Deep breaths Ginny, deep breaths. Like Katie B said, I usually take the opportunity to explain to them that many people with lung cancer never smoked or had any risk factors whatsoever. Of course, and this is why you love me, somedays my irish temper is running a little hot and BANG, I lay into them with a what kind of insensitive A...hole asks that kind of a question. It's frustrating as heck.
As for the number of friends and family who are affected by any cancer, I too am stunned. It seems as if every couple of months, someone I know gets diagnosed with some form of cancer or another. It's disheartening, and as unfortunate as this may sound, I'm no longer even shocked by it because it happens (as it seems to me) entirely too often to too many good people for no good reason.
I guess what I'm saying is I'm with ya, and I understand. I hope that it all goes well for all of them...And if the newly diagnosed friend needs any encouragement, just show them Col's statistics. She had esstianlly the same dx.