With one word—only two syllables, six letters—life can change forever. It can elicit the greatest fear some people have ever known. All it takes is one doctor saying one painfully simple word—cancer.

It’s no longer a rare disease. It no longer strikes just a few people. In South Carolina alone, an estimated 20,000 people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. They will begin living life differently, and so will their families. When cancer strikes, the family changes, too.

Listen to a husband talk about losing his wife. Hear about a parent who lost two children to cancer. Watch a daughter explain her father's cancer struggle. Listen to a brother describe his sister and how people made her last days special.

Interviews, videos and design by Carla Wynn. This project was done in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with Honors from the South Carolina Honors College. Read more about the project.

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Interviews featuring:
Dr. Julian Ruffin
Psychosocial Care Coordinator
Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders
Palmetto Richland Hospital
Columbia, S.C.

Carole Howell
Patient and Family Counselor
South Carolina Cancer Center
Columbia, S.C.

Gayle Stewart
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Oncology
Palmetto Baptist Hospital
Columbia, S.C.

John Foster
Camden, S.C.

Brandy Ludlam
Columbia, S.C.

Ella Williams, Ella Holmes and Karen Williams
Beaufort, S.C.

Adam Powell
Hollywood, S.C.