It is easy to talk to Donny (and others) about being an entrepreneur, building my business, selling my business and all of the challenges I faced along the way. Cancer is a completely new topic for me. One thing I know for certain is that if even just one woman catches this episode and ends up making an appointment with her gynecologist as a result then it will all have been wo
rth it. I also know that if there are woman out there watching who are currently battling cancer of any type it is so comforting and helpful to hear other people's success stories and I so hope that my story helps people in that way as well.
People often wonder why I didn't talk about it openly from the very beginning and the answer to that is so complicated. One simple reason is that the narcissistic wound was so deep that when I tried to talk about it, I would often burst into tears! One day I was a busy healthy 35 year old mom of two young children and the next day I thought I might be facing death! But it was also a conscious decision that for the good of my business and to maintain my own sanity, I didn't want it to become what I was about or define that time period. I chose to compartmentalize it, radiation early each morning, chemo once a week, so that I could live the rest of my life and each day not in a cloud of cancer. I was very lucky that I didn't lose my hair and was thus able to keep this to myself. Of course, I had my sister and my 3 best friends who were always there for me.
I am so happy that I am finally comfortable speaking publicly about my experience with cervical cancer. I always wanted to help other women by spreading the word about the importance of an annual pap smear. I want women everywhere to be as cognizant of the Pap as they are of doing self breast exams. But I must admit, that talking about it is also kind of strange for me as I am an extremely private person and I have spent the last 6 years never speaking about it. Please remember not to pass on the pap! It could save your life, it definitely saved mine.
Have questions for Liz? Email Us at Donny@CNBC.com, And put "Question for Liz Lange" in the subject line!