The Last Lecture

Those who know me are probably aware that I lost my dad to the horrific disease that is pancreatic cancer. I wrote about my father, and our family, in an article called Without Hope We Have Nothing for the About.com Cancer site.  I was touched to hear from people from around the world who said that my article had helped them in their pc journey.

That's the reason why Randy Pausch is my hero.  He has made pancreatic cancer, which has been called the forgotten cancer, a household world.  He's touched many lives and he's shown all of us how you can live, really live, with a terminal disease. 

My dad was like that, too - up until the end.  He made the most of the time he had, and at the end, decided enough was enough and it was time to leave us.  I appreciate now, maybe even more than I did then, the grace, courage and wisdom that he had - it made our journey so much easier.

Somebody posted on the Johns Hopkins Pancreatic Cancer Discussion Forum that Randy should be more hopeful when speaking about pancreatic cancer.   I wasn't quite sure why and responded that:

"Randy Pausch speaks openly and honestly about his diagnosis. I can't imagine why he would be hopeful that he'll do anything other than, if he's lucky, outlive the doctor's prognosis of how long he lives.

That's the reality of his situation and if he said anything other than that - the truth - I can't imagine he would have brought the awareness about pc that he has.

He's not going to get cured and he's taking precious time away from his family for us - for all of us who are patients, caregivers, lost a loved one to a pc, etc. - to help help increase awareness. That's a gift - to all of us, because he's making a difference and his voice is getting heard."

That's the reason I mentioned this - I appreciate the gift more than I have the words to say that he has given all of us who have lost someone to pc, who are living - and dying - with it, and who are caregivers.    

The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch's book, is now available on Amazon and from PanCan.