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My father died of brain cancer in 1991. I do not know anyone whose life has not been touched by the loss of a loved one to cancer. I wrote my book 'Gracefully Gone' about my father's fight and my struggle growing up with an ill parent. I wrote it to help others know they are not alone in this all-too-often insurmountable war against cancer.

Cancer runs in our family. I lost my grandmother to it. There's a saying that you meet people and instantly know them. My grandmother and I had that. The first time my heart was broken was when my grandmother passed away. I was twenty-one.

My grandfather and my uncle both died from colorectal cancer, my dad almost died from it and I have the gene for it.

I had an older brother who passed away recently, an older sister and a younger brother.

My dad was diagnosed with cancer, so we ended up burying him a year to the day that he was diagnosed.

At the age of 62, my father died of cancer - it was much too soon. My mother never remarried or got over it, never even thought of another man.

My dad died when I was 23. His death was sudden and shocking - the result of a car crash - and I never got to say goodbye.

My grandfather went through a lot in his life.