARE and its LatinaSHARE program, she answers phone calls from women all over the country who have questions about the disease. Diaz also travels with the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, talking to third-year medical school students. She hopes to help educate a new generation of physicians about ovarian cancer symptoms by sharing her story of misdiagnosis—an unfortunate situation experienced by many ovarian cancer survivors. “I know that by seeing my face and hearing my story, that they won’t forget,” she says.

Diaz is among the seven cancer survivors who you’ll see in the following pages of CR. These survivors, who gathered for a CR photo shoot on a clear and brisk February morning at Ballet Hispanico Studio in New York City, are representative of the varied faces and cultures of cancer survivors in this country.

Though each person on these pages has a unique story, they all are working to eradicate cancer disparities. For survivors like Doreena Davidson, Nelly Reyes, Kai Yuan Ho and Mei Yoong Cheah, this effort is as simple as attending support groups and talking to friends and family about the importance of cancer screening and second opinions.

E. Renaé Plummer, who co-founded the organization In My Sister’s Care, noticed a need to reach out to “women of color” in the ovarian cancer community after she was diagnosed with the disease at 35. She visits local church groups and black sororities to talk about ovarian cancer awareness and to educate young women about the disease.

David Gray Jr. survived colon cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma, and devotes his time to talking to youths and adults about cancer education and awareness. He donates suits to the widows of prostate cancer patients who didn’t own suits so they can be buried in them. He also talks to strangers who are dealing with the disease, and who have been referred to him through friends or simply because they’ve heard of him. He tries to help in any way he can, especially by connecting patients to physicians with whom he’s built relationships over the years.

But oftentimes, “I’ll just listen,” he says. “Because they just want to know that someone cares.”