COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Tara Ernske is one of the five Young cancer survivors being celebrated at this year’s Susan G Komen Race for the Cure as an honorary race chair. She grew up in northwest Ohio and describes herself as extremely talkative. “I remember my sister needing to go to speech therapy when we were little kids because I would talk to her all the time.”
Her dream was to direct Conan O’Brien’s late show and she ended up working in television for a while. She loved her career but wanted to do more for other people. She went back to school to become a nurse, something her dad always thought she should do “My dad told me the whole time as a BG you should be a nurse you’re great with people,” Tara said. “That’s your calling I just know it. And when I called him and was telling him I made the decision to make the switch I was like you get one time to say this to me. And he’s like, I told you so.”
In 2014, Tara was settling into her new career, balancing family and friends and just living life to the fullest when suddenly her life changed . During an annual exam her nurse practitioner found a lump. A series of tests were ordered and then, at the age of 30, Tara was told “you have cancer.”
“Thank God I do have that medical background because i got different opinion from doctors I work with on the floor or other staff,” Tara said. “I had the knowledge of different things and I have the access to look information up.”
Initially, Tara was very medical but eventually as a patient that all slipped away. “When you’re a patient you cannot process the information that you’re hearing.”
With the help of her support system, Tara got through treatment and is now sharing her story with others and encouraging them to live life to the fullest.
“You don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring, you have no idea what is going to happen next week next month next year. So do what you want to do now,” Tara said.
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