Recently, I met a friend from my childhood. The last time I met him was several years ago. So the conversation started as expected: "How have you been?" How is your family doing? I inquired about his parents by asking, "How are your parents?" Are they currently living?
He responded by saying that his mother is living. She is still in good health for her age. However, my father has passed away. He departed this life approximately two and a half years ago. Cancer of the liver. He had been ill for a long time - the doctors said around three years - but we only discovered when he was hospitalized three weeks before his death. "The pain lingers with us..."
My friend, lighting a cigarette, showed signs of deep sorrow for his father's death, as well as regret for not recognizing his illness sooner. Despite his father being elderly and having a fulfilling life, the sorrow of losing a close family member is always overwhelming.
After we said goodbye, I couldn't stop pondering my friend's sorrow. A disease that cannot be cured. However, if they had been aware of the truth earlier, the old man would have experienced chemotherapy, pain, fear, and regret during the last three years of his life. The patient's suffering, the family's sadness and distress, and the result would have remained unchanged.
I told myself that sometimes it might be best to not know rather than to know. However, I couldn't explore this thought further as I had to quickly move to avoid colliding with a young boy on a bicycle, who had the potential to cause me some serious injury.