This book was the perfect gift given by my close girl friends during my baby boy's last rite. I am guessing they did not know what to tell me because no note was written on the front page where you usually place little memo. I appreciated it. Several words were uttered that I am sure were meant to be comforting but those words made me feel otherwise. Silence was better. When I got home, I started reading the first few pages but did not have the strength and composure to continue. So, I dropped it.

Yesterday, I visited a friend at the hospital who was diagnosed with liver cancer. He was initially confined because of complaint of blurry vision. He thought it was his diabetes acting up again. After several tests and only a day turnaround time, a 12cm mass was found in his liver. Extraction and biopsy followed then the diagnosis. He is 41 years old. He is his family's breadwinner. He has 2 boys. The eldest is 4-years old and the second is 3. The jolly, noisy, and always-singing friend I know is now thin and worrisome.