Not to equate him to a human, but what took my dog, Hank, in the end, was cancer. Or they think it was; because of his age and overall health it was kinder to not cut him open and peek, but the stabby person felt a huge mass on his spleen. So he wound up having to go to the Bridge before we were ready for it.
The Woman's Dad had kidney cancer; he lost one of his kidneys to it, but it didn't kill him. he lived for a good ten years after.
The Woman's Mom had lymphoma. It didn't kill her, either. She was lucky, she got good treatment and beat that sucker down.
The Woman had a friend, Anne, who got breast cancer and beat it. But then it came back, and she couldn't kick its ass a second time. She and the Woman shared a birthday, even though it was a few years apart, but now every year on her birthday, the Woman thinks a lot about the friend she lost.
Edsel's mom had brain cancer, and we all know how that ended, and I'm still smarting over it.
Look at that shirt and all the names that are on it. They all had breast cancer. Some survived, some did not.
But it's too many names. After the Woman wrote all those names on the shirt, she had to sit back and take lots of deep breaths because it all just slapped her in the face.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
Cancer is a bitch.
I can't go out and walk to raise money to fight cancer, but I can Livestrong today, and remember the people and friends (and Hank) who have had to fight for their lives because of it.
Today, yellow is the new pink.