The strongest, most courageous person I know

Courtney is one of my best friends and she amazes me with her strength and courage. I think if she was in a competition for woman of the year then she would definitely win. This past year she has battled cancer and is now in remission. This isn't the first time she had cancer either. She was only 14 when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and then only 22 when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She has gone through so much and still has so much spunk! She has the best outlook on life! She is one of the girls I'm going with to Australia and Tahiti. If you read the article, you can find out why we are going to Australia. She is from Ohio and 2 of the local newspapers wrote features about her story. Be sure to read them!
I'm posting a link to one and the 2nd I have to copy & paste so you can read the article.
Click here to read the article

Clifford embodies LIVESTRONG attitude
Two-time cancer survivor uses faith, determination to beat the odds
By Terri Fowler
Scioto Voice Writer

This Thursday, families all across America will gather together to give thanks for the blessings they have received over the past year. But, for Courtney Clifford and her family, of Portsmouth, the holiday has special significance. At age 23, Courtney is a two-time cancer
survivor, and no one is more aware of their blessings than her family. Her battles with cancer and her determination to triumph over that disease serve as a daily inspiration for her family, friends and
the surrounding community.
Her first bout with cancer began when Courtney was only 14 years old. An eighth grade student at McKinley Middle School, she excelled in both academics and sports.
“My younger brother, Tyler, and I were just horsing around one day,” Courtney recalled. “He has his hands around my throat, and we were making funny noises. He felt this lump, and he said something like, ‘Oh, you’ve got an Adam’s apple there.’ And I said, ‘What are you
talking about?’ I was just a kid and didn’t think too much about it. But, my parents were a little worried so they took me to the doctor to get it checked out.”
The results of a biopsy on the lump in her throat proved startling. Courtney was diagnosed with malignant thyroid cancer.
“I remember my dad called me out of class, and we took a drive and he told me,” Courtney said. “I remember these tears just welling up in his eyes. When I first heard it, the first thing I thought of was, ‘I’m going to die.’ I was 14 years old and didn’t know anything about (cancer). No one else in my family had had cancer.”
News of Courtney’s diagnosis devastated her close-knit family.
“The most important thing to remember is that you, yourself, are not the only one who has cancer,” she said. “Your whole family has it. They may not have it in the physical sense, but they have it emotionally and spiritually. They’re with you every step of the way.”
Her father, Curt Clifford, agreed, recalling those first agonizing days of uncertainty. As head football coach of the Portsmouth High School football team for 30 years, Curt was used to battling the odds and playing to win, but nothing in his coaching career had prepared
him to watch his daughter fight cancer.
“There’s really no feeling to describe what I felt,” he insisted. “Until it affects your child, I don’t think people can understand how difficult it is, how scared you feel. You just feel powerless and it saps your strength. You just get up every day and do what you know you have to do. We tried to keep everything as normal as we could,
but it’s so hard because it seems like your whole life revolves around fighting cancer and saving your child.”
Following surgery at the James Cancer Center at Ohio State University to remove her thyroid, Courtney began a series of radioactive iodine treatments aimed at stopping the spread of the disease which had already metastasized to her lungs.
“I had about five doses of that,” she recalled. “All the way up to, I think, my freshman year of high school. I played sports in high school, and I remember getting a dose during my freshman year of basketball. And that was pretty tough, having to sit out and miss things.”
But, eventually the treatment paid off, and Courtney was deemed to be in remission. She went on to earn All-Ohio honors in tennis, basketball and softball, served as her senior class president and was named valedictorian for her graduation in 2001.
Courtney’s hard work and a scholarship from the American Cancer Society earned her the opportunity to play college tennis at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She graduated four years later with a bachelor’s degree in Communications/Public Relations and a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
Upon graduation, Courtney landed her dream job with the A.T.P. Men’s Professional Tennis Tour in Florida and was excited about starting the newest phase of her life when tragedy struck again. Experiencing severe abdominal pain, Courtney rushed to a local emergency room. Doctors there initially diagnosed her problem as endometriosis and ovarian cysts and wanted to send her home. But, Courtney insisted something was seriously wrong with her body.
“I actually had a few doctors come in and consult with me,” she said. “I was admitted to the hospital, and four or five days later, after many, many tests, they came back with a possible diagnosis of ovarian cancer.”
Courtney immediately flew home to be with family and friends and once again consulted with doctors at the James Cancer Hospital.
“They didn’t really think it was cancer,” she said. “They thought it was endometriosis, too. I was scheduled for a laparoscopy on Nov.10, 2005, where they kind of go in and look around. And, as soon as they went in, they saw it and said it was cancer. The doctors were
just as shocked as we were, I think, because I was so young. They did a full hysterectomy, but the cancer wasn’t just confined to my ovaries. It had spread a little bit through my abdominal area so I ended up having pretty extensive surgery.”
Doctors also explained that the ovarian cancer was a completely different type of cancer with no known link to her earlier bout with thyroid cancer. A month after her surgery, Courtney began six months of chemotherapy treatment which ended this past May.
Throughout her treatment, in addition to the nausea, fatigue and hair loss that often result from chemotherapy, Courtney also suffered through crippling bouts of joint pain, exacerbated by her years of playing sports.
“Sometimes I couldn’t even walk up the stairs,” she said. “My dad would have to carry me up the stairs.”
