Cancer Knows No Boundaries

Just a few months before I turned seventeen my Dad got out of the Air Force and moved us to Nevada.  This was the first move we had ever made where my brother wasn't with us - he had joined the Navy and was off doing his Navy thing.  Not having my brother along for the move was hard.  He has always been a very outgoing person and I never have been.  Up until that point we spent our lives moving around the world together and I spent my life becoming buddies with all of his friends.  It was easier to just get to know them rather than putting myself out there and getting to know people on my own.

But in moving to Nevada I didn't have my brother as a buffer any longer and I had to do it on my own.

When I started school I was nervous as always.  It wasn't like I had never moved before, but no matter how many times you start a new school you just never get used to being the new kid.  My guard was up and I was probably the most nervous I had ever been.  Lucky for me, there was another girl there who was also new.  For whatever reason we just seemed to gravitate towards each other. Being new wasn't the only thing we had in common and we found ourselves spending all of our time together.  By the time I actually turned seventeen she had earned for her that coveted title of "best friend."

And she was the best.  And she still is the best.  The rest of my junior year and all of my senior year we were inseparable.  We did everything at school together and outside of school we even got our first jobs together.  Every weekend we hung out and even when boyfriends got involved it was the type of friendship where we insisted we all go out together.

After high school I started college and she kept working.  About a year passed by when her family decided to move away and she decided to go with them.  Shortly after her move, I moved to San Diego to start my own life away from home.

Through the years there have been many miles between us, but we have constantly remained friends.  And that title of "best" has always stuck.  Whether in a letter or on the phone, our friendship has stayed close and whenever I think of the one person I can count on and the one person who totally "gets" me, I always think of her.

That's why my heart is breaking right now.

My best friend has breast cancer.

She found a mass a couple of months ago and it was determined to be cancerous.  She has been undergoing treatments, but in her own words, "It's bad."

Frankly, any cancer is bad.

Many of you know I lost my Gramma to cancer in 2010, and I still find myself crying over that at random moments when I just remember her - like over the weekend when I grabbed a towel at my mom's house and it smelled the same way my Gramma's towels always smelled.  I nearly lost it and had to remove myself for a moment.

So when I think of my best friend having cancer, the thought is nearly too much to bear.

I don't know where I wanted to go with this post anymore.  When I sat down I had so much to say and now I'm at a loss for words.

She's the same age as me.  Cancer knows no boundaries.

My best friend has cancer, and it's bad.

It makes me angry.