When I was a small child, I had a nightmare that I never forgot, never understood. In the dream, my father and I were riding on a roller coaster in an amusement park. When the ride ended, everyone had their lives changed forever in some terrible way.

My father took that roller coaster ride again, 24 years ago when he passed away, a victim of lung cancer.

Of course I didn't make the association then. It wasn't until last year that I got it. That was when my roller coaster ride began.

My first thoughts were of incredible shock and disbelief. I thought, "I have cancer - the big 'C!' " The first word anyone associates with...