Category Archives: Oral Cancer Awareness

2019 Recap

Getting married, three Rising Strength events and running in the Boston Marathon for the Oral Cancer Foundation have made this without a doubt the busiest and best year so far.

I was so fortunate to start off the year by hosting a great self-defense class at the Easton YMCA with LeCarlo Beaty. LeCarlo, as always, did an amazing job with making the women feel comfortable and encouraged everyone to have fun all while teaching life saving self-defense. We had an awesome turn out and I am so grateful for the support the YMCA has offered over the past years in allowing me to host these classes.

One of the women who attended the class at the YMCA asked if I would teach a class for her daughter’s Girl Scout Troop. Go Mom! The topics discussed at the classes can often scare many parents but these are conversations that unfortunately we need to have. The statistic is still 1 in 4 women will be a victim of an attempted or completed rape. Starting these conversations early is critical to changing this. At the class we focused on trusting your instincts and believing in yourself. Thank you to Matt Herron who taught this class and traded his time for Girl Scout cookies!

In April, I had the opportunity to run in the Boston Marathon for the second time for the Oral Cancer Foundation. It took me three marathons to qualify for this Boston Marathon and I could not have been happier to be out there again. For a runner, there is no better event than the Boston Marathon. From the start to the finish for 26.2 miles you are being cheered on by the people of Boston and being inspired by all of the runners along the way. While I was on the course I saw a police officer running in full uniform, disabled athletes that defied all odds against them and prevailing each mile and countless runners fulfilling a dream. Running for the Oral Cancer Foundation in honor of mom is something that I will forever be grateful for. Due to the amazing sponsors Forward Science, Caliber Home Loans, Higginbottom Orthodontics, ShoreGate Partners, MDSW Law, SamSport, Benson and Mangold and DS Smith, and many personal donations we were able to hit our target goal of raising $5,000 for the Oral Cancer Foundation!

Huge THANK YOU to Forward Science for your continued support and closing the gap with a generous donation that made us reach the $5,000 goal! I am very grateful to have Forward Science on our team in the fight against oral cancer! Their life saving devices, products that help with the effects of radiation and commitment to raising awareness are pivotal in this battle.

Five days after getting married, I had the opportunity to go back to the Senior Summit to share my story and teach a self-defense seminar with John Givens. John is an incredible teacher, owner of a local MMA studio and all round great guy! This was the second year in row that I have had the opportunity to be a part of this great event. I am so proud to live in a community that values seniors and all those who provide care for them. In the class, like many others, several women shared their stories of survival. I am grateful that we provided them an outlet to share, heal and feel empowered through self-defense. Thank you, John for teaching a great class and donating your time to the community!

I can’t thank my husband, Eddie, enough for all of his support in every single one of my endevours. I am extremely lucky to have such a supportive and thoughtful partner. Getting married was absolutely the best part of 2019.

St. Michaels OCF Walk

Thank you to everyone who came out to the first St. Michaels Oral Cancer Foundation Walk on November 18th! It was a cold but beautiful day on the Nature Trail and I am so grateful for everyone who attended. Several oral cancer survivors and family members of patients attended the walk as did two warriors who are still battling this terrible disease. Together we raised over $7,000 for the OCF!!


Thank you, Gloria, for sharing your amazing story of resilience and courage! For more information on the foundation that Gloria started to help young oral cancer patients please visit Bravely Beautiful .


Thank you, Pam and Kia, for traveling from Tennessee and Arizona to volunteer at the event! Huge thank you to my dad, Eddie, Uncle Keith and cousins Josh and Alyssa who were a massive help at the walk.

Thank you to our awesome sponsors for funding the walk and Dr. Jared Nave and Amanda Ward for giving free oral cancer screenings to everyone who attended.


St. Michaels Oral Cancer Foundation Walk

Gloria is an oral cancer survivor and founder of Bravely Beautiful. Gloria will be sharing her story at the St. Michaels Oral Cancer Walk on November 18th and just celebrated her 5 year in remission anniversary! Thank you, Gloria, for sharing your story of resilience, determination and bravery!

“Take what life gives you and rock with it.”

