My mother called me this evening to tell me that one of her oldest friends, who along with her husband had been friends of my parents since high school, had died after fighting breast cancer for 23 yrs. She was such a wonderful, strong lady and it's hard to believe she's gone. They had lost their son, who was my brother's age, back in 1980. He and his prom date died on prom night in a car wreck- drinking and going too fast, missed a curve and flipped the car- such a tragedy. This evening, while we'll all miss her, I'm so thankful that her suffering is over and she's in a better place.