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Sharon Rushton gets back into fighting form at the final event of the WBT season

Sharon Rushton didn't let recovering from cancer stop her from fishing the Sept. 10-12 event of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Women's Tour.

By Tammy Sapp

Sharon Rushton, who successfully battled stage 3 ovarian cancer for the last year, fished the final event of the regular Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Women's Tour season on Tennessee's Old Hickory Lake. Coincidentally, the Sept. 10-12 WBT event was held during Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, a good chance for all women to become aware of the symptoms of this silent killer (See information about symptoms at the end of this article).

In early January, Rushton was forced to set her fishing aside to fight ovarian cancer. After extensive surgery and chemotherapy, Rushton, who isn't quite 100 percent yet, felt fit enough to fish the Old Hickory event as a co-angler (from the back of the boat with a pro).

"I was glad I got to go," Sharon said. "I needed it mentally as much as anything, something to look forward to."

Before her bout with cancer, Sharon enjoyed a successful WBT career first as a co-angler, then as a pro with five top 10 finishes and a big win in 2005 at Lake Lewisville in Texas.

While Sharon used to practice at least five days before a tournament as a boater and three as a co-angler, she knew this time she could probably only muster the strength for one day of practice before the tournament.

"It was hot and humid and I just had to sit down at times during practice. I was worried about my energy level for the tournament itself. But I did a whole lot better than I thought. Something just kicks in when you get in a tournament."

On the first day, Sharon boated two fish by 8:30 a.m.. and her third one came around 1 p.m., putting her in 7th place..

However, a lack of energy made day 2 of the tournament tough for Sharon.

"I felt more tired. I tried psyching myself up. But I missed some bites on the second day and had a fish on but lost it halfway to the boat. Who knows why? It's fishing."

The real heartbreaker was Sharon was only ounces away from making the cut to fish the final day, coming in at 23 in the standings.

Sharon said even though she didn't make it to the third day, she had a great time.

"It's great to see other woman who have as much passion for fishing as I do and I'm so motivated by all the talented women anglers."

As much as Sharon finds inspiration in other women, you can bet many of us draw strength from her, too.

For more information on the WBT, visit http://sports..espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/wbt/index

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month
Ovarian Cancer is one of the most deadly of women's cancers. Each year, approximately 21,500 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and approximately 15,500 women in the United States will die from it. Many women don't seek help until the disease has begun to spread, but if detected at its earliest stage, the five-year survival rate is more than 93 percent. Recent research suggests that together four symptoms- bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and urinary urgency or frequency - may be associated with ovarian cancer.

For more information, visit www.ovariancancerawareness.org

Become familiar with the symptoms by reading the following articles. It could save your life or the life of a loved one.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/81957.php

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ovarian-cancer/DS00293/DSECTION=symptoms