this is true and, for once, i'm not going to make any smart alec jokes. but no real names, ok?

susan would stand waiting for the school bus in coventry, and watch as the bulldozers knocked down loads of pre-fabricated homes.
she remembers the clouds of dust.
forty years later, she discovers she has a form of terminal lung cancer that is only caused by exposure to asbestos - mesothelioma.

in may 2006 she was given one year to live.
in may 2007 she was told the cancer had spread to the other side of her lung.
she has had two sessions of radiotherapy, and six of chemotherapy, and carried on working as a customer care manager throughout.
a week ago, she was told the cancer was in regression and they don't want to see her at hospital until the end of september.

i met her last night and was stunned by the positive glow that she gives off.

so, which way should we view her story?

rant and rave and sue everyone for the injustice she has suffered?
reflect that she glows even brighter because she has gone through such a desperate time?
worry about the lottery that is life and what might be in store for us?
hope that we will be strong enough to cope?

it's probably a combination of all of these, but what struck me the most is how a positive mental attitude can make so much difference.

who knows how much longer she'll live?
but for her, all that matters now is that she will be at her daughter's wedding in august - an event she never thought she'd survive to see.

however this makes you feel, it certainly puts a new perspective on life.

sorry this is so grim by my standards, but i just wanted to write it down.