Quite literally, the difference between being diagnosed with Stage I and Stage IV breast cancer is the difference between life and death.

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Or to put it another way, profit margins are so slim that a 6.5% swing in occupancy levels is the difference between corporate life and death.

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At this stage of my life -- a senior citizen, as they say politely -- I'm also quite happy to believe in miracles, assuming that the membrane between life and death is paper thin.

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Humanitarian assistance sometimes means the difference between life and death, and that is why courageous men and women have been working day and night to ensure that these supplies are reaching those who need it most.

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As much as purist free-marketers hate to admit it, when making a judgment on who should perform your surgery -a decision that can be the difference between life and death- price shopping is simply not the best way to go.

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On the other hand, the ability to look at an industry and find the new product that turns college kids into billionaires is not the type of skill that is typically selected for or heightened in the military, where rigorous discipline can make the difference between life and death.

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