In 1994, my Aunt Jean, Alma Lanier Robinson, passed away unexpectedly from cancer. She had been diagnosed but did not want anyone to know. She kept it a secret, only confi ding in a family friend who was a nurse. She went to the doctor, swearing him to confi dentiality and secrecy. For months, even over a year, she would visit the doctor and return, always saying that all was well. But with each visit, her condition worsened.