My name is Shawndra Turner. I am a wife of 3 years, a mother of a 20 month old, a sister, a daughter, a friend, a nurse practitioner and now a cancer patient. I am 31, just turned in July. At the age of 30, I was diagnosed with a rare form of colorectal cancer. Everyone was shocked, even the doctor who found it after performing a colonoscopy. He even thought the test would come back normal. I started having symptoms after I had my daughter, Ella, but thought this was normal after having a baby. Being a nurse practitioner, I thought I probably had Irritable Bowel Syndrome, something common and didn’t think much of it. The symptoms persisted and finally I went to the doctor to get it checked out. My world was turned up side down. I was just getting started with my family, and my career and now my life was in danger. This type of cancer is statistically aggressive and non-curable. The prognosis, needless to say, was not good. I started treatment right away. I had six weeks of chemo and radiation and continued to work until I was so tired I couldn’t work anymore and still come home to care for my family. My daughter was 10 months at the time of diagnosis. I then had surgery in January. The doctors removed the 10 cm mass in my colon and rectum, as well as performing a total hysterectomy on me. My desire to have another child, which we were just getting ready to do, was shattered. During my surgery, the surgeon saw that the cancer had spread throughout my abdomen, my omentum, and the tissues in my pelvis, as well as surrounding my left kidney. They could not remove it all. As soon as I healed enough, about four weeks later, I started another regimen of chemotherapy. As I went through all this, one of my neighbors found Jennifer Ireland’s website and immediately thought of me. The similarities between her and I were uncanny. I read through her site, beginning to end. For some reason, knowing that I wasn’t alone was comforting. I immediately felt a bond to her and her family. I eventually got connected with Chris Ireland and Jan Velander, Jenn’s mother. I also had my husband help start a blog to tell my story. I believe it helps me to write how I am feeling and what I am going through. I have gained a huge support system, and thrive on all the thoughts and prayers I receive from people I don’t even know around the world. Chris and Jan started reading my blog and felt a connection as well. They were so kind as to choose me as the first recipient from the Jennifer Ireland Foundation. I was shocked but blessed to receive this great honor. I am not currently working, and with medical bills, cost of medication, paying for daycare for Ella etc. this really helped Doug and I financially. There is so much we are going through during this time, the last thing we need to worry about is finances. Thanks to the Jennifer Ireland foundation and the kindness of Chris Ireland and the board, we had to worry about one less thing in our lives. We are forever grateful! Now I can concentrate on being a mother, a wife, a daughter, and a friend for hopefully a very long time.