5/31/25-Losing a Friend

Although I have a great support group in my family in dealing with cancer, sometimes you need to talk to someone who is in the fight rather than a support person.

Some cancers like breast cancer have countless support groups subdivided by age, gender, severity, ethnicity, etc.  In my case, I haven't really found anything like that.

This week I was talking to someone at work who is fighting brain cancer.  He was a little down because while he also doesn't have a support group, he found someone online who was documenting his fight on Instagram that he was following.  That person recently passed away, and my friend felt like he had lost part of his support system even though he never had met this individual.

I emphasized with him.  I too loosely follow a person on YouTube who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2021.  His videos were inspiring and positive.  I recently got far enough into his videos to see the end for him was coming and he finally passed away last summer.

He seemed a lot like me.  He was very fit.  He ignored his symptoms too long.  He was always looking for other holistic ways to treat his cancer and the side effects.  Familiar.

When the cancer finally took over his downfall was quick.  In just a couple of months he went from out exercising, experiencing life to bedridden and weak.  Its kinda scary seeing what might be your own future right there on YouTube.

I never met Dr. Dan Brockmann.  But I think we could have been friends, especially since we both were fighting and enemy that we never saw coming.  He lost his battle, and eventually I'll lose as well.  Hopefully, when my time comes I'll face my mortality with as much grace as he did.