Tag Archives: Spiituality

A Pause, Not An Ending

Today is my older sister Sue’s birthday. Usually I’d post something sappy to her wall, and call her when she got home from school (she’s a teacher) and rib her over the fact that she’s a year older, and therefore much more ancient than I am, even though only three years separate us. However, this year is different…

Last summer, she began to feel sick. She couldn’t hold down various foods, and others would pass right through her. Her doctor originally thought it might be a combination of celiac disease and a sudden dairy allergy, and recommended some changes in her diet. For a while, the changes seemed to work. Then, the symptoms came back. She went back to the doctor for more tests.

The results came back in November; she had cancer. Of course, this being Sue, it wasn’t any ordinary cancer, but a very rare neuroendocrine cancer that was untreatable and invariably fatal. The “good” news is that the patient usually has three to five years to live. Continue reading

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