by Susan Lisovicz
September 23, 2023
Susan received a shocking diagnosis of stage IV ovarian cancer. But she continued to fight against cancer. During our HIPEC awareness talent show in Baltimore, Susan used song to express her emotions during the fight.
Full Transcript (edited):
My name is Susan Lisovicz, and I live in Hoboken, New Jersey. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, stage four ovarian cancer in December of 2017.
The prognosis was a very advanced disease stage four. I don't know if there's a stage five and while Dr. Sardi or any doctor that I've spoken to said, "Oh the clock is ticking pretty loudly for you". You can Google that and see what the statistics are. My reaction to it was, first of all, shock, but very quickly, because you know that you need to make some important decisions. I'd say the next thing that came to mind was an inner resolve.
This is something that needs to be told again and again. How I heard about Dr. Sardi was through former patients of Dr. Sardi. What I would tell people who have any sort of abdominal disease is go see Dr. Sardi. That's not what I would tell them. I HAVE told them.
So the "talent" that I'll be performing is I will be playing guitar, acoustic guitar, and singing a song that is about adversity. It's a song of defiance. It's a protest song. It's a rallying cry, and it's a great jamming song. It's by Tom Petty, I Won't Back Down.
If you have been diagnosed with [appendix/colorectal/etc] cancer, please review our resource pfccap.org. If you'd like to connect with our Patient and Caregiver Network, please email networkcoordinator@pfccap.org.