Mary Almjeld Veverka

04/28/1940 — 03/22/2002

Ten years from when the nasty mole – that I thought looked like a splash of spilled coffee – was removed until it metastasized and she died. I should be glad we got 10 years, but I hate that in the 10 years since she died, it doesn’t look like treatment options are much different than what my mom went through.

I’m religious about putting sunscreen on my children and they get made fun of. They say, “My grandma died of skin cancer, and my mom loves me too much to let that happen to me.” That shuts people up pretty quickly.

Holly Veverka, daughter