I rarely make any posts (the reasons why is a topic for another day), but I'm going to "stick my head out of the ground" and give you my deepest condolences and wish you and your family well.
Losing a close relative is definitely a sad thing. One of my close friends lost his father to liver cancer a couple of years ago and being the oldest child of 4, he has added the responsibility of being a father/guardian to his other siblings (they don't have a solid relationship w/ his mother... yet).