Nothing is more certain than death — so why does the approach of death always surprise me?
People die of cancer every day. The disease is so common that most of us don’t even think much about it. I certainly don’t. Even though I had breast cancer more than 10 years ago, I still don’t think about getting cancer and dying from it. And I don’t think about it happening to my friends.
I have a friend who had a routine cancer screening — a lung scan — about a year ago. He was a smoker, so it was supposed to give an early warning if there was anything wrong.
The scan showed what could be a couple of small tumors on his lung. After a biopsy confirmed it was cancer, those two small nodules were removed through surgery. Then he went through months of chemotherapy. And now he’s had another scan to see whether it worked.
He found out this evening that the cancer has metastasized — to his lymph nodes and his liver. And now that I fear death might be coming for him, I don’t know what to feel. In the end, nobody cheats death.
Life choices: What’s important enough to spend your life doing?
What kind of savages are we today? ‘Pick ’em out and knock ’em out’
I just found out an ex got married – and I’m shocked to feel jealous
After last month’s weight freakout, something’s shifted in my attitude
Those Libyan ‘freedom fighters’ we paid for? They’re murdering thugs
To stay sane during life’s battles, aliens need places of sanctuary
If there’s something you must do, income and vocation might clash
When people show you who they are, trust their actions, not words