Bad news days

Yesterday was not a good day.

It is the anniversary of my brother's death, and it was only a year since he died, and part of me still does not really believe it.

Yesterday we got the news that a (not very close) friend who we have known for years died. She has had cancer for some time and had been in hospital but her death was unexpected. Although she was in her 70s that isn't old these days, especially not from the vantage point of someone heading to 60.

We also had news of another friend. This is a closer friend, and she is only in her early 40s. Her youngest children are still in primary school, her husband works away quite a lot. She had breast cancer a couple of years ago, but seemed to have recovered well and was back to usual. When I saw her a few weeks ago she had a very bad, sore and painful neck, and was scheduled for an MRI. I found out yesterday that there is cancer in the top two vertebrae in her neck and it is also in other areas. She is in hospital, getting radiotherapy and chemo, but it isn't something you can ever cure. She is feeling that this is the beginning of the end, which I sincerely hope it isn't. I hope that the treatment will bring it under control and give here more years of enjoying life, but who can tell? She is one of a group of 6 of us who started as a book club and have extended ourselves into a dinner club with books. we were due to go out for a Christmas meal in a couple of weeks, which we have cancelled because none of us feel like going with J in hospital.

It is truly awful.

There is another friend who thought her breast cancer was under control and has had more tumours appear, and is now getting chemo. She is being very positive, but who knows?

There seems to be so much cancer about. I don't remember my parents having so many people with cancer. Is it because we aren't having as many heart attacks that we are surviving and getting cancer later?

All I know is that it is awful.