– Gloria , oral cancer survivor

The Oral Cancer Foundation will be having a walk on the St. Michaels Nature Trail on November 18th, 2017. Registration will open at 8am and we will have free oral cancer screenings leading up to the walk. The two-mile walk will start at 9am and conclude with breakfast. Additionally, Gloria, an oral cancer survivor, will be sharing her amazing story of resilience.

In April 2012, at 26 years old, she was diagnosed with Stage II Squamous Cell Carcinoma on the left side of her tongue. She underwent treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital, consisting of two surgeries and seven weeks of IMRT radiation therapy across three months.

In 2013, less than one year after her battle with oral cancer began, Gloria founded Bravely Beautiful, Inc. a Washington, D.C. based not-for-profit which aims to help young adults diagnosed with tongue cancer become fearless. The mantra of Bravely Beautiful is “take what life gives you and rock with it”.

In 2014, Bravely Beautiful submitted its business plan to LiveSTRONG’s Big C competition, a one-of-a-kind competition that generated innovations aimed at improving the daily quality of life for the 32.5 million people around the world living with cancer. With more than 750 entries from around the world, Bravely Beautiful qualified as a semi-finalist and was honored as a “promising project.” Additionally, Gloria is a proud supporter of the Oral Cancer Foundation and contributes much of her survivorship to the OCF and other groups who have connected her to fellow warriors.

Gloria is a marketing professional with more than ten years of professional experience working in advertising agencies and professional services. In her free time, Gloria loves being around her family and friends and staying active through indoor cycling classes and stand-up paddle boarding.

We are so honored to have Gloria attend our event and share her story. Please click the link for more event information.

St. Michaels Oral Cancer Walk

OCF Run for Jeremy Blevins

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
 -Muhammad Ali

Shelley OCF 2

I first connected with Shelley Blevins in the fall of 2014 after we both participated in the Blue Ridge Relay. Two months after the race Shelley sent me a message letting me know that we had much more than running in common. Like me, Shelley is a graduate of East Tennessee State University. Unfortunately, Shelley and I also share the heartbreak of losing a loved one to oral cancer.

Shelley lost her husband, Jeremy, in August of 2013 after an eight month battle with oral cancer. Jeremy was 42, a non-smoker and ran every day. Shelley described Jeremy as “having perfect health” and in the 25 years that they were together he barely ever had a cold. Jeremy’s form of oral cancer was so aggressive that even major surgery and treatment at MD Anderson in Houston, TX could not save or prolong his life. Jeremy and Shelley have two young children who now don’t have their dad because of oral cancer. Oral cancer does not discriminate and often there are no known causes.

Shelley and I at the OCF Run for Jeremy Blevins

Shelley has been an active member of the Oral Cancer Foundation for the past two years. On February 6th, I had the opportunity to walk in the OCF Run for Jeremy Blevins in Fort Mill, SC. Shelley did an amazing job organizing the event and the turn out was great! Thank you, Shelley for all that you do to raise awareness and support the Oral Cancer Foundation.

Oral Cancer Foundation

Thank you, Jess and Beth, for waking up so early and driving 6 hours round trip to attend the event. You two are the best!!

Thank you, Jess and Beth, for waking up so early and driving 6 hours round trip to attend the event. You two are the best!!

OralID

Photo by: Tony Weeg Hair and Makeup by: Patty Preston

Photo by: Tony Weeg
Hair and Makeup by: Patty Preston

Thank you OralID and the Oral Cancer Foundation for sharing my mom’s story. It’s an honor to be affiliated with both of these organizations and I cannot thank you enough for all that you do for patients, survivors and families affected by oral cancer. I hope that my mom’s story helps others learn how critical early detection and screenings are in saving lives and preserving the quality of those lives.

