Thriving Past Cancer: Marine's Journey

Hello Mary Jane! By: Marine Yanikian-Sutton My father was a smoker-nicotine. He took long puffs on his Marlboroes, finishing a packet a day sometimes. I'd watch from afar, a book on my lap. Occasionally, when he'd pause to step out of the fumes, I'd beg "Please, papa, please don't keep smoking. You're probably going to die of lung cancer and I don't want that to happen." "We're all going to die of something," he'd say. "But cancer?" I'd ask, "I heard it's horrible and it's all because you're a smoker!" "We're flowers on this planet, daughter. We grow from seeds and blossom into flowers. We share our beauty and then we wilt." "I don't understand!" "You will," he whispered, "You will come to understand that not everything in life is white or black. There are many shades in between." "No," I exclaimed, "I love you, but I wi...