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Cathy doesn't want to be the one who is always responsible and in control, especially now that she has been diagnosed with a terminal case of melanoma. That's why she feels that she can give Adam a taste of his own medicine by treating him as thoughtlessly as he seems to treat her, all in an effort to make a point.

Adam is not talking to his mother again since she caught him watching porn, which was bad enough, but what made it worse was that she continued to watch it with him and analyzed why it wasn't realistic from a female's point of view. And the building in which Sean is living is scheduled for demolition.

Since she knows she won't reach retirement age, Cathy decides to withdraw all the funds from her retirement plan and do whatever she wants to with the money without a care. Among other things, she indulges on material goods such as an expensive bottle of champagne, which she shares with her new confidante, Marlene.

Cathy still isn't feeling like she can let Paul back in the house or in her life. Adam is still angry with her and avoids her at all cost. Her attempts at bringing Sean - and his girlfriend Daphne - and Adam and Andrea as meaningful parts of her life don't end up quite the way she envisions.

It's Cathy's 43rd birthday. Coming to the realization that this birthday may be her last, she, on an impulse, takes Lenny up on his offer to accompany him to the Bahamas for the weekend. That plan is placed in jeopardy when Paul throws Cathy a surprise birthday party at the house.

In an effort to be supportive of Cathy's decision and to find out more about it, Dr. Todd accompanies Cathy to Canada for her bee sting therapy. As open as he tries to be, Dr. Todd just can't get around how quackish the whole therapy seems.

After Marlene tells Cathy about the distant relationship she has with her own two daughters who Cathy didn't even know existed, Cathy decides she and Sean need to go visit their own father, who she feels they don't see often enough. Sean reluctantly goes as he openly dislikes their father, who didn't give him the time of day while he was growing up.

Following Marlene's death, Cathy learns Marlene left her house. At first she's willing to let her daughters have it till she learns what their plans are. Dr. Miller wants her to try a different treatment which is risky. And she learns that Sean and Rebecca are expecting a baby.

During the course of their continuing sexual relationship where they do it anywhere they can on unofficial breaks during the school day, Lenny notices a lump on Cathy's lower back side. Dr. Todd's diagnosis is that the cancer is showing itself, but that it does not necessarily mean that the cancer is getting worse.

Cathy's relationships with three people are on the outs. Following his decision to divorce Cathy, Paul turns to rugby tramp Tina for solace. Cathy has decided not to rekindle her friendship with Rebecca, due to Cathy believing that she has always put her sexual quest for men a priority over their friendship.

Cathy learns from Dr. Mauer that she probably has at least a year to live if not longer, which gives her some perspective of how much time she has left to do the things she wants. Chief among these is spending time with Adam. Cathy's actions seem crazy to Adam and Paul, both who still don't know about her medical diagnosis.

Paul discovers his wife's affair and demands a divorce.

Now that Paul knows about Cathy's melanoma, he wants to help her in any way he can, including investigating alternate treatments. He is also still trying to get over the fact that he lost three months in trying to help her, three months in her probably shortened life.

Cathy seeks a second opinion, causing a strain on her relationship with Dr. Todd; Sean learns about his sister's cancer while adjusting to life with a pregnant Rebecca; Adam sees a therapist against his will.

Cathy receives two minor pieces of bad news on her latest check up. The first is that none of the drugs' listed negative side effects have afflicted her, which to her means that the drugs aren't working. The second is that she has high blood pressure.

It's Thanksgiving, and Cathy and Paul are hosting their first ever Thanksgiving dinner with their new extended family, which includes not only Adam and Sean, but also Rebecca, Andrea, Mykail and if he accepts Lee, which he does. Cathy wants it to be a non-traditional meal.

Rebecca and Sean both have less than traditional ways to deal with Rebecca's miscarriage. Partly because Sean decides to go off his meds so that he can feel the true pain associated with it, Sean and Rebecca's methods of mourning end up being somewhat incompatible.

Following their Thanksgiving fallout, Cathy and Lee reconcile, with Cathy vowing to be honest with him about how things are progressing with her health. She sticks to that vow as her news is generally positive, while his continues to decline.

A fellow cancer patient intrigues Cathy; Adam's downward spiral continues.

Paul still not having a job places a strain on his and Cathy's financial situation with mounting medical bills. Paul has to make a decision to wait for the perfect job, to do freelance work without insurance, or take any job that has insurance.

Cathy finds that her experience with the great Dr. Atticus Sherman isn't anything like she thought it would be. Meanwhile, Cathy and Sean's relationship is still strained over the fact that she kept her illness a secret from him for so long.

Cathy and Paul experience frustration in the bedroom. Cathy and Paul need to set patient/caregiver limits, and Rebecca is put off by Sean.

Although he still hates his job, Paul settles into life at the electronics store. He bonds with a fellow employee, a young Ukrainian immigrant named Mykail, who in turn bonds with one of his customers. While Paul still struggles with his job situation, Cathy aims for an extra job at the school with more pay as the girl's swim coach.

Cathy believes the two best Christmas presents she received this year are Sean returning home after missing for three weeks while he went to find himself following Rebecca's departure, and watching Lee die peacefully in front of her, which has now made her not afraid of death.

In her day life, Cathy runs into Dr. Sherman and his much younger second wife, Gia, who invites Cathy and Paul over for dinner. Not wanting to offend the person who is potentially saving her life, Cathy accepts. From dinner, Cathy learns a little bit about how to live in the face of death.