Jenna Morasca Discusses Having Loved Ones With Cancer
Posted by charity_scott | August 14, 2009
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Former "Survivor" winner Jenna Morasca recently wrote a blog discussing the effects of living through her mother's 12-year battle with cancer, and how the experience has helped her cope with longtime boyfriend and former "Survivor" winner Ethan Zohn's Stage 2 Hodgkin's disease diagnosis.
As part of a series detailing her life as Zohn's caregiver, Morasca writes about how her mother's cancer caused her to make different decisions, and changed her outlook on life. Her mother was diagnosed when Morasca was in middle school. At the time, she didn't really understand how serious her mother's disease was.
"Cancer did not equal death to me at that young age, I just thought my mother was sick and she would get better like she always does," she wrote.
Through middle school and high school her mother went to the hospital for tests and chemo, had good and bad days, while Morasca's life was more or less unaffected. She said that she felt the true impact of her mother's diagnosis when she went to college.
"While other college freshman where moving into their dorms, excited about starting a new part of life I decided to live at home so I was there to help my mom and not miss a precious moment ... while other freshman attended parties after class and in the evenings, I went home to be with my mom."
Even going on "Survivor" was inspired by her mother because it was her favorite show. Morasca said bringing her mother to New York City on Mother's Day to see her win the show is a memory she will cherish forever.
Morasca was invited back for the "Survivor: All Stars" show, but left early to be with her mother, who passed seven days after her arrival. Her battle with cancer lasted 12 years.
She said it was hard for her to watch her mother suffer, especially during the last days of her life. But the experience of dealing with the disease left an indelible imprint in her mind, and gave her the strength to support Zohn throughout his battle.
She wrote that cancer will be an ever-present force for the rest of her life, and that she will worry about Zohn's cancer recurring, "whether he is two months cancer-free or 20 years cancer-free."
"Cancer embeds itself into the fabric of your life and you just have to find a way to work around it," she wrote.
Morasca said she can feel her mother supporting and loving her as she deals with cancer for the second time in her life, and that knowledge give her the power to carry on.
You can read Morasca's blog post in full here. For more facts on cancer, visit the LIVESTRONG.com topic page here.
--By Charity Scott