The beach has always held a special place in my heart. When I walk on the sand and listen to the waves hit the shore, there's a veil of peace that covers me. It brings me joy and happiness...like I'm walking on clouds. When you find that special place, you know it.

Even though cancer is becoming more widespread among many families today, the fear and devastation that families feel when a loved one is inflicted with the disease has yet to recede. Cancer had always been something that "happened to other people" and "wouldn't be something that would affect us" for my immediate and extended family, until my mum was diagnosed with the disease.

I remember the car ride home from my oncologist's office that day. My head felt twice as big with all the new information I had just received, tests that were required and phone numbers to schedule surgery, all stuffed in there like a sock drawer with too many socks. But to all those newly diagnosed sisters and brothers out there, take heart. It will not always be this way.