Thank you to all for your condolences. This is going to be tough for a few months.

I'm so sorry. My brother too disregarded acid reflux for years which he thought was just an ulcer, and he waited until the pain in his abdomen was so excruciating, he finally broke down and got an endoscopy, which showed nothing, then a colonoscopy, which showed 18" of colon 75% blocked by tumor. An MRI revealed he too was stage IV cancer. The cancer had already spread to his liver, lymph system and the base of his spine. After 2 rounds of chemo, surgery was performed to remove the tumor-ridden portion of his colon. Unfortunately, despite tests that determined his T-cell count was high enough to fight off after-surgery infection, this was not the case. His body filled with sepsis, they had to keep draining the septic fluid, and finally, he'd had enough. In terrible pain, he told us all he loved us, and the next day, he had a massive stroke, he could no longer speak and his eyes were rolled back in his head. His organs failing, my poor father had no choice but to sign the consent form to up the morphine drip that would accelerate the process of death. He passed away on January 31, 2007 at the tender age of 40. Time from cancer diagnosis to death: 4 months. My family and I were just stunned, left with a hollow void in us.

Watching my brother die has had a profound impact on my life. I appreciate just how fragile life is, and how we need to give these bodies proper sleep, proper exercise and proper diet, as well as minimizing stress and aggravation in our lives as much as possible. I promptly got myself a colonoscopy and was pronounced, thank God, all clear, squeaky clean. It's been almost 10 years since then, and generally I feel fine, but it's probably time for another one.

Thankfully, my sisters have both given birth to SONS since our dearly departed brother's passing, so maybe this is God's way of filling the void...!

Bless you Koolman and thank you for sharing your story. I know others have stories too. Together we can save lives.

Oh My Gosh Sixtyplus I am so shocked to find this today I missed it over last few days....I am so sorry that your dear daughter passed away so quickly and left behind so many who depend on her.....this is surely going to be very tough for her family....and you....and I would assume husband?

Wishing you peace in knowing the pain has ended and she is well within the middle of Gods love....hugs

My son had Burkets B cell lymphoma for about six months last year. The only reason we knew to have him checked for cancer was because he had a mass in his throat that was swelling his throat shut. He had a tracheotomy so that he could breathe and had six rounds of chemo. We were very lucky to catch it early. Today he is cancer free and his white blood cell count is back to normal.

SAD 2 READ THIS....................
MY HEART GOES OUT 2 U AND YOUR FAMILY, HUN'......................
GBU
DRENA B
;-O