‘Be Grateful For The Good Things’ — Ovarian Cancer Survivor Donna Cleland’s Story

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For Nashville, Tennessee resident, and ovarian cancer survivor, Donna Cleland, what started off as an innocent girls trip to the beach later caused her to visit a doctor, which then led to an ovarian cancer diagnosis. While at the beach, one of her friends noted that Cleland was severely bloated and resembled one of her friend’s who had passed away from cancer. Taking her friend’s comment into account, Cleland visited the emergency room and learned through a CT scan that she had advanced ovarian cancer.

Cleland’s disease began in her fallopian tubes, and for treatment she started chemotherapy which prompted her to start losing her hair. Initially, Cleland was unsure how to tell her two grandchildren about her diagnosis, but in the end they were her biggest support system.

“Their joy was a huge help,” Cleland says. “I was reading these books about how to tell children stuff, but my granddaughter thought it was just a hoot that I had lost all this hair, and she said ‘well we could take it home and the birds could use it to make nests nana.'”

While many women have difficulty adjusting to hair loss, Cleland was able to find positivity in a challenging situation thanks to her grandchildren. She recalls moments where her granddaughter in particular would urge Cleland to remove her wig and proudly show off her bald head to friends, and spending time in Cleland’s convertible with the roof down.

“You just have to take one day at a time and be grateful for the good things within it,” Cleland says. “There’s always something good inside of a day and something to be grateful for so I think that’s helped to keep me going, and that’s been huge for me.”

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