Oral Cancer Foundation- Giving Tuesday

www.oralcancerfoundation.org/givingtuesday

www.oralcancerfoundation.org/givingtuesday

Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, the global day dedicated to giving back. I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to donate, support and volunteer for the Oral Cancer Foundation. When my mom was battling oral cancer the founders and members of the foundation provided support and comfort for my mom. I think one of the reasons my mom was able to fight the disease for over nine years was due to the camaraderie she found through the OCF. While oral cancer stole my mom’s voice and ultimately her life, the OCF has allowed her fight and voice to live on with their constant efforts towards eradicating this horrible disease. I cannot thank the members of the OCF, founder Brian Hill and the amazing volunteers and workers enough for all that they do. Thank you to all my sweet friends who support Carol’s Fight and help spread awareness!

Brain Hill

“Be it through helping people behind me in the disease process with their questions on OCF’s online support group, working with researchers (both through direct funding and through my position on a National Cancer Institute immuotherapeutics oversight committee) that are making progress in our understanding of not only the disease but important new ways to interrupt a cancer cell’s ability to evade our own immune system, to working on efforts to reach kids before they adopt tobacco as a lifestyle choice through our rodeo outreach program, to helping convince the CDC to allow on label vaccination of young boys against HPV, a virus that will cause over 600,000 new cancers in the world this year including oral/oropharyngeal cancers, to working with politicians that finally passed a landmark bill to allow the FDA more control over tobacco, I give my time and donations to support OCF.”

– Brian Hill
Oral Cancer Foundation Founder
IV Oral Cancer Survivor

My friends helping spread the message

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Carol's Fight Big Sur

Courage

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
― Lao Tzu

Thank you Tony Weeg for the awesome photos! Loved every minute of our session and getting to spend time with you, Andrea and Patty. I'm so excited for your third daughter to get here!

Photo by Tony Weeg

The word courage is derived from the Latin word for heart. This makes a lot of sense because to me you can’t have courage without a tremendous amount of heart. My mom exemplified heart and courage everyday during her nine-year battle with oral cancer. Even when my mom was suffering from unimaginable pain she still took the time to constantly think of others before herself. My mom loved to send uplifting cards and support causes. I’ve tried my best to carry on her thoughtfulness and love of people, along her passionate fight against oral cancer through Carol’s Fight. Seeing my mom’s courage and fight for life is one of the main reasons I believe that I was able to fight my attacker off the night of the attack and start Rising Strength.

Photo by Tony Weeg

Photo by Tony Weeg

Last month, I was missing my mom so much and just wanted to talk to her. While thinking about her love of people, her sense of humor and her knack for always knowing how to make me feel better, I looked up her birthday on World Vision. That’s where I found Courage, a five-year old from Ghana who shares my mom’s birthday and a name that could not have been more perfect. World Vision is an incredible organization that allows you to have an impact on a child’s life in areas of the world where children desperately need our help. I am so honored to be Courage’s World Vision sponsor and carry on my mom’s love of supporting others. To me, the best way to direct your pain from losing someone is to honor the person that they were. Somehow, when you do this the pain eases and the presence of your loved one is palpable.

www.worldvision.org

www.worldvision.org

We are less than two months away from the Blue Ridge Relay! I can’t wait to join my Blue Ridge Relay teammates and take on 208 miles to raise awareness for women’s health and safety! It takes a lot of heart and courage to run those mountain goat hard legs in the dark and I can’t thank everyone on the team enough! HUGE thank you to our sponsors Evco, Interstate Resources, Appalachian Community Federal Credit Union and OralId! If your interested in supporting the team please contact me.

Spring

Boston Marathon Finish Line
It’s hard to believe that it has been over a month since the Boston Marathon! I had such an incredible experience at Boston and enjoyed every moment running for the causes that are so important to me. I can’t thank my sweet college teammates and friends enough for surprising me with the video below! I was blown away by all of the support I received from my friends and family and couldn’t stop smiling the entire marathon! Thank you Jamie O’Day from the Oral Cancer Foundation for the awesome care package! It is an honor to support the OCF and I feel so lucky that I can help carry on my mom’s memory through an incredible organization like the The Oral Cancer Foundation. Thank you Go-Shake, Team Kattouf, and OralID for everything!

Thank you Bil for being the BEST and organizing this awesome video that made me smile and cruise through an entire marathon! Love you!!

Thank you Bil for being the BEST and organizing this awesome video that made me cruise through an entire marathon! Love you!!

Bucstrong!

