A wonderful girl I know through a friend was recently diagnosed with Lymphoma. My mom’s death is still so fresh for me that I’m really struggling with saying the right things to the people in her life. She’s not a close friend of mine, but when I think about all the people who weren’t close to my mom who supported her with cards and kind gestures, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.

I was wandering the card isle the other day and the cards are ridiculous. All the ‘feel better soon!’ cards are almost insulting to cancer patients. A lot of the ‘rah rah’ encouragement cards feel too cheery. Cancer isn’t cheery. The cards in the ‘Coping’ section… yeah, forget those. Too depressing. I finally found a card that was in the funny section about superheroes kicking butt (it’s funnier then it sounds), and I started crying right there in the grocery store. So of course, I knew that was the card.

But what do you write in a card to someone who’s life has just changed and they’re so dreading what they’re going to feel like next year or even next week? I should have written it in pencil because everything I wrote felt weird. I ended up just telling her I could imagine how scary this part is, like standing at the end of a high dive and wishing you could climb down the ladder instead of jumping. And I told her that she had an amazing spirit, and that’s better then any medicine out there.

A few weeks ago I made her a CD of songs that I would want to listen to if I were going through chemo. Some fun, some serious, but all strong. But most of all, they all had to sound really great in headphones so you can just tune out.

I want to know, what strong songs would you include on a playlist for someone going through a rough time? Here's mine:

1. Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles

2. Sound of Your Voice - Barenaked Ladies

3. Because of Her Beauty - Karl Denson's Tiny Universe

4. Cathedral - Crosby, Stills & Nash

5. Carry On/Questions - Crosby, Stills & Nash

6. I Feel Love - Blue Man Group Feat. Venus Hum

7. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel

8. Ruler of My Heart - Dirty Dozen Brass Band feat. Norah Jones

9. Superstition - Stevie Wonder

10. Alcohol - Barenaked Ladies

11. More Than This - Charlie Hunter Feat. Norah Jones

12. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes - Crosby, Stills & Nash

13. How Glad I Am - The Greyboy Allstars

14. Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield

15. Seasons of Love - Original Broadway Cast, Rent

16. Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

17. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

18. All You Need is Love - The Beatles