Well has it been said that there is no grief like the grief which does not speak.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Twenty minutes before my Texas 4000 for Cancer meeting on Monday night, which happens every week as we prepare for our ride this summer, a ride to raise money for and spread hope and knowledge about cancer, I found out that my friend's mom died--from cancer. It was one of the most difficult things I've had to do--go to that meeting and sit there while my teammates talked about how many great things our organization is doing, while one of my closest friends had JUST lost her best friend in the world, how she was and will continue to grieve, and that the efforts I am doing to help beat this disease couldn't keep my friend, her mom, and her family from suffering now. Too late. I'm too late. Tina just lost her mom...

I saw Tina right up until the time she got the call to go home and say her goodbyes, and although she seemed as though she was ready, I couldn't imagine the hurt she was going through when it actually happened.

Diane found that she had lung cancer this past summer, and over the Christmas break, after surgeries and chemo, was told that her lung, brain and lymph node cancers were all but gone. Just over a month later her doctors told her that it was back, in nearly every one of her organs, and she had a month of quality life left. So she went home to her family.

She treated us all like her children. She had so much spirit at our games that she would always make tons of UT garb to hand out to our fans so they could show their support as well--especially at the World Series--so much so that ESPN did a feature on her and Tina.

While I was having a hard time grasping the situation and also having a negative attitude about our ride, Tina is actually the person who made me feel better. She wrote a letter to all her friends saying that she would put aside her selfish desires to keep her mom with her if it meant that she didn't have to suffer anymore. Even though we are making progress in the fight against cancer and people beat this disease more and more often, we're not there yet. While I couldn't do anything to help Tina and Diane, maybe my efforts will have a small part in finding a cure. Until then I can only remember the people I've lost to this awful disease...

Diane Hendry
My cousin Luke Rollins
My grandmom Granny