Less than a week after the Boston Marathon I had the opportunity to be a speaker at The Justice in Motion 5k in Jonesborough, TN. The Justice in Motion 5k raises awareness for the rights of victims and all proceeds go to local domestic violence shelters. It was an honor to be a speaker at the race and to be back in an area that I love so much! Thank you, Todd Hull and all of the organizers of the race for your support of Rising Strength. Thank you We Run Events and all of the runners that came out to participate. As a victim of violence it makes such a difference knowing that there are communities coming together to not only support victims but advocate for change.

Justice in Motion

As we get ready to start preparing for talks this fall and another Blue Ridge Relay, I can’t thank my friends enough for their support of Rising Strength and Carol’s Fight! I am so lucky to have such amazing people in my life who constantly blow me away with their friendship and love!

Thank you Meredith for being an amazing friend!! Not many would come out and cheer ia friend in 40 degree, rain and wind while being almost 9 months pregnant ! Thank you for ALWAYS taking such great care of me, love you!

Thank you Meredith for being an amazing friend!! Not many would come out and cheer a friend in 40 degree, rain and wind while being almost 9 months pregnant ! Thank you for ALWAYS taking such great care of me, love you!

Thank you for the generous donation to Rising Strength! We will use this towards the vans for the Blue Ridge Relay team, that will take on 208 miles again to raise awareness for the violence that occurs against women.

Thank you for the generous donation to Rising Strength! We will use this towards the vans for the Blue Ridge Relay team, that will take on 208 miles again to raise awareness for the violence that occurs against women.

Oral Cancer Awareness Month

OralID

April is an important month for anyone who has been touched by oral cancer. My mom, Carol Layer, lost a nine-year battle with oral cancer in August of 2011. Throughout my mom’s fight against oral cancer, her involvement in the Oral Cancer Foundation helped her immensely by allowing her to form friendships with people who were enduring the same hardships she was. After my mom passed away, many members of the oral cancer foundation reached out to me to offer their support and let me know what an important role my mom played in helping them get through their own fight with oral cancer.

The experience of losing my mom changed me in many ways. I value my health, family, friends and time more than any possession I could ever earn. It wasn’t until after the attack, when I realized how quickly my life could be taken from me, that I started to ask myself these questions:

“What is my purpose?”

“What am I passionate about?”

“If I had died the night of the attack, what would I have been remembered for?”

“What do I want most out of this life?”

“How am I making a difference?”

I continue to ask myself those questions everyday and many of the answers led me to start Rising Strength and Carol’s Fight . I hope anyone who is reading this right now asks these questions of themselves today.

While I never would have wished the attack to happen, I am grateful for how the experience led me to start living with more purpose and passion. At the time I asked myself those questions, I wanted nothing more than to talk to my mom. Not having my mom for one of the hardest and most intense experiences of my life really drove home that she was gone. However, I felt my mom’s presence constantly during that time and I know without a doubt seeing her fight cancer is what gave me the strength to fight off my attacker. I saw first hand for nine years, that no matter how hard and tough things can be, this life is worth fighting for. This is when I started to get more involved with the Oral Cancer Foundation and start a fundraising campaign in my mom’s honor.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to share my mom’s story with a company, OralID that is determined to save lives and prevent people from suffering the way my mom did. Thank you OralID for traveling to St. Michaels and giving me the opportunity to tell my mom’s story. It wasn’t easy to describe the hardships and all of the details of what my mom endured because of oral cancer but I am so honored that her life will hopefully save others through early detection. I hope that anyone who hears my mom’s story knows that any day you have the ability to eat, drink, speak, laugh, smile and kiss your loved ones is a good day. Oral cancer stole those abilities from my mom. No matter what else is going on in your life, if you have the ability to do those things you are okay and things will get better.

The next few weeks are packed with amazing events for both the OCF and Rising Strength. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all of these opportunities and for the people that make them possible. Thank you just doesn’t seem adequate, but Thank you to all of my friends and family, OralID, the Oral Cancer Foundation, Team Kattouf, Lon Latiolais for your continued support of Carol’s Fight and Go Shake!

Carol's Fight 1