Some Rays from a Dark Time

Sarah Morrow is a very involved young woman in the field of cancer awareness, with a very real, and personal experience.

At age 17, Morrow is the youngest in her family. Her older brother, age 20, lives in Colorado, while she lives in New Hampshire with her mother. She claims Boston Massachusetts to be an almost second home seeing as that was the location of her father’s office.

Morrow’s father was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer when she was 14. Nine months later, he passed. After her father’s passing, Morrow turned to her brother for support seeing as he was the more stoic, stable one.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest form to detect, and has only a 2% chance of survival after 5 years.

It has been 3 years since their father passed, and from this great tragedy has come a strengthened bond between Morrow and her brother, who has taken on a paternal role in the absence of their father. Miss Morrow’s mother, who is a psychiatrist, has taken a much more analytical approach to her grieving, not allowing her emotions to get the best of her. Morrow even went as far to say that she seems “…almost too good to grieve.”

In the recent years, morrow has made several connections to help her cope as well. When her father was diagnosed, she learned that two girls, twins, that she was friends with had also lost their father to cancer. Later, another friends father was also diagnosed. These girls have set up a little support web to turn to when times are hard as Miss Morrow said, “We’ll send each other a text on Fathers’ Day or holidays, just kinda ‘Hey, thinking of you’ type things.”

Miss Morrow’s mother has not started to form any new relationships in the years since Mr. Morrow’s passing, which seems to be perfectly with Morrow and her brother. When the subject has been brought up Miss Morrow and her brother have expressed their disapproval, saying she felt that it was just too soon, the pain is still too real. She did admit though if her mother were to start dating again, she would be able cope. Just as she has.