My sister has been fighting basal cell carcinoma for nearly 10 years.  To make the whole situation even harder to cope with is the fact that she is 37 years old and developmentally disabled. She not only has had to suffer with a very agressive skin cancer, but also with mental retardation, autism, as well as verious other problems. What started out as a small sore under her left eye will end up taking her life. She has been through multiple surgeries, which included the loss of her left eye and now the cancer has spread to a great deal of her face.  We have been advised that there is very little that could be done to help her. Her surgeons have advised that a great percentage of her facial tissue and bones would have to be removed, as well as the right eye. The decision was made to not put her through a series of further surgeries that would leave her deformed and blind, especially since there is no promise that the cancer will be cured. My family is trying to come to terms with the fact that we will lose her to what is considered the most common and less threatening forms of skin cancer - basal cell carcinoma. My hope is that her suffering will be short and her passing will be peaceful. I am also praying that my parents will find the strength to deal with the loss of a very special child who has made my family strong, more giving and more acccepting due to all she has had to endure.