Cait is a cholangiocarcinoma patient who was first made aware of her cancer diagnosis just shortly over a year after she married. She says her diagnosis was atypical because in less than 24 hours after her trip to the emergency room for a pain in her side, she was diagnosed. So many patients don’t share the experience of an instant diagnosis, followed by wonderful oncologist recommendations and extraordinary care and that has been one concern that Cait is passionate about changing - her hope is that it’s different for everyone in the future. Spreading educational awareness is just one of the many facets of volunteerism Cait has begun with the Foundation.
She connected with the Foundation only days after her diagnosis and knew she wanted to be a part of the Discussion Boards right away. In celebration of her completion of chemo, following her liver resection surgery, she and her husband, Mike, wanted to give back by hosting a ‘Farm Extravaganza’ fundraiser on their dairy farm. She felt she had benefited from so much love and support within the Foundation family that she jumped into another yet another volunteer opportunity.
Cait herself says “I am no scientist,” but feels the Foundation has an accountability to grow the science to find a cure and she wants "to help bring the science to the patients by building a bridge.” She is a blogger for ‘
Cholangio...what?
,’ a CARE Team member and one of
Team CCF
’s biggest fans! She’s given hundreds and hundreds of hours in nearly every program the Foundation offers volunteers. Cait is also currently preparing a “Clinical Trial Bootcamp” class for patients in hopes of calming the overwhelming stress of patients and families as they begin the clinical trial process and educating them on the science that may not be familiar to them. Cait gives her all in everything that she does and is constantly thinking of how to make a better experience for other patients.
The Foundation would like to take this opportunity to thank Cait for every effort and her many, many hours of hard work and commitment. It is a privilege to honor her as Volunteer of the Month.
