by Teresa Yinmeng Liu

Hank DiPillo discovered a few fascinating facts while probing his family history. His grandmother, the woman whose maiden name was Luigi Castigia, broke away from the Catholic Church when she emigrated to the U.S. from Italy. She later became a Protestant. She became pregnant 16 times.

DiPillo's research also returned a heartbreaking detail. Five women on the DiPillo side of the family, including his older sister Marty DiPillo, have contracted and died of breast cancer. "I wished I knew before my sister got breast cancer," said the 72-year-old Grass Valley resident. 

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Source: http://www.theunion.com/