To all my blog-following friends,

I’ve been skirting around the issue of the cancer in our family because I wanted to protect someone’s privacy. Last week Mom gave me permission to say what’s going on, so here goes.

Mom has been battling thyroid cancer for several years. We found out in August that … well… boy I hate actually putting the words down because I hope they’re not true. We found out that she’s losing the battle.

This is not fair. This is not right. This is 100 percent wrong. She’s got a cancer that they say, “Man, if you have to get cancer, this one is the one to get because it’s curable.” She’s supposed to be able to see her grandkids go off to college, and I’m supposed to talk her into doing the 3-day breast cancer walk with me. She’s not supposed to be sick at age 63. To say “this sucks” is just not nearly strong enough.

I’m telling you this today because she’s coming to the end of a heinous treatment she had to undergo so that she will have a better quality of life for a while. I can’t describe how hard it’s been to watch her go through these last few months. She has lost her voice, 30 pounds, her joie de vivre…. You get the picture. And the kicker is that this treatment will not cure her; it’ll just make the time we have a little easier.

So, Mom has 4 more treatments next week, then we hope, hope, hope she’s done. She needs all the courage she has to get through the next few days. She needs positive thoughts, encouraging words, prayers…. whatever is out there to give.

So, if you’re so inclined during the next week, push some positive energy our way. If you choose to leave a comment to this post, I’ll print it out and send it to her. And heck, if you want to send her a note via mail, write me and I’ll send an address (please make sure you haven’t been convicted of stalking in any state).

Thanks to you all for your support and kind words during this difficult time. And thanks in advance for your positive energy.