Raising the STEAM with Ross

Today is the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Seven years ago, my mother passed away after a 20-year battle with breast cancer. I was in the 9th grade of high school when she was first diagnosed. She was in remission for some years, but then it came back when I was in my 20s. My mother and I were close at that time, but I was so afraid of her dying that I pulled away from her emotionally. We were never the same again.

She went back into remission for about a decade after that and then she was diagnosed for a third time. When they found it this time, it had metastasized and it was only a matter of time. She suffered, I mean SUFFERED for the next 3 years. She was on a pain patch, she lost her voice, her bones were in constant pain because of the cancer that had invaded them.

I will never forget the day I sat with her when her oncologist told her that there was nothing else they can do. My mother cried like a baby. I watched my mom cry like a baby… I can’t stop the tears as I am sitting here typing this and reliving it. My cousin Patrick was there too. My dad and brother were at the Doctor’s office. Patrick and I stayed with her at the house because she was too weak and in pain to go.

One of the reasons I am passionate about supporting people who want to become doctors, researchers, and other STEM professionals is because I want us as human beings to understand disease more, to care for people going through the treatments more effectively, and to prevent the suffering that I watched my mom endure.

God bless all breast cancer survivors, warriors, and angels.

#BreastCancerAwareness

1 year ago | [YT] | 3