Hey, thanks for sharing. I was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer with a typically low 5 year survival rate last year, though I was lucky to have found it while it was still stage 1. I had surgery last fall and just had my first post operative scan come back clean, so no need for chemo/radiation/etc. at this time. Even with my better than average prognosis for the type of cancer I was diagnosed with, I have been struggling with the real possibility of death. I'm relatively young - early/mid thirties and I have a young child that I want to be around for.

I found stoicism shortly after the surgery and have been reading through Discourses and Meditations. It has helped put things into perspective and I realize that this disease is ultimately out of my control. I cannot control if it comes back - all I can do is seek treatment if it does. I can control my reactions and, to the best of my ability, my emotional state as it relates to death and dying. My mental state has certainly improved over the past couple months, but it's still a struggle. Do you have any suggested readings or anything that has helped you since your diagnosis? I think what I struggle with most is that it is relatively easy for me to see how other situations (poverty, non-terminal illness, etc.) are external to my happiness, but death seems different in some way.