I got an unpleasant phone call tonight.

My brother and I grew up with the kids next door, and subsequently their parents helped raise us just as much as our parents raised them, and we grew that “family-friend” bond. I hate the term “family-friend,” because it sounds too distant from what it really is. I also dislike the phrase “second mother,” because even though it is attempting to express the closeness, it fails at identifying the correct relationship. I will just say Nancy.

Five or so years ago, Nancy was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a very hard time of it, and there were many times when we thought she was nearing her end. Nancy is an extremely positive and strong-willed woman, however, and overcame her condition, going through not one but two bone marrow transplants, and Graft-vs-Host disease at that (Graft-vs-Host is when the infection-fighting cells from the donated marrow see the body as foreign, and start attacking it). It was a mighty struggle, but she overcame it. She is still rather spirited, but has to occasionally rely on a walker to get around.

Recently, Nancy has had a couple falls. I attributed them to her usual weakness acquired from her cancer bout, and I think everyone else did too. Then she started suddenly losing vision in one eye. A visit to the hospital informed her that they had found a lesion in her brain, but at the time they knew nothing more than that.

Tonight my dad called to tell me that Nancy has been diagnosed with brain cancer. It was heartbreaking to me. It just seems so unfair for it to happen to a woman who has been through so much. My dad expects the worst (but, my dad always expects the worst, he’s sort of been conditioned to from when he was a respiratory therapist working in ER and ICU). I’m really not sure what to think or how to feel or what to expect. Maria has been very helpful, as cancer is less horrifying when you know how it works and what is going on, and she gave me an idea of the right questions to ask.

It is just a heavy thing on my mind right now, so if you can give prayers and send positive thoughts for Nancy, please do so, yes? Thank you