WARNING - this post might be tough to read

yesterday sucked.

ass.

big fat smelly ass.

so, i have this cousin whom i'm very close to. she's like a sister to me. we'll call her sunny. she has breast cancer and it's metastasized to her brain. that's old news. come to find out, it's still spreading in her brain despite the chemo and radiation and acupuncture treatments. but if you ask her, or her mother, my aunt, how is she - the answer is always "GREAT!" now, i know this is because they both are under immense stress and feel like this is the only way for them to hold themselves together but i am one of those INSANE people who wants to actually *know*.

so, i went online. (carol - if you prefer NOT to know - please, please stop reading.)

i learned some scary news through this site.

something that really hit me was this:

Breast Cancer Survival Rate by Stage

Health care professionals are able to be predict a patient’s survival rate based on the determined stage of breast cancer. The following chart is an approximate survival rate for each stage of breast cancer. Percentages will vary depending on individual medical situations, etc.

Stage ----- 5-year Survival Rate
0 ----------- 100%

I ------------ 98%

IIA ---------- 88%
IIB ---------- 76%
IIIA --------- 56%
IIIB ---------- 49%
IV ------------ 16%

Source: American Cancer Society

A five-year survival rate refers to the average number of patients who are still alive five years after diagnosis with a specific stage of breast cancer. After seven years, the survival rate decreases for each stage. The average Stage I breast cancer survival rate is 92%. The Stage II survival rate is 71%, Stage III survival rate is 39%, and the Stage IV survival rate is 11%.

then, i got in a fight with someone at work even though i wasn't trying to fight and it made me cry because it was like 15 minutes after i'd read this.

then, my boyfriend happened. that'll have to be it's own post.