My name is Snowden Lange, and like my two friends, cancer has deeply affected my family. Several years ago, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. Watching her grow weaker, more tired, and slowly become someone I barely recognized was heartbreaking. At first, she fought through it, and we had hope, but eventually the cancer returned. She made the incredibly difficult decision to let herself go, believing it was the best choice for her. I still remember sitting in the car with my dad when he told me. Every emotion imaginable hit me at once. Even though her cancer wasn’t breast cancer, the impact it had on our family and on me was devastating. It’s part of what drives me to raise awareness and support for cancer research.
I also think about my great-grandmother, who died from breast cancer many years before I was born. I never met her, but the space she left behind is still felt in our family.
We’re starting this fundraiser not just to raise money for breast cancer awareness, but to make sure no one else has to face a decision between life and death because of this disease.