I have been sitting at the keyboard for over an hour trying to find the words to put into this post. I cannot express myself now about my feelings, so I am only going to state the facts so that others may handle this in their own way.

I received a phone call today from Dinah and her husband. As all the long time posters here know, Dinah has been with us since the very early days of the foundation and message board. She was on the live recording for the ACS cancer network with me that you can hear on the multimedia page. She has always been one of the first to welcome those new to this board, helping graciously and intelligently with their questions. If you read her past postings, you know that she had developed a liver met months ago. It was very progressed when discovered, and her only option was to go into a clinical trial program. The first trial drug was successful in reducing her liver lesions in size, but in the long run she had to go off of the therapy as it became less effective. A second clinical trial drug did not produce the desired results. She has now been told that there is nothing further that she can do in the realm of treatment and she has moved into the care of a hospice doctor and staff. They hope that she will be with us until Thanksgiving, but there are no guarantees.

Obviously she and her husband are emotionally devastated by this news and turn of events. My phone call with her today was one in which a great deal of emotion and tears were shared by both of us. Dinah is without question the most courageous woman I have ever been privileged to know. She, through this entire process has stayed a fighter, positive, and met each new setback and emotional challenge with both dignity, and an inner strength that I could only aspire to match. She is not receiving any emails at her old address, and if you wish to communicate with her privately, you may do so by the private message function of this board, or you may post openly here. It is unlikely that she will respond to many of the open postings, but with the help of her husband she will attempt to communicate with those that send her a private message. She would also welcome phone conversations with those who have been close to her here on the board over the last couple of years. Her husband will provide anyone who wishes to talk with her a phone number in reply to your private messages.

Today marks a very sad day for all who have been privileged to get to know her. She is an extraordinary lady.