Maya Rudolph & Kamala Harris Lost Moms to Cancer
- Maya Rudolph, who plays Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live, shares a tragic link with the VP-elect: both lost their moms to cancer.
- Rudolph’s mom, Minnie Ripperton, was a successful singer who became a cancer advocate during her battle with breast cancer.
- Losing a parent to cancer can be devastating, but there are ways to heal and turn suffering into meaning.
Losing Mom to Cancer
For years, Rudolph avoided discussing her mom's battle with breast cancer.
Read MoreAfter having a mastectomy, she soon learned that the cancer had spread and was given only six months to live. Nevertheless, she continued touring through 1978, even becoming a spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society for their 1978-1979 awareness campaign.
Related: When Should You Consider a Mastectomy?
She passed away in 1979.
Rudolph, who was only seven when Minnie died, said losing her mother profoundly impacted her childhood. She recalled the struggles of growing up biracial in a predominantly white community, especially having no one to teach her how to do her hair.
Related: Close the Gap: Racial Disparities in Cancer Care Are Devastating Let's Change Things
"I was just completely lost. My mom died when I was 7, so when you don't have a woman-", she told the Times before cutting herself off.
Shyamala Gopalan, VP-elect Harris's mother, dedicated her life to fighting breast cancer. As a scientist, her research into the role of progesterone in breast cancer helped millions of patients lead better lives. After a battle with colon cancer, she passed away in 2009.
Coping with Loss
Rudolph's reluctance to speak about her mother's death is understandable. Losing a loved one to cancer can be devastating, and there's no one right way to heal.
Title: Sadness Is Not Always A Bad Thing Coping After Losing A Parent To Cancer
Camila Legaspi lost her mother to breast cancer when she was in high school. Looking back, she now sees her loss as inspiration to express herself through writing.
"I learned that it's OK to be sad sometimes. It's OK to carry sadness with you … it's not always a bad thing," Legaspi told SurvivorNet. "It makes you who you are and it gives you a story to tell and it helps you teach other people to cope with their sadness."
The pain that comes from losing a parent may never fully go away, but it can be used to help others. Scandal actor Scott Foley lost his mother to ovarian cancer when he was only 15, a loss which devastated him but has given him the resilience he's needed to push on through challenging times.
"Dealing with loss at a young age, and dealing with someone who's sick all the time, that really turned me into someone who built the resilience in me that I walk with today," Foley told SurvivorNet. "I know that just by dealing with what I dealt with as a teenager…there is nothing that anybody can throw at me; bring it on, 2020."
Counseling and therapy can help those grieving a parent cope with the loss and build new attitudes that turn suffering into resilience. Losing a parent is one of the hardest things anyone can go through, so take advantage of trained mental healthcare professionals who know exactly how to help you adjust.
"Therapy Saved My Life": After Losing A Loved One, Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
