Friends & Family: Today Nola & I took another turn in the road in our journey with lung cancer: we enrolled in the Sutter Hospice Program. Nola has not been eating or drinking much during the past several days and is very weak. We went to see the oncologist (Dr. Deepti Behl) yesterday and her best advice was that we seek comfort & support through hospice. Nola has been one of Dr. Behl's Star Patients because of her positive attitude, warm humor and infectious smile. In fact, at one time Dr. Behl had hoped that Nola would become a motivational speaker for cancer patients. If she could have found the strength, Nola would have cheerfully taken on the task. Although Nola has been in remarkably good health through most of her illness, she was always mindful of the ultimate outcome. But over the past few months the pain reached the point where it became harder for her to put on a cheerful face for the world. The cumulative effects of both the pain and the medications have made her tired, weak and increasingly uncommunicative. Anyone who knows Nola even casually understands that, above all else, she is an inveterate communicator. One of the hardest burdens I have faced is the loss of daily conversations with my best friend, so I know that many of you have missed that interaction as well. We continue to be blessed with loving support from family, friends and even strangers. As difficult as this decision has been, it has been made easier by full family support; they understand how much Nola believes in the philosophy and practice of hospice and the palliative care it provides. Although many of you would like to call or visit Nola, I would ask that you refrain for now. If you feel a strong need to visit us, please contact me first; you are welcome to communicate electronically or via USPS, but I can't promise to respond. Please excuse me if you receive this communication more than once because I am working off mailing lists from two computers (Nola's & mine). In the interests of communicating this information broadly, please feel free to share this message with anyone you think may wish to know. We all travel different paths in life, but they all take us toward the same destination. I hope that our experiences that we've shared will help you with your journey as well. Love, David & (I believe I faithfully speak for) Nola