Unscheduled End State Head Cancer

29 Oct, 2025

Yesterday I found out an old friend of mine was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and has been told he has perhaps a few weeks to live. As a middle-aged nerd/hacker/gamer type guy, he’s taken this in stride and made a joking post about the upsides to dying of brain cancer in a short amount of time. Because, what else are you supposed to do?

I haven’t seen this friend in quite some time, but he was always one of the most easy going, lighthearted guys I knew. Well liked by many people and without a mean bone in his body.

Things like this always make me ponder the nature of life, our fleeting existence, and the relative importance of my problems in the grand scheme of things. It’s easy to say “I may hate my job, but at least I don’t have brain cancer”.

Equating and comparing suffering is a slippery slope though - there are many people who silently suffer in depression and mental anguish, probably just as many as those who are malnourished and starving.

It reminds me of something I heard once at a conference - that people who are starving don’t commit suicide. People don’t commit suicide people they are poor, or because they are sick (at least not always). They usually end their lives because of a lack of purpose and meaning in their lives. Worthlessness, aimlessness and depression are the real killers, not hunger and disease.

I believe in my friend’s case, he has had great purpose in his life. He was active in serving his community, being loyal to his friends, loving to his wife, and witnessing his faith to others whenever he could.

I don’t know how he is feeling at this moment, but I hope he feels that he has lived that life of purpose bravely, and despite the fact that he is having decades robbed from him by his ruthless disease, feels a sense of peace.

Good luck buddy, and godspeed.