Hiss Of Death

Afterword

Like you, reader, I have lost friends to cancer. We all have, and in the last year it seems, in my life, these numbers are increasing, particularly among young people.

Cancer is also cropping up in horses and hounds, and I have lost some animals to this horrible disease, in all its guises.

Is there more of it, or are we better at identifying it, or both? You can be the judge.

Given that medical terminology is cumbersome, I kept things as clear as possible while being as accurate as possible. The various forms of cancer treatment change rapidly. The treatment Harry undergoes in this book is different from that endured by one of my friends, who suffered breast cancer six years ago.

By the time you read this mystery, some of the information may be outdated or superseded.

As this mystery involves cancer, more than usual we feel the presence of the Angel of Death. There is a one hundred percent chance that I will perish, and so will you. Let me pass on the wisdom of my late mother, Julia Ellen Buckingham Brown:

“You’re going to be dead a long time. Do it now.”

She never identified what “it” is, leaving that up to me, as I leave it up to you.

2 August 2010