Tampa Tribune, The (FL) - April
1, 2005
Author: B.C. MANION,
bmanion@tampatrib.com
By B.C. MANION
bmanion@tampatrib.com
TAMPA — Rhonda Gail Franklin, lost her 10-year battle with ovarian cancer
Tuesday, but she wouldn't want to be the focus of attention, her family and
friends said.
Instead, the 43-year-old advocate for ovarian cancer patients would take this
opportunity to express again the need to find an effective way to detect the
disease in its early stages, said Anne Green, her mother.
That's the message Franklin, of Wesley Chapel, delivered repeatedly in her
quest to fight the disease.
She co-founded a local chapter of OVACOME, an advocacy and support group for
ovarian cancer patients.
She wrote letters to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, urging faster
approval for potential ovarian screening tests.
She went to Washington to plead the case.
She also helped other ovarian cancer patients.
"She was on the Internet with people from all over the United States,
trying to help them," Green said. "Ovarian cancer is so insidious
because they cannot detect it until it's too late."
The American Cancer Society estimates 16,210 women will die from ovarian cancer
this year. If it is caught early, the survival rate jumps to more than 90
percent.
No sufficiently accurate early detection tests are available, the cancer
society reports.
A Tireless Advocate
Franklin was tireless in her push to help others, despite her personal battles
with the illness. She lost her hair, took painful injections and tried every
experimental treatment that came along, family and friends said.
"There were times when she could barely walk, but she would keep
going," said her boyfriend, Tom Brannen. "She inspired me. She hung
in there."
"She struggled for 10 years in constant pain, and if you met her, you
would never know it," Green said.
"She was one of those unique people who takes a challenging situation and
finds a way to use it for the betterment of others," said Rabbi Richard
Birnholz, who will officiate at Franklin's funeral.
Franklin learned of her disease while she was a secretary at Schwarzkopf
Elementary School.
It's been 10 years since she left the school, but Principal Jennifer Kori
recalls Franklin as a vivacious woman with a quick smile.
Not only that, she was good at her job.
"I was impressed with her immediately," Kori said. "She was
totally efficient."
Her Children Were Everything
She was particularly proud of her children, Sarah Rose and Eric Samuel, Kori
said.
"The sun rose and set on those two kids," Kori said.
"I personally think that her kids were a big source of strength for
her," said friend Jo Ann Solomon.
She was tenacious, Solomon said. If there's a message Franklin would want to
convey, Solomon said, it would be this: "The fight goes on."
(CHART) RHONDA GAIL FRANKLIN
BORN: Sept. 2, 1961, in Commack, N.Y.
DIED: March 29, 2005, in Tampa
SURVIVORS: mother, Anne Green; daughter, Sarah Rose; son, Eric Samuel; brother,
Barry Steven Green; and sister, Marion Linda Janowiak
SERVICES: 1:30 p.m. today at Congregation Schaarai Zedek, 3303 W. Swann Ave.,
Tampa. Interment afterward at Gan Shalom Cemetery
MEMORIALS: may be made to OVACOME, P.O. Box 272072, Tampa FL 33688