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Posted On: November 3rd 2026, 01:54 am
“Know your family history.”
But how are we supposed to know it if we don’t TALK ABOUT IT?
My grandmother had the same surgery I did—removing a pancreatic tumor, part of her pancreas, and her spleen. Years later, she needed dialysis and eventually passed away from kidney failure in 2017.
I’m six years into my own survivor story, and honestly, I’m bothered that we didn’t talk more about hers. About what happened. About what that history might mean for the rest of us. And I’m bothered I didn’t learned about it until 2020.
We talk about celebrities, vacation spots, new restaurants, and who’s no longer together. And within our own families, we can find plenty to discuss about somebody else’s business. But knowing everybody’s business isn’t the same as knowing what our family has LIVED through.
We’ll repeat the gossip while leaving out the information that could help the next generation.
There are conversations we could be having about our health, grief, trauma, and the things happening in our homes and communities that could help us heal. Conversations that could change our families and, through them, help heal the world. Instead, too often, we choose the conversations that keep us stuck in the same cycles.
“Know your family history” requires somebody to actually SHARE that history.
Tell your children. Talk to your siblings. Ask your parents and grandparents. Share what you know, even if you don’t have every detail.
Our families deserve more than stories about how somebody died. We deserve conversations about what they lived through—and what we can learn from it.
Some things need to be passed down besides recipes and photographs. And some cycles need to end with what we finally choose to talk about. 💜
www.whenespeaks.com
#WhenESpeaks #PancreaticCancerAwareness #KnowYourFamilyHistory #pancreaticcancer
But how are we supposed to know it if we don’t TALK ABOUT IT?
My grandmother had the same surgery I did—removing a pancreatic tumor, part of her pancreas, and her spleen. Years later, she needed dialysis and eventually passed away from kidney failure in 2017.
I’m six years into my own survivor story, and honestly, I’m bothered that we didn’t talk more about hers. About what happened. About what that history might mean for the rest of us. And I’m bothered I didn’t learned about it until 2020.
We talk about celebrities, vacation spots, new restaurants, and who’s no longer together. And within our own families, we can find plenty to discuss about somebody else’s business. But knowing everybody’s business isn’t the same as knowing what our family has LIVED through.
We’ll repeat the gossip while leaving out the information that could help the next generation.
There are conversations we could be having about our health, grief, trauma, and the things happening in our homes and communities that could help us heal. Conversations that could change our families and, through them, help heal the world. Instead, too often, we choose the conversations that keep us stuck in the same cycles.
“Know your family history” requires somebody to actually SHARE that history.
Tell your children. Talk to your siblings. Ask your parents and grandparents. Share what you know, even if you don’t have every detail.
Our families deserve more than stories about how somebody died. We deserve conversations about what they lived through—and what we can learn from it.
Some things need to be passed down besides recipes and photographs. And some cycles need to end with what we finally choose to talk about. 💜
www.whenespeaks.com
#WhenESpeaks #PancreaticCancerAwareness #KnowYourFamilyHistory #pancreaticcancer
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