How many times did you have terminal cancer?

My girlfriend died of cancer. She was 30 years old and we had a toddler. No matter how rational you start, terminal cancer diagnosis throws much rationality out the window.

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overfeed 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> No matter how rational you start, terminal cancer diagnosis throws much rationality out the window.

Doctors who get cancer typically stay level-headed. I wish society talked about death and mortality more often and openly, most people are ill-equiped to face it square on, and yet its the one thing that is truly universal. Humanity needs sex-ed, but for dying.

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bombcar 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Humanity needs sex-ed, but for dying.

I mean, we had that and threw it away; centuries of memento mori in various cultures and religions

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hulitu 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> I wish society talked about death and mortality more often and openly,

They do. For example "US army sunk a boat with drug traffickers, killing everyone."

see Banality of evil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichmann_in_Jerusalem

	▲	overfeed 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Use of passive voice doesn't help anyone grapple with one's mortality. I specifically meant in the context of contemplating our own mortality, and not that of others - which is closer to death porn and not death sex-ed (learning how to do it ourselves)

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NoSalt 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I agree 100%. If I received a terminal cancer diagnosis, I would be willing to do almost anything to live longer.

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BrandoElFollito 4 hours ago | parent [-]

I would not. At some point this becomes agony, this is the reason I have a suicide plan in place for a long time alredy, despite being in perfect health.

It's not when you need it that you start googling around

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tasuki 4 hours ago | parent [-]

FWIW, modern medicine is very good at making the pain go away, if you opt for it.

	▲	kstrauser 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		So much this. They gave my mom an effectively unlimited supply of opiates when the time called for it, and we convinced her that it was perfectly OK and good to use them. One need not suffer without help, unless that happens to be personally important to them. Like, I can imagine religious objections, maybe, or perhaps an addict who wants to “go out clean” knowing that they beat the cravings. But if those don’t apply, pain meds are good and plentiful now.

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kstrauser 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I am truly sorry for your loss. That must’ve been a nightmare, and I can imagine someone exploring outside their usual lines in such a situation. I hope you and your child are well now.

	▲	tasuki 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Thank you, yes we are well! Things have only been getting better for several years now :)