Dear Cancer,

I have a letter for you. A letter that is overdone and perhaps overplayed considering your overwhelming prevalence all around this world. Cancer I have oh so much I'd like to say to you; so much, that a letter almost seems minuscule and unworthy.

When I was little, I grew up knowing that I had an older sister, and older sister that I would never be able to hug or play with. A sister that would never get to teach me how to braid my hair or talk to boys. A sister who would never get to see me go to my first homecoming dance, or meet my first boyfriend. A sister who would never be there for our baby sister, who would never be able to say "I love you" back. You took her. You took her from people who gave her life, from people who loved her more than anything. You took her life before it ever started. You took away a baby from her parents and an older sister from her future siblings. You perhaps took away a future doctor or lawyer, an amazing writer, an activist, a future mother. You took her away in no time, with no remorse.

As I became older I never had the chance to attend a wedding. But I did attend a funeral. This time, an aunt. You made her weak and you made her hurt. Cancer you scared me, because this time you showed me in person the horrors you could create. Her skin, orange, her eyes, deep and dark, and her soul withering. After this encounter, I truly feared you. Your name, 'cancer', shook me and made me believe that humans were no match for your wrath. At her funeral, I sat and could not even fully process the fact that someone could be sick to the point of death. I mean at 10 years old, death is not simply processed no matter the circumstances.

Life goes on, and so did I. By high school I realized that my passion was helping those in need. I wanted to be a doctor, I wanted to be on the frontline with those who were sick. I became desensitized and thought of patients as simply patients, thought of you (Cancer) as simply something that may or may not be cured. I really tried to block you out cancer, I really tried to forget about you and the things you do. You of course found your way back in my junior year of high school when I fell in love. I fell in love with someone who had been under your hold, someone who you had hurt. And I saw someone who had not let you take hold of their fate. I saw that you not only affected someone physically, but I saw the harm you did mentally and emotionally. And cancer I don't know if you realize the manner you can impact an entire community.

My freshman year of college you fucking crossed the line cancer. You broke my heart into a million pieces in the manner of seconds. Cancer how dare you enter my house, how dare you affect my life this manner? Cancer you have no heart, you have no empathy. But its okay cancer. I forgive you for what you have put us all through. You have taught my family that it is okay to not be okay. You have taught us to live life one day at a time. You taught us to never give up. You taught us that no matter how rough times get, things can't stay rough forever. You've made me appreciate the good times 1000 times more, and you've let me fully appreciate the good times I've had in the past. And most importantly, cancer, you have taught me that you have never really won a battle. You may succeed in murdering people in this life, but their courage and their spirits live on further than just a lifetime. So keep playing this game cancer. I dare you.

-Chelsea Lauren Fleming