The Pink Ribbon

By Rashme

May 2nd, 2024

Cancer has affected many members of my family. My maternal grandfather died of stomach cancer. I remember my mom saying that hopefully by the time you kids grow up there will be a cure for cancer. Unfortunately, my mom died of ovarian cancer. Those were the worst days of our lives; we all siblings were extremely close to our mom. It shattered and devastated our lives. We kids were very young when our grandfather had passed away so it did not have a big affect on us but when the doctors told us that our mom only had three more months to live. Our lives just crumbled. We saw a women of 135 pounds become skin and bones, down to 85 pounds by the time she passed away. I would have died with her if it was not for my two little kids I had to take care of. In times to come, both my sister and I had to get our ovaries removed. A year ago cancer raised its ugly head again when my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thanks to the modern technology, it was caught early due to a mammogram and removed before it could spread. Thankfully, she is cancer free. I was encouraged to paint this semi- abstract “the pink ribbon.“