Dying of Cancer

What is your first reaction when someone tells you that are dying of cancer --- lets say they tell you that you only have 3 months left in you... Do you see a sinking ship or a rising sun? I had imagined myself in that situation several times in the last 20 years or so. Everytime I think about it, I see a new dimension to the whole issue. Lets examine the issue of death a little closely. What exactly does death mean to us? Someone once said "I am not afraid of death...I just dont want to be there when it happens". One of the biggest fears that the thought of death brings is the "what happens next" syndrome. It is safe to say that no one really knows for sure what happens to a person after death. The second most important thing that hits you when you get the "I am sorry but you only have 3 months" speech is exactly that --- "I have only 3 months left in the bank"...of course, there is also the "why me?" question that pops up...but we really are unable to answer that question to any degree of satisfaction so that's that. We shall explore this question in a later post. The notice of death also gives a person a chance to re-route his/her life. Priorities change overnight, the mood changes (well, duh!), thoughts are mixed with a little bit of negativeness. Under these circumstances, there are those who get over the self-pity stage and there are those who dont. Some get into a shell, others feel the need to reach out to everyone before time runs out...there are the so-called "fighters" and then there are those with a "defeatist" mentality. But why are we talking about all this? Is this really going anywhere? The bottomline is that death is a life-changing event! It can change the way you think, it can change the way you treat the people around you, it can change the way you react in situations. And why is that? Dont we all know that death is inevitable? Did I really think I would live forever? why the shock and sorrow? Maybe someone can give me the answer to this....