Just a few days ago I learned my (much older) step-brother’s grandson, Brendan, was just diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called angiosarcoma. If that’s not devastating enough, let me tell you this little guy is only 6 years old. His mother is only a year older than I am, and as a mother myself (and someone who knows firsthand the hell it is to experience and fight a direct family member’s cancer) I can only imagine the horror she’s living. From what I’ve understood, it was pure luck that they caught it at its early stage. The doctors found some tumor(s) in his foot while evaluating him for some complications he had in the healing of a broken bone (toe or such) that happened months ago. I’m not sure of the details, his specific prognostics, or the treatments he’ll be getting. All I know is that the road that lies ahead is not going to be an easy one for Brendan or his family. Ever since I got the news I cannot stop thinking about him and how the odds played such a strange roll in his case. I’m so humbled, and so grateful for my family’s good health; I thank God every day. I pray for Brendan and his family daily, and I keep reminding myself to not ever take my blessings for granted.

Brendan’s story reminded me that I should continue to spread the word on cancer awareness and screenings. Not that I haven’t been doing so over the course of the last two thirds of my life. Telling my personal family cancer stories over and over again over the years has been a means of spreading the word on awareness. It can happen to anyone, anytime. When the disease is such a global epidemic I don’t think anyone should think that these stories are too personal to tell. There is definitely no shame in any aspect of it in any way. It’s only made us all stronger.

Dad’s suffered from skin cancer for years, but it was never an ‘issue’. He’s fair skinned, and of course living in Venezuela he’s been exposed to a lot of sun. Not using sunscreen didn’t help either. Anyway, his little cancer blotches have been cauterized when needed, and they’ve been random here and there. No therapies (chemo, radiation, etc.) of any kind were ever needed. But it’s a reality. Dad’s had skin cancer multiple times.

The real surprise came in 2006, when he noticed that what had been a tiny spec of nothing on his left nipple had become a few short months later a lump (the size of a huge grape, as we found later). I was actually with him at the Dr’s office when he had it removed, and after it was sent in for a biopsy we were shocked to find it was malignant. Dad had breast cancer. And that was the tumor which had been entirely removed. We were dumbfounded, shocked and really confused. Doesn’t breast cancer affect well, women? It turns out it is very rare in men, but it can happen, and it did. Long story short, Dad traveled to the US for one operation to check if the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes (it didn’t, so great!) and had a mastectomy of his left breast. He didn’t need any further treatment and has been fine ever since. I can happily report he’s also loving and living life, healthy and enjoying being a Grandpa.

My personal stories with fighting family cancer started at the very young age of 9. My mother was 39 yrs old when she was diagnosed (by the stroke of luck) with stage III Ovarian cancer. The doctors’ prognosis were anything but hopeful. The strange thing was a few weeks before the diagnosis she’d undergone an extensive health checkup elsewhere and was told she was fine. But how could they ever miss such an enormous tumor in her belly? We’re still dumbfounded. Anyway… My parents told me straight up Mom had cancer, and for my entire 4^th grade year she lived in Florida (at a cousin’s home, with Grandma as her caretaker) where she had operations and treatments, including several chemo rounds. I recollect little about that entire year oddly, only that I missed Mom and was looking forward to her returning back home with us, as if that were a fact. Luckily she did return home with us, cancer free, and life went on. It was only when I was much older that I learned the doctors had told her she’d most likely not make it, and also of her fears of not being able to watch me grow and be with me at all of my milestone life events. That’s how bad her cancer was. But she defied the odds. One true hero.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it. Three years later she got cancer again, only this time it was in the short intestine. Apparently it stemmed from the original ovarian cancer, so some cancer cells had spread there somehow. She underwent more operations and chemo treatments, only this time I was older and had a much better understanding of the reality, and she didn’t move to Florida for a year. She traveled back and forth to the US for operations and chemo treatments. It was a real reality check to personally face the face of cancer. I saw her lose all her hair, and all the other effects of chemo. It was not easy to see her suffering, and it really was an eye opener. Luckily once again, after the entire ordeal she walked away from an ill fate, victorious. Cancer free.

What are the odds, right? Well… come to think of it… 3 yrs after her second cancer scare she had it again, only this time it was in the colon. Things went about the same way they did when she had it in the intestine. Back and forth travel for operations and treatments, watching the effects of chemo, and all of us fighting strong, together. I am so proud and happy to say, for the third time the cancer did not claim her. She was cancer free. She claimed victory, and so did we.


It’s been almost 20 yrs since her first cancer, and 13 yrs since her third and last cancer scare. I’m happy to report she’s alive and well, loving and living life, and enjoying being a Grandma. She’s been able to be at my 15^th and 18^th birthdays, high school graduation, college graduation, wedding, witnessed the birth of Nico, and will now be coming for Victoria’s birth. Life is wonderful.

Cancer is a global epidemic. It is a reality. Anybody can get it. Anybody can be affected, directly or indirectly.
I bet everyone probably knows at least one person who’s had some form of cancer. At the very least everyone knows someone who knows someone else who’s been affected by cancer. You hear stories everywhere daily, in the news, magazines, tv, even among people you encounter in the street. From the most common and talked about lung and breast cancer, to those whose names are just as rare as the type of cancer itself. Cancer affects people of all ages, all races and all cultures. What you never expect is to be personally affected by the dreadful disease; you never imagine yourself or anyone you love getting it. I guess that’s just everyone’s hopeful optimism, or naïve denial. You hear about how it happens to others, and though in reality it can happen to anyone, chances are you think “it can’t happen to me”. The truth is this disease is reaching many, by the day, and we all need to open our eyes and ears and accept it is a very harsh reality and it can happen to anybody, anywhere, anytime. We need to spread awareness and encourage everyone to get appropriate screenings to ensure its early detection. This disease affects not only the person who gets it, but also their families and friends in a way only someone who’s lived through it could ever describe.

Cancer has run in my family for years and has affected all of us immensely. I feel it’s my duty to be a part of spreading awareness and encouraging all to get screened. Please don’t delay. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family and all those who love you. Additionally, I’ve included some cancer awareness badges on my blog to support the ongoing efforts to spread the word.

I will share some personal family cancer stories in a later post. In the mean time… please, I ask you all to do whatever you can to try to stop this disease from spreading, and take the time to encourage yourself and those you love to get screened. You can show your support in many ways, the simplest are spreading the word and displaying the cancer awareness ribbons, which come in an array of colors each pertaining to a specific kind of cancer.  If you’d like any of the awareness badges I’ve placed here in my blog simply click on them and you should be redirected to the hosting website. Again, thanks for your support!