“My grandma is truly a fighter,” Lilly Christianson said.

In 1988, Christianson’s grandma Rita Pedersen was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 69 at the time when she got the diagnosis. The doctor told her she needed to start treatment immediately or else it would spread to the rest of her body. They said that if she started treatment early enough in the process, it would speed up the recovery time. Pedersen was nervous when she first found out she had cancer because she didn’t know if she could overcome it.

“I was really young when she got diagnosed with breast cancer, but I remember my parents and my sister being really upset all of a sudden,” Christianson said.

They did six treatments of radiation on her grandmother without chemotherapy. After a year, she was finally cancer free. Christianson’s mother, Amy, said that she was devastated when she found out that her mother had breast cancer. Amy knew that her mom would overcome it, but she never wanted to receive a phone call like that.

“After 20 years of being cancer free, I am still so proud of how hard she fought to get rid of that cancer,” Christianson’s said.

Lilly said that if she ever had cancer she would take every precaution to make sure it didn’t spread.

Lilly also explains the relationship she has with her grandmother.

“My grandma is seriously one of my best friends. We go grocery shopping together, I tell her everything, she takes me to do fun stuff. I love her beyond words,” Christianson said.

Lilly said that if she had to give advice to people who get diagnosed with breast cancer, it would be to keep moving forward.

“Fight as hard as you can, because you can overcome cancer if you put your mind to it. My grandma did it, and I know other people can to,” Christianson said.