scary phrases ... you know the ones you are never ready to hear

Into each life, a few phrases that scare the tar out of a body are uttered, repeated, or screamed.

A few of my least favorites are:
The blue book value on your car isn't as high as you think it is, considering its overall condition.
In this economy ... (anything that follows that phrase)
You are overdrawn.
It's not you, it's me.
We need to talk.
Do you remember when Lassie escaped a couple of weeks ago, well, we're going to have puppies soon.
Honey, how do you feel about children? (Followed by the old phrase, "The rabbit died.")
But everyone else's mom let's them (fill in your own blank here).
We need to get a second opinion on your lab test.
You have cancer.

I am not sure if it is worse to hear these phrases second hand or be the one they are aimed at.

Many of them make you feel overwhelmed and lost.  Most of them fill you with dread, except of course for the puppies.  None of them make your heart sing in four part harmony.

When they are aimed directly at you, you can make plans, contemplate plans, look for alternatives, and then do some retail therapy (if necessary and applicable).

When you hear them second hand from someone who is important or significant to you, you feel helpless.

It is kind of like second hand smoke.  There isn't a lot you can do about it.  Someone else is taking the majority of the damage.

Just because it is second hand doesn't make it better.  It just makes it different.

I heard the last line from someone today.

I have already battled the big C and will look over my shoulder the rest of my life wondering if it is trying to hitch a ride on another part of my body.  I wonder if it decides to haunt certain families because they were wonderful hosts before?  I just make sure that I wear clothes that cover up the scars because they are so big and beautiful I don't want anyone else to be jealous of them!

With luck, her scar(s) won't show much at all.

What really bothered me?

She tried to downplay her cancer as not being 'as serious' as the one I had.  But it is because it is a direct link to her life and her life condition.

The big questions:
Caught early?
Yes.
Stage One?
Probably, but won't know until surgery is over.
Are you alone?
Nope.  Never.

Favorite phrases:
Donuts have no calories on any day that ends in the letter y.
Housework has been made illegal in the state you reside in.
If it is wholesale or less, God means for you to buy it.
Supermodels are going for a Plush look next season.