Receiving a cancer diagnosis is a huge shocker, and like grief, people respond in different ways. But I hope it's not common for people to respond like this woman in Quebec City, who committed suicide by setting herself on fire on the day her chemo treatments were set to begin. She burned herself beyond recognition in a car alongside two propane tanks. Next to the the vehicle, police found some personal affects and a suicide note. Apparently, this is not unheard of, as people are often at risk of suicide after receiving bad news. Still, considering all the advances that are happening each day in the medical field, it's a shame that she couldn't stick around to have her hope and health restored. My thoughts go out to her family.
1. Ah, my heart goes out to this woman and her family.
I recently had surgery for endometrial cancer. My doctor is now recommending chemo even though all cancer was removed by the surgery ("just to be sure").
He was quite insistent that I should have chemo without providing me clinical evidence of its effectiveness. If I felt forced to allow chemo, I would feel suicidal myself. Fortunately, I won't go ahead with it without firm evidence, and my family supports me in this.
Too bad doctors don't seem to understand that chemo is not a real option for some of us. I think fear of chemo keeps some people from getting medical assistance earlier; it certainly stopped me. Please consider letting us live (and die) in peace.
Posted at 12:29PM on Sep 1st 2007 by Carol