Finding Hope in These Challenging Days

HOPE. Our sister never—not for a minute—lost hope. 

March marks the second anniversary we remember our sister, Diane Redington, who lost her courageous three-year battle to gynecologic carcinosarcoma (GCS/MMMT) on March 15, 2018. 

Posthumously named as one of Peoria High’s 2018 distinguished alumnae for her personal and professional achievements, Diane was devoted to the field of health care. Holding two master’s degrees and a nurse practitioner degree, Diane served her Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, community as a nurse and held management positions at several local and national healthcare organizations.  

Shortly after her diagnosis, Diane realized that while there were websites offering support for women with carcinosarcoma, a critical void still existed. With her strong sense of community serving as a guide, she envisioned an online hub for women and their advocates to learn more about the disease, clinical trial opportunities and how to advocate for their medical needs where they could collectively fight for the cure - a place for best practices - and best wishes alike. 

With the support of her family and friends and a heart full of hope, Diane founded The GCS Project (gcsproject.org), an interactive digital platform to provide hope, critical support and education, backed by state-of-the-art medical information to women and their families. She was thoroughly committed to women with GCS and their families who contacted her, promptly returning emails, offering emotional support and guidance and instructing them on self-advocacy. 

Our sister best expressed her mission:

“I want this website, The GCS Project, to be a place of hope and help. It will take a community of people to make this happen. My dream is to harness the power of the people I love, the women who are affected by this disease, and the medical community to discover the next game-changing breakthrough to cure this disease.”

Diane worked tirelessly to find a cure for GCS. She knew that funded research and projects on the horizon would lead to amazing developments towards eliminating carcinosarcoma and that these discoveries likely would help other rare cancers. Incredibly, she managed to battle her disease while never losing sight of this mission. 

In three intense years, Diane pioneered world-class research that continues today at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2017, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center honored her as a 100 Everyday Amazing Individual, as the GCS Project raised over $350,000 towards research on GCS/MMMT cancer.

In 2018, Diane and The GCS Project funded research for the world’s first clinical trial to treat GCS/MMMT cancer. 

Diane’s family carries on her grassroots legacy to give help and hope. Please visit gcsproject.org/hope for more information.