Mrs. Columbia to Emcee National Race to End Women's Cancer

A Columbia woman will emcee a national competition this November in Washington, D.C. The National Race to End Women’s Cancer is the major fundraiser and awareness-raising event for the Foundation for Women’s Cancer.

Zereana Jess-Huff, 34, overcame ovarian cancer in 2012. She lives in Kings Contrivance, according to Howard Magazine.

Last October, she was crowned Mrs. Maryland 2014 (the Miss America pageant for married women) after being named Mrs. Columbia, and has taken up the cause of getting women to talk about various forms of female cancer. “Think outside the bra” was her platform, according to Howard Magazine.

“You say the color pink and everybody knows what you’re talking about,” Jess-Huf said in a statement.

“In the same way we’ve become more comfortable talking about breast cancer, we need to start talking about our ovaries, uteruses and vaginas,” she continued, “because we have these other ‘lady parts’—and women are dying while no one talks about them.”

Jess-Huff is a mother, corporate executive and ovarian cancer survivor, according to the Foundation for Women’s Cancer. She is a health care executive, wife, mother and philanthropist, according to the Junior League of Baltimore, where she is on the board.

“I really am a cautionary tale for women all over the country who are invested in their careers but put their health on the back burner....what good are you to [your family] if you’re six feet under?” Jess-Huff said.

Women should get checked out if they have these symptoms for at least two weeks, she said: abnormal vaginal bleeding or discharge, pain/pressure in the pelvic or abdominal areas, back pain, abdominal bloating or swelling
, feeling full quickly while eating, frequent urination
, constipation or diarrhea.

“You have to take care of yourself,” she said. “As a woman and as a mother, you have to take care of yourself.”

Zereana Jess-Huff will serve as MC for the National Race to End Women’s Cancer in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, Nov. 2.

Photo Credit: Mrs. Maryland America Pageant