By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

My heart is shattered.

An anticipated phone call came this morning, but hearing the news that our family had expected didn’t make it any easier. My cousin died this morning of cancer that she had battled ferociously for a quarter century.

Her name was Becky Phillips Olson; she was the second child of the younger of my mother’s two brothers.

I want to share with you what made Becky so very special to all of us who loved her.

Simply put, Becky taught us how to live. She fought through five recurrences of cancer that started in her breast. Along the way, she committed her life’s work to giving comfort to others who endure the agony, the emotional and physical pain, as well as the fear that accompanies this killer disease.

She co-founded an organization she named Breast Friends. She and her foundation partner became motivational speakers. Becky would tour the nation sharing her story with others. She did so with humor and with blunt talk.

Becky wrote a book that she titled “The Hat That Saved My Life.” It tells of her struggle through cancer, of the hat she wore when she lost her hair from the chemotherapy treatments. The hat gave her some measure of strength to go through her days while engaging in this brutal struggle. The truth is that she didn’t actually need the hat to see her through. Her immense strength came from within her marvelous soul.

The cancer that began in one part of her body had spread dramatically. Becky was the quintessential force of nature who was blessed with a spirit and inner strength that were as formidable as any I ever have witnessed in any human being I have encountered along the way.

Our world today is significantly dimmer because Becky Olson has left it. However, Becky Olson’s legacy lives on in those who sought assurance from someone who turned her suffering and pain into tools she used to provide strength and comfort.

One cannot possibly have done more than that.