Lost too many
Friday, June 15, 2012
By: Trina Parker

loved ones!

My family first came face to face with cancer with my dad having lost his mom to breast cancer when he was 14. I sadly never knew my grandmother, however have since lost my godmother, Sheila Weisenberg, and in the past six months, my husband's dear grandmother, Helen Udema, and two of my dearest friends, Dana Bennett in March, and just a week ago, my best friend Verena Marchase. After 5 years of remission, Verena's oral cancer came back a year and a half ago, and she fought it with chemo, radiation, and surgeries. Just last month, she decided that she was not going to beat this tumour, and that it was too aggressive for her to keep up with while maintaining any quality of life. I told her that I supported her in her decision to stop treatment, as she was at peace with it, though those were the hardest words I've ever said. Within three weeks, at the young age of 40, she was gone. Sadly, her children, almost 14 and 17, will now have to live a life without their mother, and her parents without a child. And me, without my best friend of 25 years. I can't imagine a world without this selfless, beautiful person in it. Verena was my role model. She had an energy surrounding her that made everyone flock to her, but she was very humble about it. She was the epitome of strength and wore this badge of having fought cancer with pride. She once said to me, "I feel like I got this so that somebody else wouldn't".