I had a good friend get a breast cancer diagnosis in early October. She is in her early 50's, and hadn't had a mammogram in six years. The doctors were saying they wouldn't know if it had spread further in her breast or to her lymph nodes until they operated.

She had her operation on Wednesday. And we waited. The doctor said "hopefully on Friday, but maybe not until after the weekend". I sent flowers. I talked to her sister-in-law. I had a nice message from her husband, letting me know her surgery had gone fine.

And we waited some more.

Yesterday afternoon, he called me again. He said that the results had come back, and the cancer had stayed put - not going anywhere else. And I burst out crying. I'm so very thankful. He said, "She hasn't stopped smiling since the news, and wow, have I missed that smile".

I met her in 1999. I was dating a guy who happened to be her husband's nephew. My boyfriend at the time had just found his biological father, and when we started dating, he was still getting to know everyone. On one of the first occasions over at his bio-dad's house, I met the woman I just spoke of. All of the 'sisters', as they call themselves, welcomed me, cautioning often, "You are just too good for him, believe us!".

Not long after, that was pretty stinking clear and my relationship with Idiot was over. But, my relationship with all of them stayed put. They all came to my wedding and celebrated with me. And now and then, my girlfriend lets me know how, yet again, The Idiot has fucked up. It's a train wreck I'm certainly lucky I missed.

But --- the one good thing to have come of it all was my friendship with her. If I suffered through eight months of Idiot to have a lifetime of wonderful friendship with her, I'd do it ALL AGAIN in a heartbeat.

Labels: cancer sucks, finally, good news