

Christopher Hitchens on the Topic of Cancer - petercooper
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/09/hitchens-201009

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cstross
Important moral of story:

If you notice progressive changes in your body that last more than a week or
two, _don't ignore them_. This goes double if you're over 40 and triple if
you're over 60.

(My dad, who is in his eighties, was diagnosed with colon cancer three weeks
ago. What's really annoying is that it turned out afterwards that the
troublesome symptoms -- altered bowel habits -- had been troubling him for 3-6
months before he mentioned them to anyone. Remember: the later it's caught,
the harder it is to do anything about it!)

~~~
jgrahamc
Totally agree. I worked with a great guy called Steve Holtzman
([http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-
peopl...](http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-
people/199903/msg00017.html)) who had been having bowel trouble for a while
(and some weight loss) without dealing with it. When he did it was too late.
He had stage IV colon cancer and was dead in under a year. It was utterly
tragic to see.

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auxbuss
This is a brutally honest narrative of being a cancer victim. (I choose not to
say 'battling cancer' due to the article's content.) Anyone who has
encountered this disease, en route to their own oblivion, will recognise its
ferocious impact. I commend this article, whatever you think of Christopher
and his views; I commend his naked honesty.

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scott_s
The only thing that bothered me was the metaphor of the cancer being alien.
It's not, which is worse: it's _you_. The cancer cells are your cells. Perhaps
a better metaphor is that of a traitor.

~~~
maqr
Yeah, that bothered me too, but I suppose it does feel very alien to have
something so very abnormal growing from within.

I don't think people realize that cancer is just a very slightly modified you.
Hitch factually knows this, I'm sure, but it's a damn hard thing to
conceptualize.

I heard someone on reddit the other day say that at conception, you've
selected yourself to exist, which I thought was equally as mind bending :P

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cschep
I found this remarkably encouraging as I've been trying to deal with some
"difficult" personal decisions lately. This brings me to a place where I can
see how little some things matter, how much more some others do matter, and
finally that life should be lived NOW. Many thanks to the author for writing
it.

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noarchy
It is clear that Hitchens is facing grim odds. His is a voice that I'd hate to
see silenced, but judging by this article, we could see some of his best work
in his remaining days (however long they may be).

~~~
rubashov
> a voice that I'd hate to see silenced

He's an imperialist war monger. I'll shed no tears. He's certainly expressed
no remorse for the tens of thousands dead in the wars he cheerlead.

~~~
igravious
And yet, still, we lose our humanity when we sink to his level. Besides I
think the jury is out: on the plus side he wrote a beautiful damning book[1]
of Kissinger who is by far one of the worst people to have escaped unscathed
from their own wrong-doing and is the man I would dearly love to see locked
away for the rest of his natural days - on the minus side he bought into the
"they'll greet us as liberators" lark and would not back down in the face of
growing evidence to the contrary, view i might add Hitchens shares with
millions upon millions of people from the US.

Everybody is a complex mix of good and bad intentions. I thank the stars that
you're not the final arbiter.

[1]
[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Kissinger/CaseAgainst1_Hit...](http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Kissinger/CaseAgainst1_Hitchens.html)

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weeksie
I know it's probably not nerd-ok but I read the article hoping it would be his
take on the Henry Miller book. Of course, I was sorely disappointed. Then I
re-read the title.

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agentultra
I admire Hitchens. His "Letters to a Young Contrarian" gave me no small
measure of actualization. I hope he survives this so he can continue writing
and getting everybody's backs up.

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Mz
Excerpt:

 _The notorious stage theory of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, whereby one progresses
from denial to rage through bargaining to depression and the eventual bliss of
“acceptance,” hasn’t so far had much application in my case. In one way, I
suppose, I have been “in denial” for some time, knowingly burning the candle
at both ends and finding that it often gives a lovely light. But for precisely
that reason, I can’t see myself smiting my brow with shock or hear myself
whining about how it’s all so unfair: I have been taunting the Reaper into
taking a free scythe in my direction and have now succumbed to something so
predictable and banal that it bores even me. Rage would be beside the point
for the same reason._

To me, this is the best bit from the article. Having gone so far down the road
back to health when all the world tried to tell me it could not be done, it is
very clear to me that one's thinking, and the actions that grow out of that,
is critical to the ability to resolve the problem. I wish him well and I hope
the above bodes well for his ability to think clearly and therefore see
clearly whatever the necessary steps are for him to make the journey back to
the land of the living.

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stretchwithme
this is terrible news. we really can't afford to lose such a passionate
advocate for reason. hopefully he can be saved

