Fighting Cancer

Post by arisAlexis » Mon, Aug 22, 2016, 9:35 PM UTC

rabidrat wrote: post #68

arisAlexis wrote: post #51

I am not sure why cryonics are not in the menu of every reader here when he has the opportunity (you don't have it if you die in a sudden accident) to subscribe when it seems inevitable to die.

Not all of us want to live again in some unknown future without any sense of continuity or surviving relationships. Death is ultimately inevitable, even if a miracle like cryonics could postpone it the first time. The author's entire point is that we should accept this inevitability, not try to avoid it by any psychological means we can conjure. Only then can we respond appropriately.

Post by vacri » Mon, Aug 22, 2016, 9:50 PM UTC

Double_Cast wrote: post #108

omginternets wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to agree with this. People can't be expected to know what every individual would prefer to hear in every conceivable circumstance. Platitudes are often an oblique way of saying "I empathize and I wish you the best" while not being discouraging. Actually saying the above might be preferable, but it's unfair to criticize the gesture, I think. If I mention this, it's because I think there are parallels to be draw…

It's absolutely fair to criticize the gesture. You know how SJW's tell outsiders to check their privilege when they make the discussion about themselves? Platitudes similarly make the discussion about themselves instead of the cancer patient. "Fight it." Wow, you're so optimistic! "Eat more fruit." You're so knowledgeable! Since you're a certified nutritionist, am I eating enough Quinoa? http://thelastpsychiatrist.co…

Post by robryk » Mon, Aug 22, 2016, 10:03 PM UTC

austinjp wrote: post #27

Luc wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strange, from what I read (including interviews with oncologists) cancer treatment is massively improving, with new treatments available and many fundamental advances in the pipeline. The future is looking bright, with cancer becoming a manageable chronic illness in the next decades.

An oncologist gave a friend of mine the ridiculous opinion that there would be a cure for cancer within 5 years. That was 6 years ago. I say ridiculous because medicine is awash with similar predictions, the vast majority of which have never come true, or materialise far far later than anticipated. The future does indeed look bright... from the very specific perspective of the researchers. Unfortunately if you are so…

Post by Double_Cast » Mon, Aug 22, 2016, 10:09 PM UTC

omginternets wrote: post #119

Double_Cast wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's absolutely fair to criticize the gesture. You know how SJW's tell outsiders to check their privilege when they make the discussion about themselves? Platitudes similarly make the discussion about themselves instead of the cancer patient. "Fight it." Wow, you're so optimistic! "Eat more fruit." You're so knowledgeable! Since you're a certified nutritionist, am I eating enough Quinoa? http://thelastpsychiatrist.co…

Making the discussion about oneself means its not really a gesture to begin with. I agree with your example but I think it's a different thing altogether.

Post by sib » Mon, Aug 22, 2016, 11:06 PM UTC

karmajunkie wrote: post #11

This is a really important read. Nobody really gets terminal illness until you're either terminally ill, or right on the fringe of it. Even those of us who are one degree away from it only have the vaguest notion of it. It seems like something on the order of 30% of human prose ever written struggles with this notion of mortality [1], yet very few words are devoted to how to care about someone who is terminally ill,…