During both her illnesses, Courtney credited her family, friends and the community with providing her the love and support she needed to beat cancer.
“The support from the Portsmouth community was unbelievable,” she insisted. “I definitely couldn’t have done it without everyone’s love, support and prayers. People I didn’t even know sent cards. There was a steady stream of mail. I’m so thankful for everyone who
did even the littlest thing. Cancer’s never easy as it is, but it was a little bit easier with the support I got from the community.”
A close college friend and former tennis teammate Jennifer Hatch, 23, of Champagne, Ill., proved to be one of Courtney’s staunchest supporters. When Courtney began her last round of chemotherapy, Hatch
sent her a world map - and one more reason to beat cancer.
“She said, ‘Pick a place, and we’ll go there,” Courtney said. “So I picked Australia. That really gave me something to look forward to, something to work toward.”
According to Hatch, she never doubted Courtney’s strength or ability to beat cancer.
“Courtney’s whole attitude toward life is amazing,” Hatch insisted. “She’s just really, really competitive. There’s just no way she was going to let cancer beat her and deprive her of doing everything she wanted to do. That was just not going to happen.”
Curt Clifford said he is still amazed at the outpouring of love he has seen for his daughter from the local community.
“I still get choked up just thinking about it,” he said. “Sometimes it takes a tragedy to see how much love and support is really out there for your family. I, for one, will never forget that. We’ve experienced it, and we’re so grateful for everything everyone has done for us.”
Now, in remission, Courtney has emerged a stronger woman and an outspoken advocate for the needs of other people fighting cancer.
“It’s very important to me that we get rid of this stigma that’s still attached to cancer,” Courtney insisted. “It is a treatable disease. It’s not curable right now, but it is treatable. You can still live a long, happy life with cancer. It’s no longer the death sentence it used to be.”
On Oct. 27-29, Courtney traveled to Austin, TX, to meet with other cancer survivors who share her goals as part of the first LIVESTRONG Summit, sponsored by the Lance Armstrong Foundation (L.A.F.). The
L.A.F., which was founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and World Championship cyclist Lance Armstrong, is dedicated to inspiring and empowering people who are dealing with cancer.
Courtney was chosen out of 1,500 applicants to attend the summit, which featured speakers such as Armstrong, prostate cancer survivor Sen. John Kerry, (D-Mass.), and breast cancer survivor Elizabeth
Edwards, wife of Sen John Edwards, (D-N.C.).
“It was definitely an honor to be chosen,” Courtney insisted. “The best thing about the summit was meeting other survivors, meeting other young survivors. It kind of gave me a sense of, ‘You’re not alone.’ There were amazing speakers there, and each person delivered
a powerful message. One of the slogans for L.A.F. is, ‘Unity is strength,’ and there was definitely unity in a room with over 700 people. It was definitely empowering and inspiring.”
Courtney returned with a new zeal to tell her story and work as a cancer advocate. She supports the American Cancer Society, and, this past June, she walked in the annual Relay For Life at the Scioto County Fairgrounds just weeks after completing her chemotherapy. Proceeds from the event help fund cancer research and treatment
programs for patients. In addition, she was an outspoken supporter of Issue 5 - placing bans on smoking - during the Nov. 7 election.
Although her doctors have warned that there exists a 50 percent chance that the cancer will recur in the future, Courtney refuses to dwell on that possibility, choosing instead to focus on having a long, happy future.
“I love to travel and spend time with my family and friends,” she said. “I love playing sports. I have goals for my life, and I’m not going to let worry over what could happen take those away from me. I’m on quarterly visits to my doctor, and right now everything is fine. We just kind of take it day by day.”
Curt Clifford credits his daughters strong faith and competitive spirit with carrying her through her many trials and helping her to maintain her positive outlook on life.
“She’s a very religious woman, a devout Catholic,” he said. “And she’s been a competitive athlete from the day she was able to pick up a ball. It’s never really crossed my mind that she wouldn’t beat this thing. I’ve always tried to teach all my children that tough times don’t last, but tough people do. Courtney is a living, breathing
example of that every day.”
Today, she’s eagerly making plans for her trek to Australia, which is scheduled for January 2007 - in time to watch the Australian Open tennis championship. And, despite her efforts to raise awareness about cancer, Courtney refuses to be defined solely by the
limitations of cancer.
“I don’t really want to be known as the girl with cancer,” she said. “I am so much more than that. There is so much more to my life. I’m a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, an athlete. Yes, I had cancer,
but cancer didn’t have me - and, so far, I’m winning.”

Cancer Facts and Statistics - courtesy of the American Cancer Society,
Cancer Facts & Figures 2004
• More than 10 million Americans are currently living with, through or
beyond cancer.
• More than 1.3 million people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer
this year.
• Of adults diagnosed with cancer today, 64 percent will be alive five
years from now.
• One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime.
• Three in four families will care for a family member with cancer at some
point.
• Almost half of the cancers people die from are preventable.

Facts & Statistics on Ovarian Cancer
• In 2006, an estimated 20,180 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with
ovarian cancer, and an estimated 15,310 deaths will occur from the
disease.
• Ovarian cancer accounts for nearly three percent of all cancers among
women.
• Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer and the fifth most
common cause of cancer death in women.

Facts & Statistics on Thyroid Cancer
• In 2006, an estimated 30,180 adults (7,590 men and 22,590 women) in the
U.S. will be diagnosed with thyroid cancer, with 1,500 estimated deaths
from the disease.
• Women are two to three times more likely to develop thyroid cancer than
men.
• Thyroid cancer can occur at any age.
• Caucasians are more likely to develop thyroid cancer than
African-Americans.