About 1.6 million people will get a cancer diagnosis this year. The majority of them will be subjected to chemo and radiation — a brutal approach that might or might not work. Doctors are trying to take the guesswork out of cancer by tailoring treatment to each patient. The new approach is giving two terminal cancer patients the gift of time.

It’s an unlikely place to find inspiration, but it is where Beverly Sotir fuels her fighting spirit.

“I have a CAT scan on my bathroom wall, and every morning,” said Beverly Sotir. “I go into the bathroom, take my shower, come out and I can’t tell you what I say to it, but I swear at it, and I tell it to get out of my body and leave me alone.”