I begin this year with a heavy heart and a fire in my belly, after learning about the passing of two women in one week.

One of these women was Cristi, a beloved college mentor of mine at the University of Texas.  She was hilarious.  And she created an environment for thousands of students to embrace diversity in themselves and others.  I am thankful to her for believing in me, for fostering an appreciation for the absurd, and for instilling confidence.

The other woman is Andrea.  She was a fellow BRCA1 Activist.   Andrea lost her battle to ovarian cancer last night, after fighting a long and valiant battle for compassionate use of a new life-saving drug called PARP inhibitors.  Here is Andrea’s story….

I’m celebrating the lives of these women.  My new year’s resolution is to honor them by remembering the impact they made on me.

If you are interested in learning more about Andrea Sloan and her fight for compassionate use reform, check out these links:

http://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/andrea-sloan-passes-away

http://www.change.org/petitions/biomarin-pharmaceutical-give-andrea-sloan-andi-sloan-access-to-the-cancer-drug-that-could-save-her-life

http://www.matthew-ong.com/2/post/2013/11/biomarin-ceo-fires-off-feisty-emails-in-battle-over-access-to-parp-inhibitor.html

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/28/health/compassionate-drug-use/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/03/andrea-sloan-victory-drug_n_4039633.html