cancer

Shadow Has Cancer

Anna Blankenheim Critters , ,

It hurts my heart to write this post… tonight we found out that Shadow has cancer. We learned yesterday that he had a tumor on his spleen and today’s tests show that it’s also all over his liver.

Here he is sniffing out the window on the way to the vet today:

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The vet says that we have 4-6 months left with him – and pain management is going to be the name of the game.

I’ve cried for the last hour… I don’t know how I’m going to find the strength to do this, but I have to, for his sake. Mike and I are on the same page – this dog is going to have the best, most loved few months of his life!

 

Requiescat in pace

Anna Blankenheim Death , ,

This afternoon I received the sad news that a friend of mine had passed away quite unexpectedly. She was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer only two weeks ago. I met Carol Newton Hawk in 2005 when I joined the Sacramento Choral Society. She was a fellow soprano and our librarian, something I figured out very quickly meant she was a saint. She not only sorted and put together the music for all two hundred people for the four concerts each year, but then she took back the music, made sure it was in good condition and filed it away again. Beyond that, she was an incredibly talented musician. She sang beautifully along with playing piano and organ like nobody’s business.

My heartfelt condolences go out to Carol’s husband, children, and grandchildren. She touched so many lives – within a couple of hours a remembrance page set up on Facebook already had over 100 likes. I spent the whole afternoon feeling like I had been kicked in the stomach… I hate cancer.

Requiescat in pace, Carol. You will be greatly missed.