When we married, Hedy had already had a double mastectomy. In 1997 the cancer came back with a vengeance (bone, brain, liver & lung). The oncologist gave us 6 months. She then had 3 autologous stem-cell transplants with massive chemo. It was two years of hell. She was then on a chemo protocol for the next ten years.
In 2001 I was downsized and decided that, since you can't buy time, we would eat dessert first. We spent the next 6 years enjoying each other, the kids and grandkids.
When we married, a second for each of us, Hedy was worried that she wouldn't get to see the girls' Sweet Sixteens. We not only saw 5 of them, but also the birth of five grandchildren.
Hedy would see an ad for travel and say "Someday we should...". Out would come the plastic and we did. We travelled all over the US. When she was tired, we'd rent a wheelchair, but we were having a great time. Could we afford it? Not really, but it was only money, and nothing can compete with the time we spent together.
She battled the cancer for 28 years but was too stubborn to let it dominate our lives.
I guess the moral of the story is to be positive and, while the disease is always in the bckground, live life to the best of your ability.
Ronkonkoma, NY