Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Kamala Harris chokes up discussing mother’s cancer fight

Gopalan Shyamala was a breast cancer researcher before dying of colon cancer in 2009

Graeme Massie
Los Angeles
Wednesday 02 February 2022 19:01 EST
Comments
Kamala Harris chokes up discussing mother’s cancer fight

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Kamala Harris choked up as she paid tribute to her late mother’s cancer battle as the White House relaunched the federal government’s “moonshot” initiative.

The vice-president became emotional as she honoured Gopalan Shyamala, who worked as a breast cancer researcher before dying of colon cancer in 2009.

“After a lifetime working to end cancer, cancer ended my mother’s life. I will never forget the day that she sat my sister and me down and told us she had been diagnosed with colon cancer,” said Ms Harris.

“It was one of the worst days of my life and an experience that sadly, millions and millions of people in our country have had.”

Ms Harris praised her mother’s work as a biomedical scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and her research that led to advancements in understanding of hormones and breast cancer.

“My mother’s discoveries helped save women’s lives,” added Ms Harris.

“And I am so proud that she brought our nation and our world closer to the goal of ending breast cancer as we know it.

“I watched her courageous fight. But after countless rounds of chemo, her body gave out. She was transferred from the hospital to hospice.

“And in fact one of the last questions she asked the hospice nurse was, are my daughters going to be okay. I miss my mother every day. And I carry her memory with me wherever I go.”

At the event on Wednesday, Mr Biden vowed to cut the death rate from cancer in half over the next 25-years.

“We can end cancer as we know it,” said Mr Biden, who lost his son Beau to brain cancer in 2015 and first launched the initiative during his time as Barack Obama’s vice president.

“I committed to this fight when I was vice president,” added Mr Biden.

“It’s one of the reasons why quite frankly why I ran for president. Let there be no doubt, now that I am president, this is a presidential, White House priority. Period.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in