I am now running off to see if it's available on disk, since that sounds like Very Much My Thing.

Let me share that we just finished season 1 of The Big C, and it's wonderful. ALmost every ep is 5 stars! Great acting, sit in Minnesota suburbs, Mom has cancer and can't tell anybody yet, Dad and Son and Brother and Students realize something is off, but not what. Lead is Laura Linney and she manages to be hilarious and tragic simultaneously.