On a more serious note:

A week ago a woman I've known and sung with (strictly for fun) that I met two years ago had survived Stage 2 breast cancer a few years before we met. At least that's what she thought. Last year she couldn't get out of bed one morning and was rushed to the hospital--actually three hospitals because the first two weren't equipped to treat her. The third hospital is affiliated with a prestigious university. The staff there diagnosed her with Stage 4 cancer. Wth treatment she has done surprisingly well but told me last week she has decided to halt treatment. I was startled because it seemed like she was having few side effects especially when compared to what she said she'd experienced with Stage 2.

My daughter-in-law's stepfather has also decided to come home from a hospital and get hospice care. I had no idea his situation was so serious. A few weeks ago I'd asked my daughter-in-law how her mother and stepfather were. She'd said that her mom was well but her stepfather was having some health problems that were slowing him down. She didn't elaborate, and I didn't pry. I knew her dad had become insulin-dependent and a little more than a year ago had had a serious back problem. Two weeks ago I sent him a birthday card and his wife emailed that he'd been in the hospital for five weeks and my card had brought a smile to his face. Again I didn't press for details. I thought the hospital staff was trying to balance his insulin, pain meds for his back, and other meds but couldn't get the balance right, that he was having side effects or something. Then last night his wife posted on Facebook that in spite of chemo (which I didn't know about) and dialysis (which I didn't know about) his condition was deteriorating more rapidly than expected. That's why he's decided to come home and get hospice care.

Of course I respect their decisions, but I was unprepared for this news from either of them, so I'm stunned.