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CYCLING FOR A CAUSE:  Freeport’s Jenn Sommermann wants to raise money for ovarian cancer research.

Triathlete and Freeporter Jenn Sommermann has a dream  – to race 50 triathlons in all 50 United States by her 50th birthday. “I’m hoping to raise $100,000 for ovarian cancer  research and awareness of this deadly disease,” said Jenn Sommermann, who is an ovarian cancer survivor.

“I knew nothing about ovarian cancer, had no history of it in my family and I knew no one who had the disease,” explained Jenn. 

“This is a disease that whispers. The symptoms are very vague. I was over 40 years of age, tired and gaining weight. I had a little indigestion and some frequent urinating. Now I know that the red flag was that the symptoms were persistent. I wasn’t feeling like myself for over a year. That’s why I tell other women, if the symptoms are persistent, tell your doctor and get a trans-vaginal ultrasound.” 

It was only after Ms. Sommermann palpitated her own stomach one morning and it felt “lumpy” that she went to her doctor who gave her  an ultrasound and told her to find a gynecological oncologist immediately. The next day she was diagnosed with stage-three ovarian cancer and within 72 hours of first seeing her doctor, Jenn had surgery to remove what turned out to be a seven-pound tumor, “the size of an eggplant.” She was 42 at the time of her diagnosis in 2006. Jenn spent  the next year fighting for her life, using an aggressive form of chemotherapy that made her ill but “it worked,” she said, “and now I’m fine.” 

Ms. Sommermann said that she “only cried once, briefly. I never went through a ‘why me’ attitude. I looked at this as an opportunity. I wondered, what now?”

And then Jenn had an epiphany. “I saw an ad in Triathlete magazine about a triathalon series to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. It was a two-page spread covered in teal [the color used to identify ovarian cancer] and I thought to myself, ‘I can do this. I’m going to do this.’ ” 

The races were in three cities – Seattle, Chicago and San Diego – which Jenn completed in 2008. “At those three races I spoke to women and decided I could do more. I wanted to fundraise for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, to provide money to help find a method of early detection,” she said. 

“If you catch it [ovarian cancer] in the early stages, [one or two] you have a 92% chance of recovering. But most women don’t know until it is too late. That’s why a test for early detection is so important.”

According to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, only 45% of those diagnosed in advance stages survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region. 

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women, according to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund website. 

The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,880 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2010 and about 13,850 women will die from the disease. 

“All donations go to the OCRF to help with early detection. Progress is astounding. There are three biomarkers specifically linked to ovarian cancer. I’m hoping that what I do will help provide money so that they can work toward a test,” she said.

To date, Ms. Sommermann has raised $30,000 and raced in 20 states. During the 2009 racing season, Jenn was in six states; in 2010 she raced in another 11 states, Washington, D.C. and locally in Oyster Bay. “I’ve completed 40% of the races,” she said “and I’ve raised 30% of the money.” 

In 2011 Ms. Sommermann is already planning on racing in Texas, Florida, North Dakota and Kansas, as well as other states, as yet undetermined.

“I try to chose places where there are not as many health care resources and cancer centers. I speak to the women and tell them my story. I hope it helps them,” said Jenn. “A lot of people also find me through my blog as well. I received one e-mail from someone who hadn’t felt well and asked for  an ultrasound and discovered she had stage one. It worked and that’s why I do this.”

Donations can be made through Jenn Sommermann’s blog at jennsommermannblogspot.com or at the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund website: ocrf.org.

By Laura Schofer

Laura Schofer, staff writer for L&M Publications, has been recognized with several awards for many of her feature pieces published in Bellmore and Merrick Life, The Citizen and The Leader.