When I was 9 I lost my grandpa Al to cancer. It was my first experience with death and I thought for certain I would be sad forever. He was 52.
Fourteen years later my dear grandma Barb also lost her battle with cancer. She was 58.
And in 2010, one of the only women I admire as much as my mother, my grandma Charlotte, died after just a 10-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was a month away from her 65th birthday.
One biological grandparent left, and he is battling bladder cancer at this time.
Now, as I celebrate my 28th year, I want to do what I can to keep my parents around for many more birthdays. I don't need a $5 Hallmark card (that I'll throw away anyhow), Donate to the American Cancer Society instead.