Priscilla

Friendship Through Priscilla's Eyes

Katy and I met in junior high school during track season. We both ran the hurdles; Katy, I have to admit, was better than me only because her legs were longer than mine. (I ended up getting the nickname"Stumpy".) We ran together for five years, and I was made honorary captain during her senior year since I was still a junior. We managed to stay friends after she graduated high school, and when she started college, I was made honorary college student.

By the end of my first year of college, Katy's life had been turned upside down through the loss of her mother that summer. It took her about two years to get out of the depression. Just when she thought the coast was clear, in October 2006 I received a similarly heartbreaking call - this time to tell me she had cervical cancer. My heart sank, and I was scared. I thought I was going to lose her. What I didn't know at the time was that cervical cancer is treatable if caught in time.

Unfortunately for Katy, the cancer went to stage 2A in a matter of three months. For the next year, she battled with this disease, afraid to tell anyone she had it... afraid that people would look at her differently or that they would disown her as a friend. But not me. I managed to keep her spirits up even if they were down. I managed to keep our friendship going even when she thought there was nothing left in her life that was good.

About two weeks before the benefit, Katy called me again, this time to tell me that her cancer had spread again, she was stage 4A inoperable and that the doctors gave her six months to live. That's when I knew I had to be her rock. I had to be the one person that was stable in her life, when everything else was falling apart. She started to do intensive chemotherapy, and the progress of the cancer slowly started to show. Katy finally got her voice out there with the help of her best friend. I'm so proud of her! I'm so proud that she was able to fight and overcome every obstacle God seems to place in front of her. She started to take a stand, get the word out about Cervical Cancer, and let young women know the facts. "When it hurts to look back and your scared to look ahead you can look beside you and your best friend will be there."

For more info about these two amazing friends and the cervical cancer outreach they do in the Pittsburgh area visit www.run2inspire.com