Dealing with a Loss

He was my big brother. I'd known him my entire life. And now he's gone.

My big brother died February 27 of this year from brain cancer, and there is a huge hole in my life. I cannot imagine how my sister-in-law and niece are dealing with this. I cannot imagine that my great-niece and great-nephew probably won't remember their Poppi. That all they will have are old photographs.

He was 63 years old, far too young to die. We watched as the cancer ravaged first his body and then his mind for eight months. By the time it became evident he had very little time to live, all we wanted was to get him home and let him die in his own house, unconnected to machines, surrounded by friends, family and pets.

We are all trying not to be angry at the doctors who first said he had little time to live and then, when the end seemed imminent, said he had weeks when it turned out to be only days.

I wish I had found an excellent website on this awful disease, brainhospice, more than a couple of weeks before he died. The information in this site is invaluable for anyone who is dealing with this terrible disease. It answers questions that are difficult to ask and helps with specifics that you might not think of.

If you have come to this site because you or someone you love has brain cancer, please visit the site above. It can only help.

And I'll keep you in my prayers.