Well, I guess it's my turn :)
My own Mom just passed away September 20th, 2007 after a battle that began in May 2005 from Mantle Cell Lymphoma.
In April 2007, my mother-in-law (who I am extremely close too) was dx with EC Stage IV and in January 2008 they discovered brain mets that she just had surgery to remove (1 inch tumor on her cerebellum). They are giving her a very short time to live but we all know that those are just statistics.
I'm going to be very honest. I have been a faithful Christian since I was 13. The funny thing about faith, is that it can't truly be called faith until it has been tested. What's the point of believing in something if you can't trust it when the going gets tough? God never said life would be easy. He told us flat out that life was going to be hard because of sin and our human nature. Nonetheless, I was completely shocked and devastated when my Mom died in September. It wasn't a surprise really, they had been killing her with steroids and junk for the last 2 years, but it still just blew me away. I thought for sure that God was going to heal her and let us live a "normal" life with our Mom here. But, He chose to end her suffering and take her home to Him.
My faith has been completely shaken and I will not lie to you and see that it is an easy road. Losing someone you love to death is not an easy thing to experience, no matter how much faith you have. Cancer sucks. Watching your loved one slowly die sucks even more. Knowing that they are God's child and are currently up in Heaven praising Him and being completely healed? That does not suck. It's a miracle that my Mom is now experiencing and that my mother-in-law is preparing to experience.
If I can give you any advice it all, it would be to cherish every moment. Save every voicemail, email, letter, video, picture.... you'll need them when your loved one is gone. I'd give anything to feel my Mom hug me, hear her say I love you or just to be able to call her up and talk to her. I'd give any amount of money for her to be here when I have my first baby, when my siblings get married, when my Dad retires, when my nieces and nephews are born.
My world has been flipped upside down... but God didn't do this to me. He didn't set out to make my life miserable. Everyone dies. God just chooses when enough is enough and rescues us at just the right moment from this world. It's ok to be angry that He didn't choose to heal our loved ones... or that He would allow such awful things into our lives. But just remember that God did not get bored, point out your loved one and nonchalantly give him a terminal disease that would rip everyone's lives apart. Life did that. God loves us :)