Now I have another friend who professes to be an atheist. However, by his behaviour, he is now the most “Christian” person I know.

Believe it or not we ALL fight cancer in our bodies in various forms every day. The cells are produced and destroyed in the same way that our healthy cells are, but they form a minority of the cells, less than half a percent. The problem of cancerous growth appears to be a couple of things. Either the body loses its ability to destroy such cells, or something triggers their ability to replicate faster than the body can cope with them. You then get into chicken and egg arguments inside the fraternity.

My mum battles with lukemia and has survived a number of operations to remove growths from her body. She is very ill now having recently suffered a heart attack, and her medications started fighting with each other until they worked out what the imbalance was. Bottom line, she takes the wrong pill at the wrong time and shes in serious trouble.

The reason I relate all of this to you is that while we have not been able to cure most cancers, we have gained an understanding of what they are.

A lot can be said about the way your friend died. A whole lot more could be said about the way he lived. Along his journey he aquired many admirers and friends, as was evidenced by his send off.

As for being intolerant of the saducees/philestines/heathen… I wonder did your friend share that opinion. Sorry for your loss Mike.

The funeral was Thursday, a major production at St Stephen’s Cathedral celebrated by the Archbishop, all the Auxilliary Bishops, a plague of priests from across Australia, standing room only in the Cathedral and another 1000 people outside spilling down the steps to Elizabeth St. My wife and I spent the rest of the day (and a good chunk of the night) with his family. While we have met them socially several times in past years, we have come to know them really well in recent months. My mate was one of seven brothers and sisters, and being good Catholics, he was uncle to about a gazillion nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and grand-nieces. We have lost a good friend, but gained many more.

I never know what to say to bereaved people. Depending on what stage of grieving they are at, there’s always the risk of saying something to upset them.

My mate, for example, never wants it said that “He has gone to a better place.” Despite his profession, he often agreed that there wasn’t a whole lot of evidence for this “Better Place”.

Life is what you do with whatever you’ve got, right now.

My family had a dreadful run with cancer last year, three out of four of those who had it passed away. My dad was the one who was lucky enough to beat his cancer, which makes me endlessly happy, but also comes with it a feeling of guilt because my cousins lost their father and their father’s twin sister a mere months apart.

I also get this feeling of it being unfair, which is ridiculous because who would it be fair on?

Ah, meloncholic Monday commenting…

btw, I find myself in agreement with you about those who would divide us.

It must be reassuring to know he was content before his passing, though I’m sure it is still hard on his parents regardless. A child passing before their parents could never be easy…

It was much tougher on his elderly parents, though.