Marceline And Cancer

• Olivia Groves, Grade 7
• Poetry
• 2013

Cancer. What is it, really? It means different things to a lot of people. People say it changed their life, for the good or the bad. This is a story about a young woman named Marceline who was affected with a strong type of brain cancer. Marceline was 20 years old, she was at the primetime in her life. She was down to earth, fun, outgoing and really beautiful. She lived in Wales, Britain. She only had immediate family members who lived there. A majority of her family lived overseas in Australia. She saw them about five times. She treasured the time she had with her aunties, uncles and cousins. Whenever she saw them, it was for about 3 weeks. One morning, she woke up feeling quite drowsy and nausea. She couldn’t work out why. She got up and went in the bathroom, she couldn’t even walk straight. She fell straight to the floor and fainted. She wasn’t able to move her mouth. She lay there on the ground, she couldn’t move at all. Her mother walked out of her room, wondering what was going on. She saw her daughter, Marceline, lying on the floor. She ran to the phone and dialled 999 and got held of ambulance. She told them the situation. The ambulance arrived shortly and carried Marceline away in a stretcher. Marceline was in hospital for one week. They had discovered a large tumor at the back of her brain. Marceline’s mother was shocked hearing this. She didn’t understand why? Marceline was in hospital for the next 6 months. The reasoning for this was because of the tumor, Marceline’s brain went into spasm and wasn’t going to be able to function the way it used to be. This was a rare cause of type one brain cancer. Marceline was in the special care ward where she was undergoing certain types of treatment. Marceline’s mother visited her every day and on weekends, stayed overnight. Marceline’s mother still had a job because she needed to have money for food, shelter and everything Marceline needed. Marceline was slowly starting to talk again. Unfortunately, the tumor wasn’t getting any smaller. Marceline kept positive. Marceline started chemo therapy and radiation, which meant she was going to lose all her hair. She was really upset about not having her hair, but her mother bought her a beautiful brown wig to wear. Whilst Marceline was in the hospital, her mother was organising a trip for some of her family members in Australia to come over and visit. This was a going to be a special 21st birthday surprise. Her family came over and visited for two weeks. Marceline especially treasured the time she had with them all. Late one evening, Marceline died. She died so peacefully and calmly. Cancer overcame Marceline, she wasn’t strong enough to fight it anymore, but she never gave up and always kept positive.