steash, I'm terribly sorry if my choice of words upset you... for me, I look at life as a continual transition, movement from one place to another--emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically... my parents are deceased, my mother in law is deceased, and I have had many losses through out my life. The facts are we are all going to die physically at some point and we all face physically losing those we love dearly. Though the pain of losing some still lingers, my inner 'knowing' that they simply "transitioned" to another level, helps me cope with the pain of having lost them.

I have known some who never faced the 'fact' that they were about to leave the physical, and their denial in the face of the facts made it very difficult on those left behind, exacerbated the pain felt for what they were going thru and what we were going thru. So... my statement of hoping that IF it is their time to move on, their 'transition' will be a smooth one.. is simply a reflection of the facts of our existence here.

you are so accurate in your statement: cancer sucks... it sucks the life from good people and I'm so sorry you are faced with such pain