The title of this blog post “Does cancer run in your family”—was the HEADLINER of a brochure my OBGYN handed me this week at my well-woman check-up. Because my mother (a first-degree relative as she put it) died of ovarian cancer, having this type of family history is a red flag or risk factor for hereditary cancer.
11 years ago on May 1st, I lost my mother to ovarian cancer. She had battled the disease for 3 years and died a few weeks after her 49th birthday. I remember my mother saying during her last few weeks of life that she had to get better because she still had a purpose to fulfill on this earth. When I heard these words, I remember saying in my heart:
“I don’t want to arrive at the end of my life believing I have yet to fulfill my God-given purpose. I want to be able to say with confidence that I have fulfilled it.”
