Mailbag: The story of a young woman

A few days ago, I received a request to post this.


Heather was one of the brightest students in my schools. She was beautiful and smart and healthy. Above all she was one of the nicest person ever. This is her story that ended prematurely.

I had known Heather all my life. We were neighbors and classmates until we went to different universities. She went on to study electrical engineering while I to economics.

Heather graduated top 5% of her university and was sought after by technology firms. She chose to start her career with the wireless department of a high-profile telephone company. For 6 years she worked through the ranks and became a project manager of a prominent project. She was constantly on the phone coordinating and managing people from across the country. During the dotcom era she joined a startup that would become a successful wireless phone manufacturer.

Heather married her college sweetheart and had 2 beautiful children during this time. However her fairy tale like life took a bad turn shortly after her second child was born. She was diagnosed with brain cancer. Instead of nursing and caring for her child she was in chemo. For almost a year her condition improved until she was pronounced to be in remission. Her celebration did not last. Within 3 months she was complaining of headaches, dizziness and weakness again.

Tests showed that her cancer had returned. Chemo didn't work well this time. She opted for aggresive treaments but the cancer continued to spread. During the last 6 months of her life, she was barely conscious. Her husband continued to take their older child to encourage her to fight for her life. That little boy sat by her mother and read to her and told her about his day at kindergarten.

Her children were 6 and 2 when Heather passed away. Her son's memory of her was mostly of hospital visits. Her daughter does not know her at all. Her husband had used up most of their savings on medical fees and living expenses and now has to carry on as a single father.

Heather was 36 years old.

Cancer is one of those things that doctors don't know much about. Heather came from a good gene pool. Her grandparents on both sides lived to be over 80 years old and died in their sleep. Her parents are still alive and well. What had caused her brain cancer? Could it be the cell phones that she was using?

As we put a cell phone in a child's hand or put a cell phone tower near a school, please remember Heather's story.