Lauren Spencer
About five years ago, my grandma kept a serious secret from the family. We usually don’t keep secrets because our entire family is really close. For some reason, grandma felt that this time, we shouldn’t know.
Grandma and Grandpa live in Las Vegas, which is hours away from half of the family. When she wasn’t feeling too well, Grandpa would always take her to the doctor’s office but never questioned the reason why.
One day, my mom calls her and tells her great news about how we received third-row seats for my cousins and me to see our favorite artist in concert. And the concert was in Las Vegas.
My mom is telling her how excited we were about flying out there and seeing her and Grandpa and spending time with them. That’s when my grandma revealed to her what she had been hiding for months; Grandma had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month. People from all over the nation raise money and awareness for the illness. It is important to have at least one month dedicated to spreading the word about how serious this form of cancer is and how many people are affected by it.
Being someone who had a close relative diagnosed with breast cancer makes me want to help raise awareness also. When I finally realized that my grandma, the only one that is still living, was diagnosed with a fatal illness, it crushed me.
To remember her having this long and beautiful black hair to being completely bald because of chemotherapy was tough for me to handle. I couldn’t have even fathomed how she felt. But no matter what, we supported her, all while keeping a smile on her face.
Breast Cancer Awareness month has been around for the past two decades. There should be awareness for all life-threatening diseases. People are dying every day over illnesses they have no control over, or even expected to happen to them.
Raising and donating money are always wonderful deeds to live out. Contributing to help your fellow person is being a true Samaritan.
Thousands of women lose their battles with breast cancer every year. Many are also survivors who hope that the cancer never returns. Grandma is a survivor of breast cancer and has been for some years now.
I just hope that soon there will be effective methods for combatting breast cancer and other incurable diseases.
Life is short and you never know what may come your way. Many diseases are unexpected and can be deadly, but all you can do is pay attention to your health, get monthly checkups and live your life to the fullest.
Lauren Spencer ()