Cameron Ashton’s story is powerful, emotional and inspiring.

The Redmond High School junior heard a little over a year ago that her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Something like this can be extremely difficult to share, but Ashton, 17, has decided to share her story with the rest of the world.

Ashton was recently named one of the 10 winners in Gilda’s Club Seattle’s “It’s Always Something” Teen Writing Contest, where more than 250 area teens shared their stories about living with someone who has cancer or experiencing cancer themselves.

Ashton hadn’t been preparing for the competition for a month or working on it all day, but she wrote her essay in a single night.

“I didn’t realize how valuable of an experience it is. I can begin to start reflecting on it since it has been almost exactly a year since her diagnosis, and I can finally start sorting out where my emotions are,” she said.

Anna Gottlieb, Gilda’s founder and executive director, discussed Ashton’s essay: “Cameron’s essay stood out from the more than 200 entries we received this year. The judges responded to Cameron’s essay because she bravely explored the difficult emotions that emerged when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Her experience will ring true for anyone who has lived with a loved one through their cancer journey.”

Here is an excerpt from Ashton’s story:

“Being hit head-on by the truth of life’s unpredictability is a curious thing. Until that point, my overwhelming onslaught of honors classes had been the focal point of my existence. My mother’s diagnosis served as a reality check that allowed me to see that textbooks and transcripts are unimaginably insignificant when it comes to the ones we love, but it also left me drowning in a veritable flood of unidentifiable emotions. The world around me had shattered, and my heart was breaking along with it. This is my story how I see it, compiled of fragments of good, bad and bittersweet.”

Katie Badger, Ashton’s English teacher, said her student is a talented and mature writer: precise, interesting and authentic.

“Her Gilda piece is moving and beautifully written. That’s not easy to do, it takes real talent,” Badger said.

Badger added about Ashton: “She is a very good student, takes a lot of pride in her work, and seems to love reading, writing and learning. She is soft-spoken and humble. I was delighted to learn that she had won a writing contest; when I asked her about it, she downplayed the achievement. But it’s really an outstanding thing. Personal narratives can be the most challenging kind of writing, especially for high school students.”

Ashton received a check for $1,000 for her winning entry.

Gilda’s Club is named in honor of Gilda Radner, a comedian and actress who had ovarian dancer and died in 1989 at the age of 42.

Lukie Crowley is a senior at The Overlake School.