Edie, I'm so sorry to hear the news about your stepbrother. How awful, especially after being given the all-clear. Is there any chance that it will go into remission? I know that does happen fairly often. Of course I'll say a prayer for him, and for you, too. I know from personal experience that it's as hard for the family as for the patient himself. The stress connected to a family member's illness, especially when it's a terminal, can become nearly unbearable, and I don't think anything but prayer, and, when possible, a positive outlook, is about all that can alleviate the stress. This seems to have been a bad week for the A* clan: my wonderful and beloved golden retriever died last Sunday. As he was almost literally my "other half", I'm totally lost without him. He was my shadow, every minute that I was here at home. My older son was here when it happened, and the younger one got here just a couple of minutes later. And to see two strapping 6'4or5" men with tears streaming down their faces, is pretty heart-wrenching in itself. My first reaction was to swear never to have another dog, as I NEVER want to go through this agaIn. I've loved all the dogs we've had over the years, but this one was the first to be MY dog. The others we had when at least some of the kids were still at home, and they always had more time to play with them than I did, plus they could throw the ball or the frisbee or the stick into the next county, which I couldn't do. But Buddy was a once-in-a-lifetime friend for me, and I miss him unbelieveably. I still have a stack of vets and lab bills to get paid, but he was worth ten times that. So I guess I'm not in a party mood at all at the moment. (Don't feel as if I ever will again, but maybe that'll pass with time.) Please keep us informed as to how your brother is doing...maybe the combined prayers of the A*'s will help him. I certainly hope so. Oh, and I've changed my mind about "never" having another dog. I don't want one for at least about six months or so, but when I got to thinking about it, I really don't want to go through the rest of whatever my allotted time may be, alone. So I'll probably get another retriever later in the year. (I used to kid about figuring out a way for Buddy and me to check out together, as he'd have been lost, too. My son, who always dogsits when I'm away, says he hardly eats at all while I'm gone. He loves all our kids, but he's just used to me being around. And I'm almost ready to swear that I still hear him around the house, or see the end of his tail going through a doorway. Maybe he still is here...who am I to say that's impossible...?? Barb in MO