[Debbie L.]

Yay, Michelle. I've been watching for your report and am glad to hear that it's good news.

Unregistered, you are very early in this journey. Yes, you're right. The idea of the uncertainty that we now live with is hard to accept. For most of us, it's the first serious health-related thing we've had to deal with.

But the dealing with the uncertainty, the threat -- it's a process. It will be different for each of us, and different each day for any one of us. I wish that none of us ever had to contend with it, but everyone eventually has to deal with some hard things. This is just one of the hard things that has come to our lives.

All I can offer is that it's okay to hate it, to resist it, to get riled and vent about it. Here on this list, so many of us will understand and accept what you say.

But we also might point out that for us, the realization of the uncertainty of everything in life has also affected our outlook in good ways. There is nothing like the urgency that the realization that we might die gives to us - to our every moment.

So to you, unregistered, I would say do not hesitate to vent when it's getting you down. But at the same time, keep an open mind to the upsides that may open for you as you explore. We don't have to label the experience, overall, as good or bad. We can just take each piece of it individually, trying to be honest and open -- that's a safe and nurturing way to proceed.

Debbie Laxague