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Cyndie French tries to keep her composure after a distraught Derek Madsen, 11, yells at her to make him better and to get out of his room on April 28, 2006. She will comfort him as she has done over and over during his battle with cancer. As Derek's…

Derek refuses to take pain medications because he fears damaging his organs. He rages at his mother on April 28, 2006, blaming her for not making him healthier. 'You have to calm down and help me help you,' Cyndie says.

As Derek, 11, has a final burst of energy after days of Cyndie keeping vigil at his bedside she helps her anguished son walk on April 26, 2006. A cancerous tumor has distended Derek's stomach so far that his pants no longer fit while another in his…

After placing a flower beside her son's head a sobbing Cyndie, keeping a 24-hour vigil by Derek's bed, drops to the floor April 25, 2006, as her best friend, Kelly Whysong, left, and another friend, Nick Rocha, comfort her.

On April 28, 2006, Cyndie selects an outfit for Derek to be buried in and brings him a flower to smell. Hospice workers have stuck smiley-face stickers on her T-shirt for her devotion in caring for her critically ill son.

Cyndie consoles her best friend, Kelly Whysong, left, on April 24, 2006, fearing Derek's time is near. Cyndie has written a letter to Derek about how brave he's been during his battle with cancer, and she reads it to her youngest son repeatedly,…

Derek is embarrased and frightened April 10, 2006 by a black eye caused by the cancer's spread behind his left eye. To remind him of the people who love him, his mother has tacked messages above his bed from waitresses at Nick's Diner, his favorite…

Cyndie French waits for her son Derek Madsen, 11, to decide on receiving an emergency radiation treatment for a rapidly spreading tumor at UC Davis Medical Center on April 22, 2006. Derek said, 'I'm so confused. It's hard to make a decision. I don't…

Cyndie tries to have something at hand to take the sting out of Derek's doctor appointments. On March 8, 2006 after he undergoes radiation treatment at the UC Davis Cancer Center, they make the most of a can of Silly String-and Cyndie then…

Cyndie French and her son Derek Madsen, 11, count the $481 and change collected at the car wash by relatives and friends to assist the West Sacramento family. Trying to cheer her desperately ill son, Cyndie suggests, 'Maybe we can buy PlayStation 2.'…