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Outpouring of love surrounded Arnold School alumna in battle against cancer
April 26, 2010
Olga Ogoussan
Arnold School of Public Health alumna Olga Ogoussan, 38, lost her battle last week against breast cancer.
A prayer service will be held at St. Thomas More on Monday, April 26, at 6 p.m. in the chapel of St. Thomas More Catholic Church.
The funeral will be held on Tuesday, April 27, at 11 a.m. at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, followed by procession to Elmwood Cemetery. A reception will be held after the cemetery service at St. Peter’s from 2 – 4 p.m.
Donations to assist Olga’s family with the funeral and other associated costs can be sent to: The St. Vincent de Paul Society, St. Joseph’s, 3600 Devine St., Columbia, SC 29205. Checks should be made to the “Olga Fund.”
“We have lost a dear friend and colleague,” said Dr. Tom Chandler, Arnold School dean. “Olga battled a terrible disease courageously and tirelessly, and her bravery and resolve during this difficult struggle always will be an inspiration to all who knew her. Our prayers and thoughts are with her family.”
Olga, who trained as a physician in the West African Republic of Benin, was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2001. The news came just three weeks after she arrived alone at the University of South Carolina campus with a fellowship to study at the Arnold School.
Colleagues from the Arnold School and new friends in Columbia rallied to raise $15,000 to bring her husband, Kisito, also a physician, and her two young sons to Columbia where she was recovering from a mastectomy.
For the next two years, her husband took care of the boys and worked odd jobs while Olga went to school. He also learned enough English to apply to the Arnold School and later earned tuition assistance toward a master’s degree.
Olga earned her master’s of public health degree in December 2003. At that time, her husband was one class and one major project short of his own degree.
Unfortunately the couple’s visa was about to lapse, and even though they had applied for an extension, the Immigration and Naturalization Service ruled they had to return home.
Thanks in part to the support of the Arnold School, some friends, and her country’s government, the couple was allowed to return to the United States a month later when Olga began work on her doctorate in the Department of Health Promotion Education, and Behavior. Things appeared to be looking up for the family. Kisito finished his master’s degree in August 2004 and began work as a public health researcher.
However, in September 2004, Olga discovered that cancer had returned to her lungs. Her doctors at South Carolina Oncology Associates immediately put her on a chemotherapy regimen.
In 2005, doctors found spots on her brain. Doctors at Palmetto Health Richland were able to neutralize the tumors with Gamma Knife surgery, a non-invasive procedure that focuses radiation with scalpel-like precision.
Arnold School friends and colleagues rallied again to help raise funds to bring Olga’s parents to the United States to visit their daughter.
“Throughout Olga’s illness, Arnold School faculty, staff and students responded to the family’s needs with caring and concern. The level of support that came from so many people is remarkable and a reminder of the compassion that comes with careers in public health,” Chandler said.
The following story appeared in The State newspaper: http://www.thestate.com/2010/04/23/1256580/benin-woman-embraced-by-columbia.html
