Not to be insensitive (I've had a few encounters with cancer myself, from both the p.o.v. of a healthcare professional and from that of a relative/friend of a patient), but WHY is this on the front page of HN?! The story is (unfortunately) very typical and repeats time and time again in all parts of the world... but this type of description really brings no new information to "the anti-cancer game"... I know it touches everybody's emotions and stuff, but is this really the place to have these conversations?