If you have ever been told you have cancer, you know it can be a devastating diagnosis.  Early detection is often the key to beating the disease.

A cancer survivor takes a stand to save lives and prevent women from going through the pain and heartbreak she experienced.

We find this Champion of Change in Statesboro.

Master photographer Lori Grice captures moments in time inside her Statesboro studio.

"I know people think I'm crazy, but I think cancer is the best thing that ever happened to me,” explained Lori.  “It gives you a clarity that you never had before.  You see what things are important and what things really don't matter at all."

In 2002, with her daughter, Edie Grace, just 14-months old, Lori learned she had cervical cancer.  

Fears about her daughter never knowing her mother went away after doctors removed the tumor; however, that eventually included a hysterectomy.    

Her journey led Lori to create The Healing Art Collection.  These images inspire, encourage and comfort cancer patients through the dark days of diagnosis and treatment.  A portion of the money raised from the sale of these prints goes to the American Cancer Society.

"She is so well known for her photography, and she uses it in a way to help others,“  explained  Kay Nay with the Bulloch County chapter of the American Society.  “Not just because it's a job she does, but I know it's a job she loves to do."

Lori's voice as an advocate became louder after learning vaccinations to prevent 70-percent of all cervical cancers caused by certain types of the human papillomavirus were not being used.

"This is one chance-- the first time in history that a cancer can be stopped,” said Grice, “and people are fighting it?  I just don't understand it.  It's not making sense to me."

The objections were mainly moral concerns over whether this vaccine promotes sexual promiscuity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the HPV vaccine for girls ages 11-12 and can be given to girls as young as nine.  That's the age Lori and her husband, DeWayne,  plan to have their daughter vaccinated.

 "I tell people all the time she can walk the aisle at her wedding in the whitest of white dresses, pure lily white,  but marry a guy who hasn't made the same choices that she has and dies seven years later from cervical cancer,” said Lori.  “In that case, how would I have made the best decision for her as her mom?"

Lori and DeWayne Grice even produced a  poster at their own expense promoting the HPV vaccine and cervical cancer screenings. 

"If this was a vaccine for prostate cancer, you'd have to call in the National Guard because men would be crawling over each other to be first in line before the shots run out,” said Lori.  “Then why wouldn't women want to protect themselves like men want to."

During the summer, Lori marked five years of being cancer free.

She urges every mom to have a conversation with their pediatrician or family doctor about the HPV  vaccine to learn all the information and get the facts.

Click here to visit Lori Grice Fine Art Photography and read her blog.

Click here to learn more about the HPV vaccine.