Stone Mountain resident Patrice Peters calls herself a “people person” and a “cheerleader” for women, especially encouraging them to lead healthy lives. While working as a personal trainer, group exercise instructor and health coach at a Tucker fitness center, Peters said, she met many great women and felt invested in their health. When she learned a few years ago that one of her clients had ovarian cancer, she was pained by the news.
“She was a young woman, maybe in her mid-30s. She was very high-spirited, cheerful, smiling, everybody liked her,” Peters recalled. “She kept coming to exercise as long as she could. She even went into remission briefly, but when the disease came back it was devastating. I was shocked to see her. She had lost about half her body weight. I almost didn’t recognize her,” Peters recalled. “The only thing that was still the same was her smile; her smile was still there.” She died not long after.
The young woman’s attitude, even when it was clear that she would not survive the illness, inspired Peters. “She seemed to say, ‘Well, I gave it my best shot.’ She had always loved to dance. Near the end, she threw a dance party—a sort of celebration of life.”
Peters said the experience prompted her to sponsor fundraisers for Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance (GOCA). “We hear a lot about breast cancer, but much less about ovarian cancer, which also is specific to women,” she said, adding that she learned that although ovarian cancer is considered “rare” with fewer than 200,000 cases each year, it is often deadly because it is not diagnosed in the early stages.
“This disease comes at women in a sneaky way. The symptoms are so general people often dismiss them as something minor. They have abdominal bloating and think, ‘maybe I just ate too much’ or ‘maybe this is just what happens as you get older.’ By the time they realize something serious is going on, they are in stage four when it should have been caught in stage one,” she said.
When she learned of her client’s illness, Peters said, she wanted to help and volunteered with GOCA when she could in addition to sponsoring fundraisers. GOCA’s mission is to increase awareness and promote education for ovarian cancer throughout Georgia.
Peters, who recently was elected to the nonprofit’s board, said she believes a great many more women could be saved if people were more knowledgeable about ovarian cancer. “Surprisingly, much of our work is with doctors and other health professionals to urge them to look for ovarian cancer in patients who present with certain symptom. Many who represent GOCA are themselves ovarian cancer survivors. Who better to tell the story than someone who has been through it?”
Ovarian cancer, Peters said, “is not just a sickness of the body.” It has to do with the essence of the patient’s womanhood, she noted. “She goes through a lot psychologically as well as physically. She needs the type of support that an organization like GOCA can provide.”
With a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in public administration, Peters said fitness for her was initially “a glorified hobby.” Now, she said, it’s a life passion. With 20 years of health and wellness experience, she is certified by numerous fitness associations. She also serves as an American Red Cross volunteer instructor, certifying others in first aid, CPR and AED training. She has promoted wellness through celebrity collaborations as well as partnerships with health clubs and local community centers.
Peters works with the Atlanta Beltline fitness program and serves as the health and wellness committee chairperson for the Caribbean Association of Georgia. In 2020, Peters also earned a paralegal certificate from the University of Georgia and works primarily on cases where an individual’s health has been compromised by a process or product.
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