Cancer struck Peter completely without warning. Active, hardworking, the consummate engineer, he became dizzy at work almost four months ago. A week later, surgery to remove stage 4 cancer cells. He has remained very strong through weeks of radiation therapy and has started his second round of chemotherapy. That he continues to work a little every day is a testament to his desire to live his life as though nothing has changed. Peter and I had dinner after his first week of radiation therapy. He said, he had realized what really mattered was spending quality time with family that cared about him. We deserved more of his time and attention because that’s what family is all about. He remains very private about his treatment and emotions. His sister Katy believes his life has prepared him for this battle and wrote the following: Timing is everything. Even in cancer. Young Peter might not have put up a good fight as his fuse was too short. Getting so mad at a malfunctioning sink that he pulled it from the wall. or stomping and swearing around the house because he couldn’t find his keys, which invariably were in plain sight. His family loved the fiery performances. A bit older Peter might have had a better chance. The fuse grew longer. How much longer? He developed the discipline to earn his pilot’s license, and that’s no small feat. Maybe he just wanted to fly from frustration for awhile. His family was thoroughly proud of him. Older than that Peter is the one who has the deep, steady fire to go up against cancer. The fuse has become even longer. He has grown out of frustration and anger and into patience and into faith, two flames that keep him warm on the tough days of chemo brain, worry, tiredness and all the other unpleasantness that goes with fighting cancer. For the record, his family and his friends are right there with him. And in that respect, his timing was thoroughly terrific — he landed into a loving family and a great circle of friends, too.