Cancer,
I once was a little girl, and I had absolutely no idea who you were. I began to grow up, and you seemed like something that I would never come in contact with. I was not aware of how unpredictable you are. However, as I grew up, even more, I began to learn just how terrible you are as you entered the lives of those I love, created so much pain and suffering, tore them apart, and in some cases, brought them to an end.
You first came into my life in 2011, when I was 14 years old. I believe it was the beginning of August. I was doing everything that a 14-year-old would do in summer with a few weeks left before having to return to school. I remember coming home from a fun day with my friends and sitting down on the couch and seeing my Dad crying and my Mom telling us that you, cancer, had chosen my Grandma.
Now let me tell you a little bit about my Grandma, she was an incredible person. She put absolutely everyone before herself. The amount of acts she did to help people all around the world are countless. My Grandma loved sunflowers, American Idol, salted nut rolls, her pets, knitting, and reading, particularly at the cabin. She would always hang her clothes out on the clothesline to dry on the beautiful days. Now whenever there is a day where it is beautiful I say to myself, “It’s a grandma clothesline day.” Grandma loved the outdoors. She spent more time at the cabin than she did at her home. One of my favorite memories with her was the many times we would go to Lake Superior and walk along the shore and search for sea glass. Grandma always had an eye for it, and now I do. I feel like she passed it on to me. My grandma was an incredible artist. Just incredible. I would go over to her house, and we would paint together with watercolors for hours. She always had something new to show me and a new technique to try. My grandma has been gone for the past six years because of you. Because of you, she missed my high school graduation, me being accepted to college, and most importantly, my art show. I wanted nothing more than her to be there that day. She would have been so proud of me, and she would have truly appreciated my art and seen the specialty in it. Others tried, they did, but it just wasn’t my grandma. I knew she would have been there, but you kept her from it, and I hate you for that.
The worst part about this all was having to watch my grandma, who I believe was one of the most strong-willed people in the world, fight you. My Grandma could do anything. She could make incredible food, read a whole book in a day at the lake, make someone’s day with a smile, and I bet if she wanted to, save the world. My grandma was the best, and I believed inside of me that she could beat you. She was such an incredible person and had done so many great things throughout her life, and I knew that she was not going just to let you take away everything from her. But you did. You took away everything. Eventually, my grandma was too weak to knit, read, paint, and even go outside. She couldn’t do the things that made her happy, that made her, her. You destroyed her, and it destroyed me while I watched it happen. You intruded her life, and eventually took her away from my family and me, and I hate you so much for it.
If taking my grandma away from me wasn’t enough for you. This past year you decided to do it again. Except that this time, it was my grandpa that you decided to target. He too was a great man. He always had a great story to tell. He was one of those people who could just instantly put a smile on your face. Going up to his house was always an adventure, and he was always down for one. My grandpa was ALWAYS humming. It is a sound that I miss so much, which at the time I didn’t even realize that I would ever miss it. Why you decided to take away that beautiful sound from the world is beyond me. I don’t understand you.
The worst part about losing both of my grandparents is having to watch my dad go through it all. He lost both of his parents due to you. The amount of pain that you caused, my dad is not even describable. I wished so many times that I could take away my dad’s pain. It felt like someone was stabbing a knife into my heart every time I saw him crying. It was terrible. I am scarred from it, thanks to you.
Although you have caused so many tears in my family and taken so much away from me, I am somehow thankful that you came into my life. As hard as that is to say, I am. I am not thankful that you have destroyed my family. However, I am now able to use my personal experiences to help others who have or are going through the same battle that my family did. In memory of my grandma and grandpa, and all of the other incredible people who have lost their beautiful lives because of you, I am fighting to help others fight this battle against you. You will not win. You have done enough.
Sincerely,
A girl who knows that it is time for you to go away, time for you to stop ruining lives, and time for you to be destroyed.
It is time to stand up for cancer. It is time to help find a cure. It is time for cancer to stop ruining and taking people’s lives.
You can donate to several Cancer foundations at these links which are helping to find a cure for all Cancers:
-American Cancer Society: https://donate.cancer.org/index
-Stand Up To Cancer: https://secure.eifoundation.org/site/Donation2?df_...
-LIVESTRONG: https://www.livestrong.org/content/revlon-donation
-St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: https://shop.stjude.org/GiftCatalog/donation.do?cI...
-Relay For Life: https://secure.acsevents.org/site/SPageServer/?pag...
-Love Your Melon (An apparel brand dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer in America as well as supporting nonprofit organizations who lead the fight against pediatric cancer): https://www.loveyourmelon.com/
