Nothing like a little of the wee "C" to bring you back down...

I heard the news today.
It came out of nowhere.
I wish I could run away,
but where would I go?
Is this my destiny?
Something so unfair...
What will become of me?
God only knows.

And they say the road to heaven might lead us back through hell.
Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow,
we will win this fight and bury this sorrow.
We're so alive, still holding on, not ready to die,
so we LIVESTRONG.

(lyrics and song - WideAwake)

I've been ALL IRONMAN, ALL THE TIME these last two weeks but this week has served to remind me that there are bigger battles going on every day.

First I got a call from Melanie, telling me that she was going to have to put down our cat Jasmine. Jasmine is your typical cat - LOYAL to only ONE or TWO (Melanie and myself) and always suspicious and on guard. She was the crankiest, meanest, nastiest cat I ever co-owned.

Melanie brought her home as a ferrel kitten from her job as a Park Ranger when we were roommates in 1994 back in CT.  When I moved out, I took Jasmine with me (she was not very nice to other cats either...)  Jasmine and I were together for 8 wonderful years until 2000 when I found myself having to move locally here in the DC area.  The rental market was tight and moving with a cat was proving very difficult - so I call Melanie, who was living on the other side of the beltway and asked her if she would take Jasmine.

I cried like a baby the day Melanie came to pick her up.  I knew she was going to be well loved but I felt like I was giving up a child. (I really love my pets...each one.)  Within a month, Jasmine was happy and content and would barely give me even a pur or a walk-by when I would pet-sit for Melanie when she was out of town.  I felt better - I knew Jasmine was happy.

Jasmine lived with Melanie for the next 10 years - even making the long move to Texas.  That is a lot to ask of a New England-born cat! But according to Melanie, Jasmine kept her personality in tack right up to her last years - only mellowing slightly.

Jasmine was diagnosed with Breast Cancer that metastasized to her lungs.  I didn't even know cats could get breast cancer...

REST IN PEACE my sweet, evil kitten!

Last night I got another call from a friend telling me that a mutual friend who has been battling a reoccurrence and in and out of the hospital for the last year - has been released from the hospital to go home and into the care of hospice.  Things have progressed to the point where the Doctors can no longer do anything more.  

I makes my heart ache to imagine anybody ever having to hear those words but I know that being at home with family and friends is the best place for my friend to be and I completely respect the decision that has been made.  I pray that every moment is filled with love, laughter and happiness for the time that is left for my friend and the family.

This morning, I was lurking around - catching up on some more friend's blogs and learned that another friend and blogger was just informed of a reoccurrence.  This friend is one hell of a dynamic guy - a FIGHTER in the truest sense of the word and while the news that he was going to have to start chemo again is still fresh in his mind, he is already making plans and taking action.  He is primed for the FIGHT - that is a LiveSTRONG attitude if ever there was one.

It's been a while since I got this much "cancer" news in less than 24-hours.  It's sobering and quite frankly it simply pisses me off! Not the news but the cancer itself.  Nobody is free from the grips of cancer.

1 in 2 Men and 1 in 3 Women will develop cancer during their lifetime.

560,000 Americans are expected to die of cancer THIS YEAR.  That averages out to more than 1,500 people a day.

(source: American Cancer Society)

But as long as we are all willing to continue to FIGHT and live life on our terms - at least we know that we truly Live STRONG! Make sure you tell your friends and family how much you love them today... Life is still Good - Keep Living STRONG!