Leonard Pedreira died in December, not three years into retirement. In his case, nothing worked at all. He just had a very aggressive cancer. Despite the medical advances, despite the welcomed improvement in survival rates, this kind of cancer story remains all too common. Cancer is a killer, and in Citrus it claimed 447 people in 1999, the last year for which statistics are available.
Cancer devastates the body and spirit until both have no fight remaining.
It is an unbelievably wrenching process, one that people who haven't endured it couldn't possibly understand. The cancer patient's loved ones must be the patient's advocate, hand holder and support system. At the same time, those loved ones must come to grips with their own fears and emotions. If anyone could ever be prepared for such a responsibility, it would be Kathy Pedreira, who now is 57. She is intelligent, articulate, observant.