Terminal Illness

When I was diagnosed with terminal cancer, more than ten years ago, I discovered that another well-known international journalist was wrestling with the same problem. And, like me, he was very public about it all. His name was Christopher Hitchens. His last book was a gem called Hitch 22. I followed his death throes with more personal interest than most and, tragically, he died in December 2011 – only four months after my transplant. Hitchens once said about death: ‘The fear of death will not leave us. I mean, nobody doesn’t have it sometimes. I’m not particularly afraid of it because I am not going to know I’m dead. But the thought of not being here while you are pisses me off a bit’. So, how do you cope?