Cancer has claimed another

I just found out that a friend of mine passed away from cancer about an hour ago. No, it was not thyroid cancer, it was a more vicious one. The details are not that clear. All I know is that he has been fighting it for three long years.

I just saw Gary in March. A group of us had dinner one rainy Saturday evening. He just had a round of chemo with complications, but he was feeling well enough to be out and about. A couple of days later I met them downtown for lunch at Monsoon (indian buffet), then we all walked down to the diamond market a few blocks away to visit with one of their neighbors that owns a jewelry design business. I guess it is a good thing for your last memories of someone to be around food and good times. That is how I'd like to be remembered.

Jerry, one of my friends from San Francisco (and also one of Frankie's god-fathers), came down earlier this week because Gary was not doing well. They worked together for many years at the same airline. Jerry also had cancer several years back. About a month ago, Nick (Frankie's other god-father) and Jerry told me that Gary was in the hospital, I said I wanted to visit, they said they'd let me know when he was home and feeling up for visitors. I never got that call. I am starting to wonder if it was because he never got to go home. I got a text from Nick two days ago that Jerry was here for Gary. Two days later, and I don't get to see him again. 

So many things can happen in a day, week, month, or year. You never get that time back. Some of us have cancer growing inside of us and don't even know it until it is too late. It doesn't matter what kind of cancer it is, the words "good" and "cancer" should never be used together in the same sentence. Never! And even if you survive cancer for many years, it is always waiting and hanging out in your body just waiting for any opening to get back in there and start stirring things up again when you least expect it. It may not happen today, tomorrow, or even next year, but it will happen. Cancer will rear it's ugly head in your face because it can. Stupid cancer. Why having we found a way to prevent it from growing in our bodies yet?!?