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 Casey Rooney |
"When I think of Kelly"
Reflections of the legacy Kelly left behind.
By Casey Rooney
The American Cancer Society estimates that 40,610 people have died in the year of 2009 from breast cancer. Breast cancer is currently one of the top three leading causes of death among women. Thousands of people around the world are touched in some way by this horrific disease, and I am one of those people. On July 11, 2006, my mother, Kelly Rooney, lost her four year fight against breast cancer. My three sisters, brother, father, and I were obviously heartbroken. We could have decided to shut people out and lose faith forever, but my mom would not have wanted that; she would have wanted us to take this experience and make a positive impact with it, by helping others who have gone through or are going through what we had.
My mother had the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met before. She always put others before herself without thinking twice. Even during her most critical days fighting against cancer, her number one priority was not herself. It was her children. The question she asked her doctors and nurses most frequently was how she could prevent my sisters and I from facing the terrible disease. This is why our family decided to create the Kelly Rooney Foundation.
The Kelly Rooney Foundation was established to eradicate breast cancer in young women. The foundation is dedicated to educating young women and their families about breast cancer risks and treatments. The money raised is donated to The Kelly Rooney Breast Cancer Research Fund at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania . The fund was created to find new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat breast cancer while recognizing the issues of the young women facing the disease.
One of the many sayings my mom lived by was, “Pay it forward.” She always wanted what was best for the people around her, and she always cheered on the under dog. Although my mom is not here with us anymore, we keep her selfless spirit alive through the Kelly Rooney Foundation. By creating the foundation I think we are doing exactly what she would have wanted us to do.
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