A word from the president
Fall 2012 : iPromise - Marie and Kevin Brown
iPromise
Marie and Kevin Brown, of Park City, Utah, have established the Megan Leigh Brown Fellowship for Ovarian Cancer at MD Anderson in memory of their daughter, whom they lost to ovarian cancer in 2009. Here, her mother reflects on her hope for "Megan's Miracle."
Megan Brown inspired her family and friends with courage and grace throughout her cancer journey. Photo courtesy of Marie and Kevin Brown.
At the age of 22, just three weeks after college commencement, our beautiful daughter Megan sat in a hospital with the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. How does an otherwise healthy young woman get a cancer that generally strikes post-menopausal women?
Though Megan had excellent care in Utah, we eventually found ourselves at MD Anderson, where she was part of a clinical trial that reduced the size of the tumor. It wasn’t a cure, but it would buy precious time.
We knew from the start that the odds were not great. But we maintained that someone had to be on the right side of the equation, and that she could beat the odds. With every surgery, every clinic visit, every dashed hope, we kept the mantra, ‘Megan, you can be the miracle.’
Sadly, Megan’s miracle was not to be a cure for her. She fought for four years and died on July 25, 2009.
Yet ‘Megan’s Miracle’ continues. While women who get the care of gynecological oncologists increase their chances for survival, many communities across the country lack physicians with that specialty. Our desire is to see more doctors trained to care for women with this life-changing disease.
The Megan Leigh Brown Fellowship for Ovarian Cancer is a start. It will help fund the four-year educational fellowships of physicians interested in ovarian cancer research and patient care. We chose MD Anderson as the fund’s steward because of its outstanding research programs and the excellent care it provides women with ovarian cancer.
Do you promise? Tell us why you’re committed to Making Cancer History® by sending an email to Promise@mdanderson.org.
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