Celeb 101: Bellamy Young Reflects on Losing Her Father to Cancer at 14 Years Old
Bellamy Young's father passed away when she was 14 years old.
— -- Bellamy Young was only 14 years old when she lost her father to lung cancer.
The "Scandal" actress, who portrays first lady-turned-presidential nominee Mellie Grant on the hit ABC drama, said when her father was diagnosed and died only 10 months later, it shook the entire family.
"It was a very hopeless diagnosis then," she said on ABC News' "Celeb 101," "and his treatment was quite dire and very, very hard on him."
"The last thing that I want anyone to feel, which is a lot of what we felt in the '80s, is that they are alone in this journey," Young continued.
It's one of the reasons she's partnered with Merck for its 'Test. Talk. Take Action.' campaign, which hopes to educate those with cancer about the best treatments in their area.
It's a tool that Young wishes her father had had. Sadly Young's father passed away in 1985 after traveling from North Carolina to Miami to be treated with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
"I miss him every day, but for us in the '80s, it was a very lonely journey," Young said. "And now I feel like we have a community and we have hope."
Young's late father was her adoptive father.
She told ABC News that although she knows her birth parents, "and they're incredible," she's extremely grateful to her adoptive parents "for the path that they have given me."
"We find our families and we make it what it will be," she added.
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