A woman on one of my lists just completed testing for the mutations known to cause breast cancer. (Her daughters were uneasy that a gene may have been passed on to them.) She happily reports that she tested negative for the known mutations, and that it was "purely a random act of God" that she got breast cancer.

Read that again. Purely a random act of God.

I have slowly and studiously begun to read about Buddhism. I am interested in Theravada (also called Hinayana) Buddhism, where Gautama is seen as an awakened or enlightened being, but not a deity. I'm reading the book I mentioned a couple of posts ago, Buddhism Plain and Simple. It suits my chemo-burned-out synapses just fine. I'm also thinking of joining a small Yahoo group where I can ask questions and learn. I'm still pagan, but I think the philosophy of Buddhism will help me to deal with the changes in my life with more serenity and equanimity.

Not much more to say tonight. I'll post a pretty picture later.

May