As you read this, as I try to write this, my heart has sank into a pool of sadness. The words lost to grief. The anger chewing at the sinewy edge of cancer's deadly shadow. Cancer sucks. Cancer kills. Cancer killed Amanda's husband, Eric Shaffer, 25, on Friday evening. Cancer kills the very young, the very elderly, and all ages of people in between birth and death. Cancer is not an old people's disease. Amanda was trying to raise awareness about the realities of young adults living with cancer in her blog, cancer. it's not just an astrological sign anymore. Amanda has lost the love of her life, and she has no more words now, to say anything about cancer. Cancer crept out from the corners of darkness, and stole her future.

The cancer blogging community is a small one, in contrast to the blogging community as a whole. We get to know each other, to care for each other, to lift each other up, to encourage each other to keep going, when the going gets tough. Amanda and Eric were married for two years, although they had been together for eight years. During their time together, Eric had two occurrences of acute lymphocytic leukemia. Last month, Eric was thought to be in remission. Last week, he got ill very quickly, and was taken to the hospital. Just when they thought, maybe, just maybe, they were on the other side of his cancer, they were told Eric's cancer was back. Now he is gone. Too soon, too suddenly, too young, too young, too young to go.

In memory of Eric W. Shaffer  July 21, 1981 - March 17, 2006

At about the same time, Linda and Chris were both diagnosed with breast cancer. Only at the time of diagnosis, they did not know each other. An online chat room changed all that, when one evening, while Chris was complaining about losing her hair to chemotherapy, Linda was asking if anyone thought duct tape would hold her wig down when she went to the water parks the family was planning on visiting the upcoming weekend. The two women instantly bonded in friendship, and the inspiration of humor and hope sustained them both through the challenges of cancer treatment and the joys of survivorship.

Choose Hope, a business that offers apparel, gifts, buttons and jewelry with messages of hope, humor and inspiration for patients and their families, was born out of their friendship. Choose Hope has an entire line of Cancer Sucks, and a new Danger Chemo Crankiness tee. Choose Hope donates a portion of the business profits to cancer charity. Sadly, Chris, after being in remission, has lost her life to breast cancer. Linda carries on, in honor and memory of her cherished friend Chris.

Linda shares, "Someone once asked me how I can stay so active in the cancer community. Wouldn't it be easier to just walk away from it all and get on with my life? This IS my life! As long as my health remains good, I will continue with this journey. I have met and made some wonderful friends along the way. While I have never cried so hard, by the same token, I have never laughed as hard either. I will remember all that laughter and think of Chris. And I will thank God daily that she came into my life at just the right time." Laugh. Love. Choose hope.