It has been reported that Jade Goody, 27, the British reality TV star, died of cervical cancer early today. At her side were her mother, her husband of one month, and a family friend — and apparently they each give different times for her death.
One of the things many people had been concerned about did not happen. There were no cameras rolling at the time of her death. That remained a private matter, experienced only by Goody and those three people, but, reports Sarah Lyall in the New York Times, "the British news media have been running daily updates on her condition for the past week."
I wrote about Goody's situation about a month ago. As it is with anyone you hear about who is terminally ill, you hope that, somehow, a miracle will happen and that person will suddenly get better. But the forecast then was that she had maybe two months left. As it turned out, she only had one.
It seems that one thing that medical science can do more efficiently than it ever has before is pinpoint how much time a terminally ill person has left.
Rest in peace, Jade.
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2 comments:
Look it's sad when anyone with any terminal ilness dies but the fact is, lots of people do. I don't think Jade Goody deserves all this attention becuase she is no more important than the thousands and thousands of other people out there who are suffering on a day-to-day basis.
Carl,
I agree with you. The thing that distinguishes Jade Goody from others is the fact that she was in the public eye. I've known several people in my life who died of terminal illnesses but they remained, as they had been in life, mostly anonymous.
But, as I observed last month, a positive by-product of Goody's illness was that it had inspired more young women in Britain to seek cancer screening, and that may prove beneficial. In death, she may be instrumental in extending other lives.
I gather from your post that you have had some experience with the terminally ill. It may have been a person close to you who died or a person who suffers today. Whichever it is, I hope you can find some peace and perhaps draw some courage from Goody's experience. She doesn't appear to have led an exemplary life, but the way she faced her own mortality is worthy of our admiration and gratitude.
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