PAYING IT FORWARD:OVARIAN CANCER SURVIVOR GOES FROM SEEKING SUPPORT TO PROVIDING IT

During her treatment for ovarian cancer three years ago, Pat Nees longed for a source of support and information before she learned about the Women's Cancer Awareness Group in Petaluma and made a phone call that profoundly affected her life.

WCAG founder and fellow ovarian cancer survivor Lydia Zipp answered the phone and "just lifted my spirits so much," Nees said. "So I got myself down to the next meeting, and I've been here ever since."

In a manifestation of the nonprofit group's slogan -- "Raising Awareness One Conversation at a Time" -- the pair's interaction that day both aided Nees' recovery and launched an association that has since broadened the organization's reach.

"She's here every week," Zipp said. "Every single event she shows up. She's just our biggest supporter."

The 9-year-old Women's Cancer Awareness Group is largely centered on raising awareness about ovarian cancer, sometimes called "the silent killer" because its symptoms don't automatically spark thoughts of cancer and often don't appear until the disease already is in the advanced stages.

But organizers seek to enlighten and support women grappling with all cancers, many of which produce the same questions, anxieties and health challenges.

Its services include bimonthly support groups, regular presentations on topics relevant to cancer recovery, creativity workshops, referrals to agencies and information, and outreach programs for individual groups.

But what's especially critical, Nees said, is the safe and supportive environment the group provides for women at their most vulnerable.

"They are so upbeat to one another," she said.

Nees, 73, spent 45 years working as an office and business manager in the medical profession, so she slid smoothly into what's become a part-time volunteer post as office manager/volunteer coordinator for WCAG, Zipp said.

But perhaps a more significant contribution was her initiation of a Santa Rosa outreach and education program mirroring one already held monthly in Petaluma.

"We had a Petaluma education and empowerment program," Zipp said, "and she said, 'Why don't you have one in Santa Rosa?' And I said, 'Because there are not enough hours in the day,' and she said, 'I'll help you.'

"And within four months, we had that program up and running in Santa Rosa, thanks to her," Zipp said.

She runs it now, Zipp said.

Presenters include physicians, psychologists and health and wellness experts on subjects ranging from stress, coping techniques and relaxation to nutrition, clinical trials and cancer research.

"They're all different topics," Nees said, "not just for people who are survivors, but maybe friends, relatives. Everybody knows somebody with cancer. It just touches our lives."

The group, which operates on grants and donations, has a variety of volunteer opportunities, both large and small, including publicity work, event setup and cleanup, baking or cooking for programs, writing notes and cards to members, and monthly bingo fund-raisers.

Nees, who hadn't planned to retire until age 75 anyway, said she's busier than ever, but loving it.

"I feel like I'm really helping people," she said, "and that's the main thing. And giving information, and that's the other key thing.

"People call here who have cancer. They're going through treatment. They want to talk to somebody, and so we listen, and give them our resource book, and do what we can to help them."

Education and empowerment programs are held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the second Friday of every month at the Petaluma Community Center.

Santa Rosa sessions are from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every other month at the Flamingo Hotel. The next one is Wednesday.

More information is available at http://www.wcagroup.net/ or 769-TEAL (8325).

You can reach Staff Writer

Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com.