Like any spiritual path, it has been necessary to let go of life-long beliefs, ideas and attitudes in order to have a greater wholeness. Often illness is a powerful evocation of the soul. There's something in the nature of illness that can awaken people to experience beyond themselves, the sort of experience that all practice and all religion may evoke in us as well. Suffering is a great awakening. This journey you describe, illness and death as a spiritual challenge, is one we will all take.
Life is about loss, and all growth is based on loss.
When we're not willing to let go of what is a part of our past, what has been used up, what no longer affirms our lives, that's when we stop growing. You see, nonattachment is one of the basic capacities which allows spiritual growth. Therefore, they are able to be more deeply touched by their lives, to grow in wisdom and to learn how to live better. Sixty per cent of the people who have had near death experience report that the fundamental purpose of life is to grow in wisdom and to learn to love better. It's a very active position.