Many of you are familiar with what I do for a living, but for those of you who don't let me tell you a little about my choosed career. I am an Intensive Care Registered Nurse. I take care of people at one of their greatest times of need. I love every minute of it, but don't get me wrong- there are definitely tough times. One of my best friends (and my first friend in Texas), Becky, is an Oncology nurse. I truly believe we were meant to become friends partly so she could help me deal with Laura's...

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For some reason my brain tends to work off of associations and while I was on a glorious adventure to discover myself…college, it seems that I happened upon the Talking Heads and Laura at precisely the same nanosecond and therefore they will forever be associated in my mind.  Circa 2005, our group of friends stumbled upon the Talking Heads, a band that I like to describe as 80’s artistic funky pop rock.  I had watched a DVD called “Stop Making Sense” and the...

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In May of 2009, I was talking with a co-worker, Julie, that I had not seen in a while. I asked her about how things were going in her life and the answer I received was not expected. She had recently lost her sister to ovarian cancer. It definitely was not one of those "wow, what a coincidence" moments you want to have. I told her about Laura and her ongoing fight. Although we all know there are many others living with ovarian cancer, it really put it in perspective to know someone else that was...

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December 14, 2009 is a date that seems like yesterday.  How my world and the world of all those I love the most has changed!  At times Laura seems so near and yet so far away.  When the far away feelings creep in, I chase them away with thoughts of how much the LCBOCF has accomplished in such a short time.  With that in mind, my heart and head overflow with names of so very many extraordinary people who have poured out their hearts and souls to make wonderful things happen.  Yard...

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My thoughts and ideas about cancer have, of course, changed over the past two years.  I got to see cancer "up close and personal".  Since cancer is not in my family's medical history, nor Jim's, we never really knew what fighting cancer was like.  Someone recently said to me that it was unfortunate that I had learned so much about cancer treatment and research the way that it was forced on us.  You do learn alot about this horrible disease, but you also really realize how the...

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I‘m sorry to disappoint you.  Fundraising.  It's the compound word that causes folks to run for the hills when they see me.  Prominent business people will not take my phone calls because I will ask them to do that: fundraise.  It's scary, especially if you're not prepared.    Fortunately, all of you, volunteers, Young Advisory Board members, Board of Directors, donors, friends, and relatives, are very passionate about the mission of the Laura Crandall Brown...

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I’ll be honest. I initially knew nothing about ovarian cancer, and really didn’t know of anyone who had been affected by it. When I thought about cancers, there were really only a few that stuck out. Lung cancer because there have been a few people in my own family affected by it, not to mention the cigarette companies are mandated to tell you about it. Cervical cancer, because as women we probably get screened for it once a year, and breast cancer because Susan B Komen wanted everyone...

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As you may already know, I am related to Laura's family on her mother's side. Although our families were very close "growing up," we found ourselves a bit scattered as the kids all began to mature and engage in their own activities in high school and college. We still gathered at special occasions like graduations or weddings but that almost weekly contact lessened over the years.  Laura's mom and I are from a very large family. Cecilia's dad and my mother were siblings and were two of eight...

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Several weeks before Laura passed away, I got a call early one morning. "Dad, do you believe in guardian angels?" I was caught off guard a little by Laura's question but I have always believed that God sends us special help when we are in need. I said, yes I do. Why do you ask? During the last several months of Laura's life she had a very difficult time sleeping due to the large amount of abdominal swelling caused by her cancer. She would move from bed, to recliner, to couch...

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