When I was little, most of my life was carefree. I had nothing to worry about. I had no responsibilities and I had this vision in my head that everything was always perfect. Since I was born, my grandma's health was the topic of conversation. I was always curious about what my family was talking about. They had always mentioned the word “Cancer” but I was just a six years old with an open mind. From plastic models of the human body to picture books of every organ in the body, I was determined to learn more. By the time I reached seven, I knew the ins and outs of stage three breast and lung cancer.


When I was two years old, I moved into my Grandmas house. From the start I knew that this was something special. I was lucky to have had a relationship with my Grandma that many other kids would never experience. For eight years, four times a week my Grandma would go to the hospital for radiation therapy. Over the next couple of years, I watched as my Grandmas appearance slowly started to change. Her hair started falling out, she became frail and weak and she couldn’t do as many things for herself as she used to. I was determined to help her in any way I could.


May 3, 2003 was a typical Sunday afternoon. For the past 6 months we had a night nurse and a day nurse taking care of my Grandma. I remember the words of the night nurse as she left that Sunday morning. “I have a feeling this will be the last time I see you”. Those words struck me harder then I had expected. My Grandma had been confined to a hospital bed in the middle of our living room. Her words were slurred and it was obvious she wasn’t the same. My father was upstairs while my aunt and the day nurse were in the room with my grandma. I was playing games on the computer only two rooms away. “Jeff, come downstairs right now” was what I heard. “I can’t tell if she is breathing or not” my aunt called. We called 911 and within an hour, my Grandma had passed away.


My vision of everything always being perfect was now destroyed. I had lost one of my closest family members. As I start my senior year people ask me, “What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to study in college?” When I think back to my Grandma and how radiation therapy was such a huge part of her life, it makes me realize radiation therapy is the field I want to pursue. My goal is to help Cancer patients as much as I possibly can because I know what it's like to lose someone. My grandma has inspired me to this day to help others, and I know she would be so proud of me.