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Surviving Cancer with Humor | Lisa Giessert | TEDxVeroBeach

The speaker shares her experience with ovarian cancer, arguing that focusing on "thriving with positivity" is a healthier and more accurate perspective than dwelling on "survival." She details that ovarian cancer is a hard-to-diagnose "silent killer," and she strongly recommends regular internal exams, especially for women past childbearing age with ovaries. She concludes by advocating for support that involves simply showing up, rather than sending gifts or flowers.

## Speakers & Context
- **Speaker:** Individual speaker sharing personal cancer experience.
- **Setting:** Event where speaker was invited to talk.
- **Framing:** Educating the audience on gynecological cancers and pivoting the narrative from "survivor" to "thriver."
- **Family Details:**
    - Daughter: Had a wedding planned before the speaker's diagnosis.
    - Husband: Is bald.
    - Son: Assessed speaker's pain level as a '10' when she rated it as a '6'.
- **Friends:** Including friends who have fought breast cancer and won.
- **Support Group:** A friend in a cancer support group suggested the term "cancer thriver."

## Theses & Positions
- Ovarian cancer is a "silent killer" because it is very hard to diagnose and often detected when "pretty far spread."
- The term "cancer survivor" is overly negative, focusing too much on "death and destruction."
- The speaker advocates for "thriving with positivity," which she defines as "prospering and flourishing."
- Breast cancer awareness has successfully raised money and awareness for a disease that is both "preventable and treatable."
- People should encourage their children to use "proper anatomical terms" when discussing bodily health.
- Being able to ask for help is identified as one of the hardest things to do when ill.

## Concepts & Definitions
- **Ovarian cancer:** A type of cancer that is difficult to diagnose and frequently found when advanced.
- **Silent killer:** Description applied to ovarian cancer due to its diagnostic difficulty.
- **Ned:** Stands for "No Evidence of Disease."
- **Gynecological oncologist:** Specialist doctor treating gynecological cancers.
- **Weeds in your garden:** Analogy used by the doctor to explain ovarian cancer; the initial surgery removes the visible "weeds," while chemo/radiation acts as the "weed spray."
- **Cancer thriver:** Term preferred by the speaker, meaning "prospering and flourishing."
- **Survivor:** Term criticized by the speaker for being associated with death and destruction.
- **Pain assessment:** Nurses use an assessment tool where pain levels can be stated (e.g., '6') but facial expressions can indicate a much higher level (e.g., '10').

## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Diagnosis:** Can happen accidentally during a surgery on an unrelated area, such as a general surgeon performing gallbladder surgery.
- **Cancer recurrence:** Occurs when "little seeds are left within your body" after initial treatment and subsequently grow back.
- **Treatment:** Involves surgery (to remove the weeds), chemotherapy, and radiation (described as "weed spray").
- **Pain assessment:** Objective pain scoring can be contradicted by subjective physical presentation.

## Timeline & Sequence
- **Pre-2014:** Speaker was traveling around the world while planning her daughter's wedding.
- **Diagnosis/Surgery:** Occurred following general surgeon performing gallbladder surgery, leading to the discovery of ovarian cancer.
- **2014:** Year of initial cancer diagnosis and subsequent surgery to remove innards, followed by chemotherapy.
- **2016:** Year the speaker experienced a recurrence.
- **Current State:** Speaker is "NED" (No Evidence of Disease) and undergoes maintenance infusions every three weeks.

## Named Entities
- **Gynecological oncologist:** Specialty physician.
- **Pelvic region:** Anatomical area referenced during the initial surgical discussion.

## Tools, Tech & Products
- **White board:** Used in the hospital for patients to write notes for nurses.
- **Port:** Device used by the speaker for maintenance infusions.
- **Pink sneakers:** Mentioned as being worn during October (associated with breast cancer awareness).
- **Teal sneakers:** Color advocated by the speaker for awareness campaigning in September.
- **TFs:** Initials mentioned in reference to TED Talk rules limitation.

## Numbers & Data
- **Three:** Number of surgeries the speaker underwent.
- **2014:** Year the speaker was diagnosed with cancer.
- **2016:** Year of cancer recurrence.
- **6:** Pain level the speaker reported to the nurse.
- **10:** Pain level the son assessed the speaker as appearing.
- **Five years:** Time period associated with the relative survival rate data.
- **Stage four:** Stage of the ovarian cancer, meaning it had progressed.
- **Three weeks:** Frequency of the speaker's maintenance infusions.

## Examples & Cases
- **Gallbladder surgery:** An unexpected surgery that led to the discovery of ovarian cancer.
- **Baseball bat hitting the head:** Analogy used to describe the initial feeling of diagnosis.
- **Hair loss:** Illustrates the profound impact of treatment, affecting areas like eyebrows, leading to concern about social visibility.
- **Husband’s joke:** Husband joked that he gets ovarian cancer every time he eats bad food, used to debunk simple diet causation.
- **Anatomy diagram:** Visual aid used to teach correct anatomical terms for female body parts.

## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Awareness Colors:** Advocating for "teal sneakers" in September over "pink sneakers" in October.
- **Emotional Framing:** Choice between the negative connotations of "survivor" versus the positive focus of "thriver."
- **Diagnosis Methods:** Comparison between easily screenable cancers (like cervical cancer via Pap smear) and those that are harder to diagnose (ovarian, fallopian tube, uterine).

## Counterarguments & Caveats
- Ovarian cancer is not always located in the ovaries; the speaker notes it's "kind of an interesting type of cancer."
- The belief that diet causes cancer is incorrect; the speaker stated it is "not about what you eat."
- The speaker acknowledges that not all cancers are easily diagnosed.

## Methodology
- **Personal narrative:** Sharing personal health history, diagnoses, and treatments to educate the public.
- **Anatomical demonstration:** Using a diagram to show correct anatomical location and naming of female body parts.
- **Supportive action:** Suggesting concrete ways to support a patient (e.g., "funny cards," "just show up," "fold your laundry").

## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Seek consultation with a gynecological oncologist.
- Women past childbearing age, even those with removed uteri but retained ovaries, must get checked.
- An annual internal exam is recommended, regardless of Pap smear status.
- Support others by showing up, bringing funny cards, or folding laundry, instead of sending "stinky flowers."
- The core recommendation is to "thrive with positivity."

## Implications & Consequences
- Failure to diagnose or manage ovarian cancer early leads to poor prognosis rates.
- Lack of knowledge regarding anatomical terms hinders a person’s ability to accurately communicate symptoms to medical professionals.
- The emotional impact of cancer can cause people to hide their struggles due to fear of pity.

## Open Questions
- What monitoring is required for a woman past childbearing age who has had her uterus removed but retains her ovaries?
- How can one accurately determine the source of a condition versus simply treating acute symptoms?

## Verbatim Moments
- *"Oh that's the noise i get whenever i tell somebody when they say oh you're a cancer survivor what type of cancer did you have did you have breast cancer no i didn't have breast cancer"*
- *"I like the baseball bat in the head because that's really what it feels like."*
- *"I'm what we call ned which is no evidence of disease."*
- *"My son looks me straight in the eye and says mom you say it's a 6 but your face is a 10."*
- *"For me, thrive is about prospering and flourishing so to me that's a positive thing."*
- *"I choose to live my life with happiness and positivity."*
- *"Don't send stinky flowers set because they remind you of a funeral send funny cards just show up."*