Franklin County resident completes 15k for ovarian cancer awareness

Alicia Thomson walks because she knows how fortunate she is to still be able to do so. She walks to bring awareness to a disease that threatened her life and has claimed the lives of countless women over the years.

Those steps combined to allow the rural Coulter resident to complete a virtual 15k challenge, sponsored by the Be the Difference Foundation, to raise money and awareness for ovarian cancer patients. From May 17 to May 31, Thomson walked towards her goal, which she officially completed Friday morning. Money raised during the challenge by competitors, she said, will help provide services and comfort to patients and fund clinical studies for the disease.

Ovarian cancer awareness strikes close to home for Thomson. She was diagnosed with it in 2015 after going to the emergency room for what she thought was a gall bladder issue. What doctors eventually found was a tumor the size of a small watermelon. Thomson said in hindsight, she realized some health issues she’d been experiencing for the better part of a year were connected to the tumor.

“I just passed it off to my diet or indigestion not realizing that entire time I had a tumor growing on my right ovary,” she said. “The last thing you think of is cancer.”

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