Shit happens

The title is a quote from the last entry in a blog which inspired me in the early days of my treatment, you can find it at http://www.cancergiggles.blog-city.com/live_with_cancer_1.htm, unfortunatly I just found out that Cass Brown, the authour of the blog, died in January after a long battle against a very serious form of cancer. Cass was an inspiration to many of us in blogworld because of his wit, honesty, courage and love of life. I read the paragraph below a few days after I was diagnosed and it made a real, punch in the stomach style, impact on me as I was just winding into the "woe is me" nonsense which I have since mostly avoided. At least in part the inspiration of his words, written when he was already very sick and terminally so, helped me through the last year, so I reproduce them here in case you ever need to return to them in any time of your own trouble. This is copyrighted to him, but I think the spirt with which it was written would allow for it to be seen here and I encourage you to consider buying his book, appropiatly entitled Cancergiggles (ISBN 0955198801).

"I am in absolutely no doubt that without my wife I would be dead already. A couple of years ago she cared for me and literally dragged me back to life when everyone, including the doctors, had just about given up hope. Both her and my young daughter had to cope with my complex medical problems, the practical and financial problems of being in the situation in a foreign country and the very strong likelihood that I would die in the very near (sometimes thought to be hours) future. They were just amazing! This goes back to a previous point. If you ever, for one nano second, feel sorry for yourself, just simply be ashamed. Sorry to turn this on its head but this ISN'T ABOUT YOU. It's about the people you will leave behind and soon you will have absolutely zero input into the situation. Use whatever time you have to make them happy and for Gods sake MAKE THEM LAUGH. If you have devoted your entire life to being a miserable, selfish, mean and entirely unattractive excuse for a human being, knock it off now! If you are bankrupt, don't have a friend in the world and your family has deserted you, get off your ass and make somebody else laugh. You get just one crack at this. You can't die happy if what you leave is a world of shit and grief. If at some stage in the future my name comes up and it elicits a wry smile from someone that's good. If it makes somebody laugh, you'll hear me jumping on the clouds".

Well I hope you all get something from his words as I did, I hear him jumping on the clouds and I will always remember his key point - this isn't about you, its about the people you leave behind. I do not have his wit, as many commentators have pointed out, but I do believe in the point he made to me in his blog, and it has helped me with my much easier and less risky path specially in the darker times. His words still make me smile.

So a sad day, but a celebration of a good and inspirational life, not really looking for comments on this one, just wanted to put it out there in respect for the difference he made to a lot of us.

Rest in Peace, Cass Brown, bummer of a result

Gerry