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Colleen’sDreamFoundation

Nicole and BillyCundiff take makinga differencepersonallyBy Susan Lanier-GrahamPhotos by Carl Schultz

Up CloseAn in-depth look at an influentialindividual.

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Nicole and Billy Cundiff had, for the most part, asort of charmed life. He with an NFL career andshe as a lawyer, following in her father’s footsteps.Life changed dramatically in September 2007when Nicole’s mother, Colleen Drury, wasdiagnosed with Stage 3C ovarian cancer. Thatterminal diagnosis, which ended in Drury’s deathin February 2013, may have left some peoplebroken. Not the Cundiffs. Instead, it motivatedthem to share Drury’s passion for life, to make theworld aware of ovarian cancer, and to help find anearly diagnosis screening test for the deadlydisease by creating Colleen’s Dream Foundation.

Colleen Drury and Ovarian CancerThe Cundiffs met at Drake University in Iowa andhave been together since they were 20. Nowmarried for 11 years, they’ve had what Billy calls a“fun ride together.” He finished college andlaunched his football career with the DallasCowboys. While in Dallas, Nicole finished lawschool. In the ensuing years, Billy has played for13 teams, spending the past two years with theCleveland Browns. The couple moved to Phoenixpart-time in 2005, and Nicole practiced law withher father. They were expecting their first childwhen life turned upside down.

“My mom was amazing,” says Nicole. “She wasstunningly beautiful, but even more beautiful onthe inside… she was a total sap and cared abouteveryone.”

Drury didn’t fit any of the stereotypes for a cancerpatient. She was active, worked out daily, ranmarathons, and traveled the world. In fact, as withmany ovarian cancer patients, her symptomswere easily dismissed.

“Ovarian cancer is known as the silent killer,”explains Nicole. “Most women and their doctorsdon’t recognize the symptoms until they’re inStage 3C or Stage 4. The symptoms are so vaguebecause they are things women experience everymonth. For my mom, it was only when the pain

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became so debilitating did we recognize thatthere was a problem.”

According to the Ovarian Cancer NationalAlliance, 22,280 women were diagnosed withovarian cancer in 2012 and 15,500 died. Mostdiagnoses are in women over the age of 40 withadvanced stage cancer. If ovarian cancer isdiagnosed in the early stages, it has a 92 percentfive-year survival rate.

The Cundiffs, through Colleen’s Dream, work toraise money to fund scientific research that theyhope will someday lead to an accurate earlydetection test. The couple partnered with some ofthe best doctors in the world to set up the grants.Just as important as the grants, however, are thelives they touch.

“It’s important for men to understand ovariancancer,” explains Billy. “Not everyone has a sister,wife or girlfriend, but everyone has a mom.Basically, if the symptoms a woman experiencesevery month persist for more than two weeks, gotalk to your doctor.”

Those symptoms include back pain, bloating,pressure/pain in the abdomen, feeling full quickly,constipation or diarrhea, and abnormal vaginalbleeding or discharge.

Colleen’s Dreamis BornNot only is thereno early screeningfor ovarian cancer,many times theCA-125 blood testused in diagnosis gives false positives ornegatives. For Drury, a CT scan provided thedefinitive and surprising answer. Rather than giveup, Drury fought to the end, helpingconceptualize Colleen’s Dream while spendingher time with family and traveling.

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The organization’s goals are best summed up inDrury’s own words: “As I look out in the future, Idream of a time when women of all ages will havea reliable early detection test for ovarian cancerand more humane treatment for those womenwith late stage ovarian cancer.”

Today, Billy echoes those words. “We want tofund a diagnostic test,” he explains. “I don’t wantmy own daughter to go through this. We need atest similar to the Pap smear used to diagnosecervical cancer. Our goal is to have a party oneday to say we did it, we have a test.”

To help fund that research, the Cundiffs—now full-time Phoenix residents even though Billy spendsmuch of his time in Cleveland—donate their timeto the organization and work throughout the yearto raise funds and educate the community.

“This is personal,” says Billy.

Since the birth of their third child two years ago,Nicole quit practicing law to be with the kids anddonate her time to Colleen’s Dream. In the pasttwo years, the organization has awarded morethan $250,000 in research grants.

Keeping the Dream Alive As part of Colleen’s Dream, the Cundiffs launched“Kicking for the Dream” in which kickers—professional athletes such as Nick Novak andSpencer Lanning, alongside high school andcollege athletes and the general public—raisemoney for the cause. The money stays in the localcommunities and has helped young researchersat such places as Johns Hopkins, the ClevelandClinic, Memorial Sloan Kettering, the HollingsCancer Center at University of South Carolina,and Georgia Tech.

“This is so personal for us,” says Nicole. “We don’twant to lose touch with what our mom wanted. It’sabout these women.”

For more information on Colleen’s Dream and

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ovarian cancer, visit www.colleensdream.org.