20 years ago, a teenager’s brave fight against cancer became the catalyst for change. Natasha Perez’s strength and spirit moved a community — and inspired lawmakers to act. Her legacy lives on through the Natasha Protection Act, a law born from loss but rooted in love — protecting countless lives by keeping Guam’s public spaces smoke-free. Two decades later, her story continues to inspire through a new multimedia project ensuring that Natasha’s courage — and her cause — are never forgotten. 

At just 11 years old, Natasha was diagnosed with osteosarcoma - a rare and aggressive bone cancer. Her mother, Genevieve Leon Guerrero, said, "It manifested in her left leg, we had gone to Michigan for treatment, came home briefly, only to have the cancer metastasized to other areas. What eventually took her life- the cancer migrated to her lungs and it occurred multiple times to remove the cancer," she said.

The treatment had exhausted its benefits and the cancer had returned. They would come home and she lived passed a year. "She was able to have her hair grow out and she was able to experience being a teenager for a brief period of time," she said.

Natasha is the namesake of the Natasha Protection Act, which prohibits smoking in indoor public spaces and workplaces. Leon Guerrero explains how the push for a healthier environment came to fruition, saying, "We were living in New York and New York at the time was very aggressive   personal space....and we are going to do this in Guam."

The mother and daughter, would meet with health committee chair, then-senator Lou leon Guerrero. She mentioned how they brought with them a photo of Natasha, saying, "We were accustomed to always having a picture of her giving it to the doctors or surgeon, it was just standard practice. I think it was for families who give this picture to their doctors so they wont forget who they are so that was important."

In April 2005, a bill is introduced and receives a public hearing. There was overwhelming public turnout and support.  Governor Felix Camacho signed the Natasha Protection Act into law in December 2005. It marked a major public health milestone for Guam—banning smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces.

Natasha passed away on June 9, 2006.

After her one-year death anniversary, Leon Guerrero thought about the importance of memories, and the idea of what she calls it 'a glorified scrapbook' - let go and let god contained many of Natasha's stories and essays she wrote. She said, "Many of her essays are reflective a young girl is that of the temporariness of life and it was quite mature. And when you are a child going through your chemo.....challenges associated with that."

Fast forward to 'the Girl Behind The Law': Natasha's clean air legacy, an 8-part film adaption of the book by Ferjon Abay, made possible by the Guam Cancer Trust Fund and the Get Healthy Guam Coalition: Partners in Prevention. 

Renee Veksler says when they applied to the Guam Cancer Trust Fund, saying, "They wanted something more innovative like an app - something not like a book or poster." She connected with Leon Guerrero and they created something very intentional, recalling, "Digital Kitchen did a terrific job capturing the heart and spirit of the book..take that extra leap of reflection."

The hopes for the grant team after the series is to continue to do more.

If you would like to learn more about the project and watch the 8-episode film, visit www.thegirlbehindthelaw.com.