I realized recently I can’t always remember some events from my childhood. That is, until something jogs my memory — a photo, an ornament, a story, etc.

It’s been 21 years since my grandma’s death, and, unlike other days in my childhood, I’ve never forgotten the day she died. While I’ll never know how long she might have lived had cancer not taken her, I’ll forever blame cancer for cutting short the time I had with her.

She’s the reason I started participating in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life. And it is the research, the programs, the services, the education, the advocacy the American Cancer Society does that has kept me involved more than 20 years later.

Cancer took my gram away far too early, so it’s been my motivation to make sure other children can share more moments and memories with their grandmas (and grandpas) that I was not afforded.

Help fund research and programs for cancer patients and families by making a donation to my Cherry Pickers team at the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Greater Cranberry Township.