LODI - No one wants to hear that they have cancer. But for those who do, the challenge is immediate and clear: To find the will to fight for another day.
Trisha Priewe, a 1990 Monroe High School graduate, fought her own battle with ovarian cancer, and now, after five years of being cancer free, she's celebrating the milestone.
At the same time, she'll be helping to raise awareness for others through the "Make Some Noise for a Quiet Cancer" benefit. The event is scheduled for 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, at the Lodi Fairgrounds. Priewe organized the benefit to raise money for the Ovarian Cancer Fund for Research and Education at the University of Wisconsin Hospital's Carbone Cancer Center.
The all-women band Wicked Lily will perform during the event, which also includes raffles and other entertainment.
Education, she says, is the objective - and not just for women. While breast cancer victims and survivors tend to have a higher profile and support resources, Priewe said she wanted to help bring that same level of support to victims and survivors of ovarian cancer.
"I'm trying to take some stigma away from the word ovary," Priewe said. "It's not just about women"
And, she added that while women are the ovarian cancer victims, they also are wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends.
Priewe hopes the event will help spread the word and encourage women to pay attention to their own bodies - and in doing so, realize when something's wrong early.
"It was not as miserable as I thought it would be," Priewe said of her cancer, noting that she was lucky it was caught in the early stages.
In fact, about 75 percent of ovarian cancer cases are not diagnosed until stage three or four, experts say.
Before diagnosis, Priewe was dealing with health symptoms of an entirely different kind.
"A kidney stone saved my life," she says, adding that, following an ultrasound for the stone, doctors at Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital discovered she had a cyst, which would later turn out to be cancerous.
"I probably would have let it go and 'lived with it' if they hadn't been persistent," Priewe said.
The day after a surgery to remove the ovary and cyst, doctors called her at home and revealed to her that there were cancer cells.
Concerned with the results, they referred Priewe to a gynecologist at UW Hospital.
There, she had her second ovary removed, and a full hysterectomy.
The second surgery ultimately revealed the extent of her cancer.
"Those were the longest two weeks of our life," Priewe said. "From the time you find out you have cancer to knowing how bad it really is."
Throughout her ordeal, however, Priewe said she learned to lean on family and friends, even though she described herself as "terribly bullheaded" at times.
Trisha Priewe, a 1990 Monroe High School graduate, fought her own battle with ovarian cancer, and now, after five years of being cancer free, she's celebrating the milestone.
At the same time, she'll be helping to raise awareness for others through the "Make Some Noise for a Quiet Cancer" benefit. The event is scheduled for 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, at the Lodi Fairgrounds. Priewe organized the benefit to raise money for the Ovarian Cancer Fund for Research and Education at the University of Wisconsin Hospital's Carbone Cancer Center.
The all-women band Wicked Lily will perform during the event, which also includes raffles and other entertainment.
Education, she says, is the objective - and not just for women. While breast cancer victims and survivors tend to have a higher profile and support resources, Priewe said she wanted to help bring that same level of support to victims and survivors of ovarian cancer.
"I'm trying to take some stigma away from the word ovary," Priewe said. "It's not just about women"
And, she added that while women are the ovarian cancer victims, they also are wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends.
Priewe hopes the event will help spread the word and encourage women to pay attention to their own bodies - and in doing so, realize when something's wrong early.
"It was not as miserable as I thought it would be," Priewe said of her cancer, noting that she was lucky it was caught in the early stages.
In fact, about 75 percent of ovarian cancer cases are not diagnosed until stage three or four, experts say.
Before diagnosis, Priewe was dealing with health symptoms of an entirely different kind.
"A kidney stone saved my life," she says, adding that, following an ultrasound for the stone, doctors at Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital discovered she had a cyst, which would later turn out to be cancerous.
"I probably would have let it go and 'lived with it' if they hadn't been persistent," Priewe said.
The day after a surgery to remove the ovary and cyst, doctors called her at home and revealed to her that there were cancer cells.
Concerned with the results, they referred Priewe to a gynecologist at UW Hospital.
There, she had her second ovary removed, and a full hysterectomy.
The second surgery ultimately revealed the extent of her cancer.
"Those were the longest two weeks of our life," Priewe said. "From the time you find out you have cancer to knowing how bad it really is."
Throughout her ordeal, however, Priewe said she learned to lean on family and friends, even though she described herself as "terribly bullheaded" at times.