Sisters share bond no parents would wish on them

Sisters share bond no parents would wish on them

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Story Published: Aug 1, 2008 at 5:08 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 12:05 AM PDT

By Elisa Jaffe

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BREMERTON -- Three Bremerton sisters share a bond no parent would ever wish upon their child -- all three have been treated for cancer.

The Goheen girls share the same dark hair, same dry sense of humor, and the same rare genetic mutation that's given them each a different form of cancer.

Becky Goheen says she was 14 when she had her first mastectomy, and had another one 3 weeks ago. Their dad died of cancer.

Katie, now 18, was in seventh grade when doctors diagnosed her with bone cancer in her jaw. Big sister Tessie knew it wasn't a matter of if she'd develop the disease.

"You have an 85 percent chance of being diagnosed, and your odds aren't very good," she said.

Tessie is 20, her diagnosis came in June.

"We've been trained to be in tune with bodies so when I felt a lump, I panicked," she said.

Despite all the medicine and mounting medical bills, the Goheen girls keep a positive outlook. Each of their pills costs $100 and Tessie has to take 3 a week.

"It's a struggle between paying your mortgage or buying prescription for your daughter," Becky said.

Tessie is raising money, not for herself, but for other families facing cancer. In between weekly chemo treatments, she's forming the Goheen Cancer Center -- a place to offer others comfort and support.

"If it weren't for my sisters, I wouldn't have anyone to talk to," Tessie said.

Her father's family may have passed along an unwanted genetic link, but before dad died he passed on a powerful message.

"My dad always told us God gives you as much as you can handle," Tessie said.

It just seems this family has been dealt more than their share.

Tessie is searching for someone to donate a space in Bremerton to open her cancer center. For more information, go to myspace.com/GoheenCancerCenter

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