I got a phone call from Mr. "O" this afternoon. He said he could not join a party held on September 5, 2002 because he was in poor shape. While we were talking, he added that he had an operation to take out lung cancer.
The year before last year when he had a health check, he was advised to have close examination as he seemed to have cancer. At that time, he had no subjective symptom at all. After the examination, he was told to be hospitalized. But as he and his wife had reserved an overseas travel, they joined it and enjoyed the trip, although he was thinking the tour might be a last one for him. (after he retired, they joined sixty times the overseas group tours.)
As soon as he came back, he was hospitalized and underwent a thorough medical examination. A doctor told him his cancer was too big for the operation. After he was dozed with anticancer in the hospital for months, the doctor told him to have operation as cancer was shrunk to a smaller one. But the result of operation was not good. He goes to hospital as an outpatient to get anticancer once a week, he said.
Since I was told I got cancer, I have studied a bit about it. These days lung cancer is said to be suppressed. In fact, one of my relatives had a cut away operation of lung cancer three years ago. She is older than me but she looks now much healthier than me. The most important measure for curing the disease is that the patient has a strong will to survive. "O"san, please try your best to live!