Dear Colleagues,

The Hope for Hague 5K will be held on the Floyd campus on Saturday, April 25, at 9:00 AM, and I’d like to issue a challenge to GHC faculty and staff. Help Sharryse Henderson and Teresa Hutchins honor Dr. Nancy Hague’s memory by either (a) participating in the 5K or (b) sponsoring a GHC student. If you opt to participate, you’re in for a treat; Paris Lake is beautiful this time of year. But if you can’t participate, enlist a student to complete the race on your behalf. Go to the signup page [https://runsignup.com/Race/GA/Rome/HopeforHague5KRunWalk] to register and pay your $25 registration fee; then email Sharryse or Teresa with the name of the student you’ll be sponsoring. The student will get a nice goody bag, and you’ll get the satisfaction of knowing you rose to the Hope for Hague Challenge.

For those who are new to GHC, Dr. Nancy Hague was a psychology professor who taught on the Rome and Cartersville campuses. In 2012, she died of ovarian cancer. Sharryse and Teresa were with Nancy for the duration of her illness and started the Dr. Nancy Hague Memorial Scholarship as a way to honor Nancy’s memory and raise awareness of ovarian cancer. Profits from the Hope for Hague 5K Run/Walk are used to fund the scholarship.

Survival statistics for women with ovarian cancer have improved in recent decades, but the outlook is still grim. Fewer than 20% of ovarian cancers are detected early, when survival rates are still high, and fewer than 50% of women are alive five years after diagnosis. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of gynecologic cancers, and what makes it particular terrifying is that most of the risk factors cannot be controlled. What happened to Nancy could happen to any of us.

On the positive side, however, survival rates and early detection methods have improved in recent decades. The future does not have to be as grim as the past.

I hope you will all rise to the Hope for Hague challenge.

Thank you,
Nancy