Cancer Unwrapped Winning Essays
Browse our previous Cancer Unwrapped writing contest winners
2021 Winning Essays
View the 2021 edition: A collection of heartfelt stories written by teens facing cancer.
Flip through the book (right) to read this year’s essays, or browse the database below to read all past winning essays.
Without Him
Without Him At first she is too little to understand She asks for lemons Clouds And dolls Staying overnight In the place where hearts are broken Families are crushed And lives are taken Is like a sleepover for her All her relatives play with her to distract...
Shame and Vulnerability
Shame and Vulnerability An anguished moan filled the air like a swarm of locusts as the elevator door opened. It was a scream I’ll never forget, a cry that will forever be a part of me. The harrowing sobbing was coming from a stranger in the lobby of the hospital my...
A Six Letter Word
A Six Letter Word She lives in my phone. I scroll through pictures of her bald head and blinding smile, a mask often, she didn’t want anyone to know otherwise. She lives in my body, the things she endured took her life away, they torment me today. She lives in my...
Cancer Girl
Cancer Girl It’s dark. I should attempt to snag a few hours of sleep from the quickly dying night. Instead, I read the stars out of the window, point out Orion, Cassiopeia, and the Pleiades to myself. The stars remind me of my dad. We used to go camping as a family...
How Long Does A Memory Last?
How Long Does A Memory Last? I was four years old when my father died from colon cancer. That is a difficult age to experience such a life changing event as I can barely remember any of it happening. I often ponder if the things I remember are even my memories at all...
My Life, My Narrative, My Future
My Life, My Narrative, My Future The problem with trying to tell your own story is that you know it too well. I could try to explain to you every event that has taken place over the past few years of my life, but it would take, well, a few years, not to mention that...
Live For Them
Live For Them Life is so precious. It shows us the highs and the lows. It gives us love and light, grief and darkness. In the end, life stops when death comes, so we have no say. We can all strive to be fit and healthy, begging years to not take us, but they do. Life...
The Weight of a Tear
The Weight of a Tear My mom was given a three percent survival rate. She was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer that had metastasized into her brain. The hundred thousand dollar equipment tried to calculate how many lesions she had in her brain but came up short...
The Beginning
The Beginning Camera zooms in on a needle/iv and pans out to a busy hospital room. Our heroine lays in a hospital gown surrounded by doctors, nurses, and machines – unfazed by all of the activity. Have you ever wondered if life is real? For a while, my life has seemed...