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Her diagnosis was Stage 3b Adenocarcinoma. She was 21 when she passed away. What do I know about adenocarcinoma? I know it is the most common lung cancer in nonsmokers and females. It is a tumor of the glands, associated with hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (clubbing).

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She had taken 1 ½ Oxycontins an hour earlier, and for a person her size—she was barely 5 feet all—and the fact she was probably lying about how many she had actually taken, I was surprised she could even stand. No wonder she wanted to work from her car. I told her she should just call it a day, but she started freaking out about her observation, about how she was going to fail and how I had to keep it a secret.

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The modern definition of biological death is the cessation of electrical activity in your brain. The most common causes of biological death in the United States are heart attack, cancer, stroke and emphysema (read: you’ll probably die one of these ways). Wonder how each of these afflictions actually feel when you’re dying from them.