As we know, cancer sucks

Yesterday, I went to the funeral home for a visitation. A neighbor of our previous home had passed away at the age of 60 from pancreatic cancer. Now this completely freaked me out for a couple of reasons: 1. I'm not all that far away from 60 and that's simply too young to leave this earth. My goal is to be here until I am at least 89. 2. I was hospitalized with pancreatitis last year and once it healed, I had a scope done to determine if a tumor caused the attack. Fortunately, no tumor. But this recent turn of events (the passing of our neighbor) started me thinking again about cancer and diagnosing it early enough to have any chance of a "fix" but here's the thing - pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest cancers to diagnose and by the time you have definite symptoms, there is little that can be done. That is not reassuring information.

As a matter of fact, this lovely lady may have actually had cancer for 2 years before it was diagnosed in May of this year. 4 months later she's gone, leaving behind a husband of 38 years, a son, a daughter and son-in-law, a granddaughter and a granddaughter on the way. My heart hurts for them all.

I don't really have any words of wisdom to pass along regarding cancer except this: know yourself and your body. When you even suspect something might not be right, see a doctor. If you're not satisfied with the diagnosis, see another one. Be aware and be proactive. You only have one very precious life to live.

May you rest in peace, Bette Jo.....