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Gregg Kellogg has died

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Re: Gregg Kellogg has died

#21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure everyone gets to choose what makes them happy. Sorry, I guess, if criticizing the life choices of a dead person are what makes you happy.

I did not take it as criticizing, but holding it up as an example of a life well lived. TLDR "The work won't love you back, pay attention to what can be learned from Gregg's life experience he shared." Certainly, seek out meaningful work, but prioritize loving relationships over it. > "I have been unbelievably lucky in life, and particularly in my relationship with Rebecca." (i strongly agree with this, fwiw, based o…

Full disclosure: I haven't read the book myself. Logically, however, expressing regrets does not say anything about whether a specific course of action is better. By definition, one can only regret living one's life in a certain way if one actually did - so perhaps a high incidence of people regretting "working too hard" is simply indicative of working a lot being the most common experience, rather than any special reason why a life spent working should be regrettable.

And back to Gregg - he's personally been an inspiration to me. Who would I be to question his life choices, but I for one am grateful for the path he did choose to take.

Re: Gregg Kellogg has died

#22
post #2

> In August 4th, I went into the MarinHealth Emergency Room, due to increased stomach pain on top of symptoms which became more acute in June. I've had a reduced appetite, with consequent weight loss, for about the last year. I had been fighting to keep weight on for some time, then in July, Rebecca and I went back to our usual haunt at the Hotel Wailea in Maui, which we love. Towards the end of the trip, I had a sud…

Did he see a doctor about it before the ER visit? This is a good reminder to not shrug off things like unplanned weight loss - see your physician!

Re: Gregg Kellogg has died

#23
post #2

> In August 4th, I went into the MarinHealth Emergency Room, due to increased stomach pain on top of symptoms which became more acute in June. I've had a reduced appetite, with consequent weight loss, for about the last year. I had been fighting to keep weight on for some time, then in July, Rebecca and I went back to our usual haunt at the Hotel Wailea in Maui, which we love. Towards the end of the trip, I had a sud…

Pancreatic cancer can be curable in some cases - see the Whipple procedure: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreaticoduodenectomy That said, it would depend on several other factors, not least catching the tumour early enough - and it looks like a pretty tough thing to go through even if successful.

Gregg chose not to undergo surgery:

> This is major life-changing surgery with a long and difficult "recovery". I have elected not to do this, due to existing co-morbidities from my sorted past and the expectation that the recovery would exceed my lifespan, which I'd rather keep as normal as possible.

I wish I'd known about that post before he died; I'd have sent him my best regards personally rather than just saying nice things about him online now :(

Re: Gregg Kellogg has died

#25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pancreatic cancer can be curable in some cases - see the Whipple procedure: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreaticoduodenectomy That said, it would depend on several other factors, not least catching the tumour early enough - and it looks like a pretty tough thing to go through even if successful.

Gregg chose not to undergo surgery: > This is major life-changing surgery with a long and difficult "recovery". I have elected not to do this, due to existing co-morbidities from my sorted past and the expectation that the recovery would exceed my lifespan, which I'd rather keep as normal as possible. I wish I'd known about that post before he died; I'd have sent him my best regards personally rather than just saying…

Ah, I missed that bit, thanks. My dad had (and died) of pancreatic cancer and it was too far gone for Whipple to be on the table. However I think he too might not have chosen to go ahead with it even if it had been an option.

My dad lived for two or thee years after diagnosis, mostly with fairly good QoL. He did have "NanoKnife" which seems to have helped extend things without much negative impact so that's worth looking into for those in a similar plight.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_electroporation

Re: Gregg Kellogg has died

#26
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Professional joy does not matter. Do not make your job your life. Family matters, personal goals matter, professional goals however do not. When my father had cancer the only question his employer ever asked was "when is he coming back to work? We need him here". He passed not long after. Your work does not care about you, no matter if its a corporation or a tiny business. If your personal goal is to be a professiona…

I'm pretty sure everyone gets to choose what makes them happy. Sorry, I guess, if criticizing the life choices of a dead person are what makes you happy.

That's a pretty privileged take there. No, not everyone gets to choose what makes them happy when they have obligations to others or even to themselves if they want to eat that night or not. Glad you do, but don't assume everyone does.

Re: Gregg Kellogg has died

#27
That was fast, which feels oddly positive. My brother died from cancer and spent a full year in agony. I do cancer screenings every 3 years given my brother died relatively young from stomach cancer. Lately I have been thinking on adding whole body MRI scans to my screening process but I keep reading conflicting evidence on their effectiveness. My brother’s cancer was detected late and would have been easy to treat and perhaps even survivable if detected early. I also have two close friends diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in their 30s, again both with high survival rate on early detection.

Re: Gregg Kellogg has died

#28

I you don't know who Gregg Kellogg was: https://greggkellogg.net/foaf

His resume link 404'd.

archive.org copy is at https://web.archive.org/web/20110913122328/https://greggkell...

He worked at NeXT and Go Corp.'s Eo spinoff, two hot startups of the late 80s/early 90s.

Re: Gregg Kellogg has died

#29
post #2

> In August 4th, I went into the MarinHealth Emergency Room, due to increased stomach pain on top of symptoms which became more acute in June. I've had a reduced appetite, with consequent weight loss, for about the last year. I had been fighting to keep weight on for some time, then in July, Rebecca and I went back to our usual haunt at the Hotel Wailea in Maui, which we love. Towards the end of the trip, I had a sud…

Especially given that (from his FAQ 'You seem oddly calm about this.' )

  "I first was confronted with my prospective early mortality back when I contracted Hodgkin's Disease (and later ITP) in my 20's and early 30's."
A cancer survivor who is losing weight for unknown reasons should set off alarm bells.

Re: Gregg Kellogg has died

#30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure everyone gets to choose what makes them happy. Sorry, I guess, if criticizing the life choices of a dead person are what makes you happy.

That's a pretty privileged take there. No, not everyone gets to choose what makes them happy when they have obligations to others or even to themselves if they want to eat that night or not. Glad you do, but don't assume everyone does.

I think that is a misrepresentation of what the parent was saying. OP is not suggesting everyones gets to do what makes them happy, but rather they are free to say what is important for their happiness, even if others disagree.
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