I'm sorry to hear that, Steve. Cancer is such a terrible disease. Something similar happened to my aunt and uncle. They have both had colon cancer. He even has a colostomy.

Maybe communicating with a blank page beforehand could help face-to-face interaction. From my personal experience, it's important to discuss all the difficult issues in advance if possible, and once you get to confront reality of illness and all the consequences, including death, to remain yourself. Easier said than done, of course...

Sorry, Steve!

My mom had a mastectomy in December. She just finished her rounds of chemo, which didn't go over well, because her blood count kept dropping very low. Interestingly, she had breast cancer 5 years ago, too, but this past occurance was not a reoccurance --it was both a different type of cancer and on the other side. The first time she was diagnosed, my mom says that her guardian angel was watching out for her. She'd had to reschedule her mammogram for a couple months after her original appointment. If she had kept that appointment, the cancer would have been too small to catch, and she would have gone a whole 'nother year before her next mammogram. That cancer was the fast spreading kind, too, so she would've been in a pretty bad position after a year.

Just thought I'd share/commiserate.