what we say
Was it Mark Twain who said a man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time?
I was never prepared for death but all that changed last December when I was diagnosed with a rare cancer.
That's why our feature on palliative care resonates with me, as it should with you.
Because life is like a can of soup with a looming expiry date. Use it or you end up wasting it.
An expiry date forces you to reconsider priorities.
And as the people featured in the reports showed, an expiry date teaches you how to live with dignity.
In my cancer treatment, I met exceptional people from the team at the National Cancer Centre to National University Hospital and my doctor, Sim Hong Gee and his team.
A man's cancer can be a humiliating medical experience but the medical staff protected my dignity throughout.
Because treatment can be a financial and emotional strain, I was lucky my Integrated Shield Plan agent at AIA, Goo Yin, was not only efficient but reassuring too.
My friends at Prudential, Cher Ling and Shirlyn Tan, also quickly processed my claim so I wouldn't have to worry about payments for further treatments.
Over the years, I took friends and family for granted. Without being asked, they jumped in with offers of help after I was diagnosed.
After two operations and scans, I was told recently my cancer was caught early. This is my second chance at not only living fully, but to also treat myself and the people around me with dignity.
In the end, death teaches us that it is not how long you live. But how you live those years.
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