So my mom calls me last night to say that her medical procedure is scheduled for January so she can babysit! Now all we need to do is lock down travel arrangements and we'll be in San Francisco!!

Then came the terrible news as life seems to go sometimes. My cousin Lisa who is exactly 6 weeks older than me has been courageously battling cervical cancer for almost 2 years now. Many highs and lows, many rounds of chemo and surgeries. Hope was all but lost this summer until she was thankfully accepted into the mayo clinic. They did an intense surgery and removed a stubborn tumor attached to her pelvis with important arteries, anyway a very difficult procedure. It seemed like a miracle and she was doing well. But not even 2 months later she has several new tumors, one is for sure cancer the others most likely are too. Her doctor told her there is nothing more he can do, surgery is not really an option anymore. Perhaps the mayo clinic has some ideas but it sounds grim, very grim. She was given 6 months to "live".

We grew up together as our mothers are very close so we did everything together. My family is huge and her, my sister and myself were the babies of the family, the other cousins are older than us. She is like a sister to me. I cannot imagine life without her. She has a beautiful family, she is too young and it is not fair. This will shake our family badly, I didn't sleep much, and feeling pretty shocked and nauseous. I usually don't open up like this especially over the internet but I have seen all the love and comfort here and I know you all put out such great positive energy. Thank you for lending an ear, I feel a little better just getting it out.

Sending nothing but positive vibes your way, my friend. So sorry to hear of your difficulties. Lost my father and my best friend to cancer, both in 2009, so I know your pain. The important thing now is what she does with those "6 months".

I hate it when doctors say you only have "x" time to live. It's just a educated guess, like a weatherman trying to predict what the weather will be in a month. Look at it this way, we all only have "x" amount of time to live. Just like the doctors we don't know for sure what that amount of time is. If you had a doctor or weatherman who made predictions, based on scientific information about traffic accidents, they could say because of your route to work, and the car you drive, etc etc.., that you only have "x" amount of time until you are in a deadly car accident. Doesn't it just make sense to live every day as if you only have "x" amount of time to live. "Carpe Diem" or "live for today, but plan for tomorrow"

I know I'm probably not making much sense, and most likely even offering less in the way of help, or compassion, for your situation, but I'm trying to explain how I processed the deaths of my friend and my father when they were given "x" amount of time to live. When I found out that my father only had "about 18 months" to live I was very depressed, and was obsessed over this 18 month time frame, which was about how long he lasted. But then I thought "Hey, he could have died in 3 months from a car accident, random violence, or some other unexpected and sudden death."

Experiences like this tell me that we should each treasure every day we are here, and every moment we spend with loved ones, because, cancer or no cancer, we all only have "x" time left on this big blue marble.

Know that my thoughts and energy are with you during this difficult time.