In our ongoing conversations about end of life, the words of Oliver Sacks are quite powerful in this New York Times article.
My Own Life – Oliver Sacks on Learning He Has Terminal Cancer
A MONTH ago, I felt that I was in good health, even robust health. At 81, I still swim a mile a day. But my luck has run out — a few weeks ago I learned that I have multiple metastases in the liver. Nine years ago it was discovered that I had a rare tumor of the eye, an ocular melanoma. Although the radiation and lasering to remove the tumor ultimately left me blind in that eye, only in very rare cases do such tumors metastasize. I am among the unlucky 2 percent.
I feel grateful that I have been granted nine years of good health and productivity since the original diagnosis, but now I am face to face with dying. The cancer occupies a third of my liver, and though its advance may be slowed, this particular sort of cancer cannot be halted.
It is up to me now to choose how to live out the months that remain to me…Read the full article here: http://nyti.ms/17u5LNP
For a list of resources that may be of use to you, please visit our end of life resources page.
Image Credit: Hanna Barczyk
