Cancer

    One day, Deborah, Ron's wife, suddenly felt something in her abdomen.  After an x-ray at the hospital, the doctors discovered that she had several tumors on her liver.  A colonoscopy the next day proved a cancer prognosis, even though Deborah was very highly health-conscious.  The doctors surmised that Deborah's future looked grim.  Their verdict shattered the Halls' world, as well as the lives of the homeless, who Deborah had so deeply touched.

   When my older brother, Jon, was ten years old, doctors diagnosed him with the fourth or fifth level of melanoma cancer.  They speculated that Jon only had a short time to live, just as the doctors predicted for Deborah.  The diagnosis shattered my family's life.  Normal activities halted.  Facing death, changed everything for my family.  My mom vividly remembers Jon divulging, "I don't want to die!"  Thankfully, not long after the diagnosis, the doctors discovered the first results were incorrect and that the cancer prognosis had been a mistake.  My family thanked God and rejoiced in Jon's life.

   Although, I was not yet alive when my brother was diagnosed with cancer, I can not imagine my life without Jon.  He is a huge part of my life, just as Deborah was a huge part of many other lives.  The thought of losing Deborah to cancer must have been inconceivable to the Halls.  Just as my family was willing to fight the melanoma in any way, so Deborah's and her family were ready to fight the colon cancer in any way possible.

   I, personally, know very little about colon cancer or even the method of using a colonoscopy to test  for health problems.  I researched these topics, putting the links to a few sites below.

Colonoscopy:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/18636-colonoscopy-show/

Liver cancer:
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/understanding-liver-cancer-basic-information
http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/liver_tumors.htm

Picture of a cancerous liver full of tumors: