Last night I attended an event for the Northwest Indiana Society of Innovators. I was nominated and accepted for membership the past two years by one of my board members, so I get to be part of that elite group of people. Last night was their first Pride and Pedestal event.

The Pride and Pedestal event offered presentations by ten selected members in a five county area; it was amazing. One invented a digital video camera for use in medical and biological research that is now used by Harvard and John Hopkins and many renowned facilities nationally and internationally. Another man, now a multimillionaire, invented a solar powered attic fan. Two physicians were there, they were honored for starting a three hospital program that offers same-day mammogram and breast biopsy results (I thanked them on behalf of cancer patients everywhere who are immobilized with anxiety while awaiting test results) I told them of our own “scanxiety”. I asked if they would someday strive to offer same-day CT results? They actually are hoping to offer that down the road.

The coolest thing was that I was asked to be one of the 10 presenters next year for my work with appendix cancer patients. What is great about that is that it will help more people become aware of appendix cancer and treatments now available through specialists. The public and the medical community need to know more about our disease so that patients can be properly treated when they are initially diagnosed. I talk to so many who finally see specialists familiar with our disease only after multiple surgeries and prolonged treatment, and then only when their disease has recurred. I talk to many who are initially misdiagnosed (one woman was treated for 5 years for ovarian cancer before she was correctly diagnosed with appendix cancer). I think public awareness is something we really need. Maybe I can help that happen!