My Life and My Death

A Priest Confronts His Cancer

"My greatest teacher has been my cancer," says the author in his story of faith as he faces death. But the author never goes too far in the direction of becoming "touchy-feely" with his illness. In fact, he refers to his cancer as being of the devil, yet he never dwells too long in this application either. There is humor but never too much. There is some "preaching" about people with grudges against God but never too much. Instead he tells us, step by step, how he learned of his cancer, how he learned that his cancer was worse than originally thought, how he came to bond with his doctor, how he came to accept the stages of disintegration of his body. The author's main work here is to find ways to bring us unbearable tidings about sickness and dying in ways that, with God, are bearable.