Thanks for the rep! Sometime, go to ebay and put "trench art" in the search box. There's a lot of cool stuff out there, from miniature planes and tanks to flower vases and lighters, all made from empty casings, shrapnel and other bits of metal, etc..
Yeah, I'm going through the same thing. My dad is 66 and they have given him 2-4 months. Stage 4 colon that has spread to the liver and lungs and who else knows.