I will now struggle with evaluation of one's reaction to a diagnosis of active cancer. First, I would suggest that that subject is so uniquely subjective that any meaningful comment my be impossible. But here goes. I am not at all certain that I can sensibly relate my own reaction. Thus, any observations made are Monday morning quarterbacking, not conscious thoughts which may have crossed the mind in May, 1982.
Any life is composed of accumulated experiences which are uniquely personal.
The two common experiences, which embrace all living persons, are birth, in which he or she had no part or choice, and, eventual death, which is en inevitable result of one's having been born. The latter can be influenced by many factors, over some of which the individual person does have control. I believe, without any concrete proof, that attitude my, in some cases, be a substantial factor in whether a person succumbs to the disease or overcomes it for extended periods of time. In my own case, a GP concluded from chest x-rays alone, prior to extensive testing and evaluation, that I did have an incurable type of cancer. The extensive testing, which led to Dr. Zolin's evaluation, merely confirmed what I had been told.