My mom died on July 25, 2020 from ovarian cancer. She was just 50 years old, and had been battling ovarian cancer for 3 years. My mom and I had an extremely close relationship, and my love for her is what originally led me to my passion for women’s health. My passion for women’s health and ovarian cancer research and education is not only a huge part of what I do, but it has become who I am. A part of me—the heroic, child-like, and unwavering optimist part—so desperately wanted to help save my mom’s life. When I came back home and started working at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center specifically on ovarian cancer research, each workday morning she would say, “Isso, go out and save the world.” It always used to make me chuckle, as of course, this was a grandiose exaggeration. But my mom believed in me more than anyone ever has and ever will. And in my eyes, she was my world–and I would have done anything to save her life. As I enter my first day of medical school tomorrow (July 12th), she is constantly on my mind. Love is the most powerful tool that humans possess, and although my mom is no longer on this earth, my love for her will be alive forever.
