Ok, so perhaps that’s too dramatic…
It never reallly was a death sentence, still any kind of cancer, in any degree, is scary. Cancer is a scary word. Weighty and full of dread. (Even the sounds are ominous… the hard C start, the serpent hissing “s” in the middle, and the growl of an “r” at the end…)
So when your best friend calls to say she doesn’t have the stuff, it makes for a wonderful day.