Shortly after she graduated from Alabama A&M, Green learned that Ora Lee Smith, the aunt who'd raised her, had been diagnosed with female reproductive cancer. Fearing the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, her aunt chose to forgo treatment. Green cared for her aunt in the last three months of her life. Following her aunt's death in 2005, her uncle General Lee Smith, was also diagnosed with cancer. While tending to her uncle, Green watched as her uncle suffered from the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, which, to her, seemed little better than what her aunt went through. These experiences led to Green's interest in developing new cancer treatments.