Since I didn�t fit the typical profile of an OC patient, I�ve wondered what could have been the cause in me. Many of my doctors said possibly an irritant, but nothing they could identify. Many of the items on the list were also on my list of potential causes. In the two years prior to my diagnosis, three of my immediate neighbors also developed cancer � one neighbor had breast cancer, and the young couple next door had lymphoma (husband) and lung (wife who never smoked). Fortunately we are all doing well now, but I keep wondering if there was something in the environment. Yes, and to have 6 young people died of the same, relatively rare disease, in the same area seems more than coincidental.

Linda, my deepest sympathy on the loss of your beloved daughter.