Personal Narrative: When My Grandma Got Cancer

An experience that has made a huge impact on who I am today is when my single mother was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer when I was a sophomore in high school. I was instantly heart broken and terrified I would lose the person that motivated me to do my best. My mom and I have encountered many obstacles together that have made us extremely close, but this was the biggest challenge yet. I gave up many opportunities to be home with my suffering mother. It was not the high school lifestyle I was expecting, but it turned out to form me into a whole new person in a positive way.

You never realize how evil cancer truly is until it affects you or your family. I was four when cancer first affected me, stage four leukemia. My two year old cousin Conor was on the verge of death, and I had absolutely no clue. For the first nine months of his fight all I knew that he was sick, I assumed he had a cold, not fighting for his life. When I was five my mom sat me down to tell me that Conor was not going to make it, and that my brother and I were going with her to Albany to visit him. His bones were sticking out, his head looked like a bowling ball, and his skin was a pale blue. He looked like a child in a concentration camp during World War II. Honestly if you were to think of what a dead child looked like, that was him. That was the first time I realized that my mom was right, and that Conor was not going to make it.

“Sarah has cancer,” is a phrase that changed my life. I was barely ten years old when my dad picked me up from volleyball practice to explain why my little sister had been in the hospital so much. At the time, Sarah was eight and had been in and out of hospitals and various doctor’s appointments over the past two months to try and figure out what was going on. Learning she had cancer was both a relief and burden. The feeling of relief occurred because now we finally knew what was wrong, but it was a burden because you hear about cancer in the elderly, not in eight year-old girls that love sports.

In October of 2016, my grandma passed away from a hard battle with cancer. My grandma was my rock, the person who always pushed me to be better, the person who was always encouraging me to keep going, and the person who inspired me the most. During the battle, I experienced a lot of adversity. Whether it was school or cross country meets, that feeling never seemed to go away.

A few years ago, our dog Tasha was diagnosed with cancer around the age of two. She was taken to the vet to treat what was thought to be a torn ACL but I returned home to find out she had a cancer called osteosarcoma. We did everything to make sure she would be okay. She was often taken to the CSU Animal Cancer Center for chemotherapy treatment and eventually to amputate her leg. After the surgery, we hoped that we had stopped the growth of the cancer. Unfortunately, this was not the case and we eventually had to put Tasha down before she could experience anymore pain. This was all before she was even three years old. This loss was hard for our house. It was quiet and there was a lack of that chaos we had learned to love. We struggled with

It was October 22, 2017….first period of freshman year my best friend Casey got a call to the office. She came back in the room and looked distraught there were tears rolling down her face. Casey never had this look on her face and she never

In September of my junior year of high school, my mom told me for the third time that she had cancer. She had spent the entire summer coughing. It was a bad summer cold or maybe a stubborn case of bronchitis. No one could seem to figure out what was causing the cough. A late summer bronchoscopy finally solved the case. It was cancer. Calmly, she reassured me on that September day, “It’s an early stage cancer. They say it’s very treatable. We’ve been down this road before.” The next nine months was a road that no one in my family had traveled. Frequent doctor visits, chemotherapy treatments, and hospitalizations became our new normal. We painstakingly watched as each round of chemo treatments devastated and weakened her. Through everything, my mom was resilient, tough, and determined to live.

One of the most difficult things I’ve ever experienced has been my battle with cancer. When I was 21 I was preparing to submit my mission papers. What was supposed to be a simple physical exam, turned into an unexpected battle. In October 31, 2013 my doctors diagnosed me with papillary cancer. I had surgery, and a couple weeks after had radiation treatment. Months later I was told I was cancer free, and I received my mission call. I was assigned to serve in the Colorado Denver South Mission. Unfortunately a week after I got my mission call, I was told that my cancer was back, and had actually spread to my lymph nodes; its next target would be my lungs, thus making my goal to serve a mission seem further from my reach. I went through the process

Some people seem to grow up knowing exactly what they desire for themselves in regard to a career path; I, personally, have never felt that way until recently. I was born and raised in the beautiful town of Munich, Germany, by the most loving parents one could possibly have. My childhood was blessed by the fact that I was surrounded by people who cared for me and loved me deeply and unconditionally.

The summer of 2015 brought many memorable events for me including celebrating my sweet sixteenth birthday and passing my drivers test. However, my mother’s diagnosis of breast cancer and her journey fighting that awful disease was the event that most marked my transition from childhood to adulthood. I have a very close knit family and before my mother’s diagnosis, everyone had been very healthy. I guess I took a lot for granted including my family’s health, and I didn’t realize or consider what really was important in life. Prior to my mother’s illness I was a typical self centered teenager, not really concerned with anyone else but myself. I had always seen my mother, a full-time nurse, as a strong person who took good care of herself and her family. When I first learned that my healthy 48 year old mom had breast cancer, I was so scared. The thought of losing my mom made me feel very vulnerable. However, I soon found an inner strength and courage that I never knew I was capable of possessing.

Ever since I was a little girl I pictured my future growing up with my grandma at my side. I imagined she’d be crying tears of joy at my wedding, or even sitting in the stands at my first high school soccer game. All that changed though when my grandma developed ovarian cancer.

Well before I was born my grandma died. I think she was in her early fifties at the time. It happened while my dad was in college. My grandma had been diagnosed with breast cancer years earlier, and her condition had worsened. When my dad heard, he rushed from University of Illinois to St. Louis. He told me it was the one time he has driven over 100 mph. He got there on time, but days later she died. My grandma was a potter. My dad said she had a spinner in the basement, and loved to make bowls. There are several around my house. One bowl is in my room. It is blue and white with fish on the bowl. My dad says she got the design while they were traveling in Scandinavia. Now, the bowl is on my desk. I look at the bowl all the time. If I could

On my grandma’s birthday one of my family member were arrested. My family was throwing a party for my grandma. We were eating and playing games. While we're eating and playing games the phone rang. My grandpa picked up the phone and it was the court house. My uncle was on the other side of the line he was explain the he was in jail for theft. My grandpa told my grandma the story. My grandma had her heart broken one of her kids went to jail. She had a goal that none of her kids would not go to jail. She felt horrible she didn’t accomplish her goal. My grandparents hurried to the police station. The Judge told my uncle he will be in jail for 2 months. My grandparents were crying they didn't want to see any of their kids go to jail.

It was a Monday night; I remember it like it was yesterday. I had just completed my review of Office Administration in preparation for my final exams. As part of my leisure time, I decided to watch my favorite reality television show, “I love New York,” when the telephone rang. I immediately felt my stomach dropped. The feeling was similar to watching a horror movie reaching its climax. The intensity was swirling in my stomach as if it were the home for the butterflies. My hands began to sweat and I got very nervous. I could not figure out for the life of me why these feelings came around. I lay there on the couch, confused and still, while the rings continued. My dearest mother decided to answer this eerie phone call. As she

My grandma was always a hard working person. To see her eyes glisten in the sun as her tears streamed own her face. It touched me. Not only because she is my favorite grandma, but I have never seen her cry before. She always was that person to be able to stand up when no one else would, be kind when everyone else was mean, and stay dedicated and brave when all thought was lost. Her name was Shannon. Shannon Rhoda. Her entire life has been hard work. As I saw her just let loose and cry I knew how much her mother meant to her. For if I ever lost my mother i would do the same. But this was unlike her to do this. Which made it even more memorable. It was a special moment I will always remember