The Perfect Example
- New Bachelorette Clare Crawley says her late father is the perfect example of what a man should be.
- Crawley lost her dad, James, to brain cancer in 2004 when she was 23-years-old.
- Before his passing, James recorded a DVD for Crawley and her future husband to watch. To this day she still hasn’t opened it.
While speaking to Bachelorette host Chris Harrison, Crawley opened up about losing her dad, James, to brain cancer in 2004. Crawley was 23-years-old at the time. Over a decade has passed since then, but thanks to her father’s incredible influence on her life, she knows exactly what she’s looking for in a husband.
Read MoreBeing the Bachelorette surely can be a roller coaster of emotions, especially since the whole country is watching you on TV. Even though James isn’t able to watch her find love, or cheer her on, Crawley says she knows he would be proud of her for taking this big leap of faith.
“My dad would say I’m proud of you for just showing up. That’s the biggest part of it. Never give up, just show up. By doing that you win. I’ve done that every single time. I try my best. And I’m here. I haven’t given up on love and I never will.”
This isn’t the first time Crawley has discussed the impact her dad’s death had on her. While appearing on The Bachelor for Juan Pablo’s season, Crawley tearfully shared the conversations she and James had during his battle with brain cancer. Right before his passing, James made a DVD for Crawley and her future husband to watch, and to this day, she still hasn’t opened it.
Promising Therapy for Brain Cancer
It’s unclear what type of brain cancer James passed away from, but progress in treatment options have been slow. For glioblastoma, the most common form of brain cancer that is extremely aggressive and fast growing, there’s an option for patients that may extend survival time Optune. This treatment was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in October 2015, and is available to adults at the age of 22 or older. This tumor-treating therapy comes in the form of a cap due that attaches to a patient’s head, where electric currents run through adhesive pads. These currents disrupt the division of cancer cells, which can delay the disease from progressing and thus extend the survival time for some patients.
Most glioblastoma’s life expectancy currently stands at two years, but during clinical trials using Optune alongside standard treatment, researchers found that this rate went up. For half of the patients, two more years were added to their median survival, and a third of patients saw their survival rates go up by five more years.
Related: Could a New Treatment Have Saved John McCain? Fighting Brain Cancer With Electric Fields
"I just want to emphasize to patients that when I first started doing this in 1999, there were maybe less than 5% of patients with this disease that were alive two years," Dr. Suriya Jeyapalan, a Neuro-oncologist at Tufts Medical Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. "Now we're getting out to maybe a third of patients alive at five years. This is not your father's brain tumor, and I want to sort of give a message of hope to patients. In the future we'll add to these treatments and make it even better."
Losing a Parent to Cancer: How to Cope
After losing a parent to cancer, sadness is completely normal and expected. However, families who have lost loved ones to the disease have told SurvivorNet that they’ve been able to channel that sadness, and use it as a way to create happier memories. This was the case for Camila Legaspi, who lost her mother to breast cancer when she was in high school. It wasn’t until she went to college, and started exploring new passions, that she learned she could turn her sadness into something sweeter.
"I actually took this sadness and let it motivate me," Camila tells SurvivorNet. "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. 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."
Related: "Therapy Saved My Life": After Losing A Loved One, Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help
Camila’s mother was always a creative person, and journaled as long as Camila could remember. So, while in college, she joined her school’s magazine and let the memories of her mother inspire her poetry and fiction writing. Instead of dwelling on her loss, she was able to create something beautiful out of sadness. "I've learned to have it impact me in a positive way, and have it not just be a sad story… instead, I'm using it for a better purpose," she says.
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