Jackson native pens memoir on family struggles with cancer

When Marcia Jackson's husband died from glioblastoma in 2017, she didn't know what to do. She already lost two family members to the same cancer and felt hopeless.

Suddenly, one day, she said she decided to give support to people who also lost close family to terminal illnesses. Last December, Jackson published the book "Glioblastoma, Grief and Grace: A Memoir of Our Three Close Family Members with Glioblastoma."

The book is a memoir of Jackson and her family's journey with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer commonly found in the brain or spinal chord. Jackson lost her mother-in-law to glioblastoma in 1986. Her mother then died from it nine years later.

Jackson's husband, David V. Jackson, died from glioblastoma in 2017. A tumor in the frontal lobe of his brain grew to the size of a lemon by the time doctors found it. Jackson said she knew something was wrong when her husband, a computer whiz and pilot, had trouble speaking.

David Jackson died five months after his diagnosis. The couple were childhood sweethearts and had been married for 41 years.

Jackson said she wanted to spread awareness about glioblastoma, while also providing readers with comfort through her book.

"I hope other people who have lost close family members to terminal illness will know they're not alone," Jackson said.

Jackson is a native of Jackson and a graduate of Jackson High School. She now lives in Farmington, Missouri.

Her book may be purchased at Barnes & Noble and on Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions.