Eleanor Hartman I was born in 1933 in Oregon of white, middle- to upper- class parents. We had a big home outside the city, and I went to a private school just up the lane. There wasn’t and history of cancer in my family.
0- 19 Years I was an okay student in school- B’s and sometimes a few A’s. I don’t remember having any serious health problems. I had my tonsils out at 8, and I had two broken arms from falling off my horse. Other than that, my childhood was uneventful. We were a pretty traditional; family, you know, meat and potatoes for dinner, no smoking, only social drinking, and that not very often.	20- 39 Years I went to college right out of high school, but quit after three years to get married. My husband owned a small accounting firm, and I was a housewife. We had one daughter. I raised her and spent the rest of my time volunteering at her school and at the local hospital. My health was pretty good during these years. I was sometimes tired, but I took iron and tried to get lots of rest. My husband and I didn’t go to the doctor much because we were trying to keep our health insurance costs as low as possible. (When You’re self-employed, health insurance costs can be very high.)
40-59 Years My daughter got married and moved away, and I filled my time with more volunteer work. By now, my husband’s company had grown much larger, and he was busier than ever before. I was glad he was successful, but pretty lonely, I had my gall bladder out when I was 48, but other than that, I had no serious health problems.	60+ Years I started slowing down after I passed 60. My husband wanted to retire, and we both wanted to travel. But I started having abdominal pain, and one day, I noticed that I was bleeding from my rectum. I went to the doctor right away and learned that I had pretty advanced colon cancer. Talking to the doctor, I realized that the periodic diarrhea that I had in my late 40s and 50s probably was related to cancer, but how was I to know? I thought it had to do with losing my gall bladder! They operated to remove as much of the tumor as possible and placed an internal arterial pump to deliver chemotherapy to my liver to help control the cancer that had spread there. Six months later, a scan showed more tumors in my liver. The doctor told me there is nothing more they can do except try to control the symptoms. She estimates that I have six months to a year to live.