We hope this information has been helpful to you and those close to you. Our intention has been to give you some practical information and to encourage discussion with family and friends.

Open communication offers a chance to learn one of life's most important lessons.

As one cancer patient said:

"We can choose to wait for death, or we can choose to live until we die. Knowing that death is in the near future is no reason to give up on the life we have today."

We hope that this information will help you face this time in your life. Try to remember that even when there seems to be little hope, there are ways to fight feelings of hopelessness and to acknowledge the good things around you.

Try to keep in mind that survival statistics are just numbers. They are no guarantee that you will die at a certain time. In fact, the numbers that should mean the most to you — and perhaps to all of us at any time of life — are those that measure the good days, the comfortable nights, and the hours of happiness and joy, however you find them.

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