Shirlene Hvinden I was born in a little town in Eastern Minnesota of Scandinavian parents. I have three older brothers and one younger sister. We lived a pretty normal middle-class lifestyle: My father worked as a school teacher during the year and as a used car salesman during the summers, and my mother stayed home and took care of us. My grandfather died of skin cancer when he was pretty old and my mother’s sister died of breast cancer.
0-19 years I loved to read as a child and did well in social studies and spelling, but poorly in math and science. I also loved to play and, despite my fair skin, spent most of my summers outdoors. I had allergies so I took medications regularly and saw the doctor often. My mother cooked good, substantial meals (meat and potatoes) and I ate well, though I didn’t like vegetables and wouldn’t eat a bite more than the “spoonful” my mother made me eat of any vegetable but corn. After I graduated from high school, I went to college in St. Cloud, Minnesota.	20-39 years When I was 21, I finished my education as a nurse, got married, and took a job at a community hospital in the outskirts of St. Paul. I had a son at age 22, then went on birth control pills until I was 28. Although I spent lots of time at the hospital, I rarely went to the doctor myself. I enjoyed my job, didn’t drink or smoke, and certainly didn’t experiment with drugs or do anything dangerous. ·
40-59 years My life during these years was quiet and peaceful. My son lived at home as a college student, so I saw him often. I worked full time and contented myself with keeping house, sewing, and reading. I also began to volunteer one Saturday a month teaching teenage mothers how to care for their newborn children at a health care clinic at downtown St. Paul.	60+ years When I was 61, I was asked to participate in a PLCO (prostate lung, colon, ovarian) screening trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and administered through a local hospital. I was put into the group that received screening. The tests revealed that although my lungs and ovaries were okay, there were six large polyps in my colon. One of them appeared to be invasive, and the doctor ordered immediate surgery and chemotherapy. I did well for a time, but four years later, a routine check up revealed more cancer. Shirlene died at age 66 from colon cancer. She was survived by her husband and unmarried son.