Live well and be happy. That's all that matters. Not surface stuff. Not material things. Having people to love and valuing every day is what matters. And it matters to be kind. I'm convinced of that.

I've not had cancer personally, but most everyone here knows I watched my older sister lose her battle with ovarian cancer back in November. It has changed my attitudes about everything. We had friends--these are friends who are in the medical community, mind you--who were so uncomfortable with the Big C and the fact that we had a terminal cancer patient in the house that they stopped coming around socially. They didn't know what to say. It made them feel funny, I guess. These were doctors and nurses, lots of them. I find that hard to get past. I've not been in a hurry to try and reconnect with any of them, and I hate it when I hear that other people have experienced the same thing with their supposed "friends."

Much love to you both, THCBongman and Rebgirl, and to everyone else who survives cancer or helps someone through it. It takes a lot of courage.