“No,” he says, “there is no change.”
The words hang in the air before falling fast to the ground. No change, which is better than a bad change, but not as good, as “the tumors are smaller now” or “the dots have disappeared from her lungs” or “it’s a miracle.” No change beats me up, and then walks away as if nothing has happened.

Eight-year-old Adrienne in Las Vegas © December 1994

Better Off Bald chronicles my sister Adrienne’s 147-day battle with liver cancer; the book also shows how I reared Adrienne from the time she was eight until she died at the age of fifteen. For more information about primary liver cancer, go to Blue Faery: The Adrienne Wilson Liver Cancer Association.