After that day, your life is never the same. "That day" is the day the doctor tells you, "You have cancer."

August 18, 2008 4:23 AM

Journalist Leroy Sievers has lost his fight with cancer. He passed away Friday night. He was 53. His blog, My Cancer, and his commentaries on NPR, documented the progression of his disease while creating a community of those touched by cancer themselves.
posted by Toekneesan (19 comments total)

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posted by chillmost at 4:39 AM on August 18, 2008

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Holy shit, what an amazing blog. Why can't I be that honest?
posted by By The Grace of God at 4:53 AM on August 18, 2008

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posted by Skorgu at 5:23 AM on August 18, 2008

While scrolling through the comments on NPR, I was amazed at how respectful everyone was being. I kept bracing myself for the inevitable lol u r dead! and was proactively feeling sorry for his widow, Laurie, who was sure to be reading them. But everyone stayed civil. Consistently. Not even a rickroll or something else that people conflate with humor. At first I assumed that it was just the people on NPR or that (maybe!) the internet itself had matured to the point where strangers wouldn't make jokes about a man's death to his widow.

But then I saw that NPR reviews and edits all its comments and that all my hopes had been misplaced. Now I find myself bracing myself for tons of sympathy "dots" on Metafilter, and maybe the occasional "Who gives a shit? Thousands of people die in Africa every day!" comment.

I hate the internet.
posted by Ljubljana at 5:26 AM on August 18, 2008

This blog comforted and engaged a lot of cancer survivors (including my wife).

. Leroy, and good luck.
posted by SPUTNIK at 5:59 AM on August 18, 2008

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posted by Smart Dalek at 6:05 AM on August 18, 2008

i hadn't seen this before, and i'm sorry to have only found it once he was dead.

i'm coming up on a couple of personal cancer-related anniversaries later this year (1st edition, 10 years this october. second edition sequel, 5 years this december), which is leading both to a lot of introspection and a lot of fear (since clearly i'm due again...). so i think i may spend a lot of time reading through this blog.

Thanks for posting this, Toekneesan.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:09 AM on August 18, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

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posted by jepler at 6:19 AM on August 18, 2008

This made my morning sad. I loved his voice on the radio.

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posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 6:45 AM on August 18, 2008

. He was a great man.
posted by MarshallPoe at 6:49 AM on August 18, 2008

Fuck cancer. Fuck it all the way to hell.
posted by msali at 8:11 AM on August 18, 2008

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A very brave and honest man.

And his was one of my favorite voices on NPR.

Dear Cancer, stay the hell away from Wade Goodwyn. No Love, Me
posted by grabbingsand at 9:03 AM on August 18, 2008

I heard his interview on Talk of the Nation as was floored by his candor and attitude. Soon after, I checked out his blog. Today, I'm left with a hollow, on-the-edge-of-tears feeling that I'm wasting all of these healthy moments of my life, while he had none left and was able to make more of a difference than I ever will. Where's the damn justice in that?

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posted by parilous at 10:34 AM on August 18, 2008

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My wife was a faithful listener. I was led to hope I might one day, a long time from now, die so well.
posted by sacre_bleu at 11:11 AM on August 18, 2008

Now I find myself bracing myself for tons of sympathy "dots" on Metafilter, and maybe the occasional "Who gives a shit? Thousands of people die in Africa every day!" comment.

I hate the internet.

How exactly are these equivalent? The whole dot tradition seems diametrically opposed to loudly declaring that a given death is insignificant. Not everyone has something appropriately public to say about a given person's passing, but anyone can nod in respectful and quiet acknowledgment. Thus the dot.

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posted by lumensimus at 11:42 AM on August 18, 2008

This man was a treasure.

"I've said I'm at peace with cancer, and where it will most likely lead. Sometimes I think it makes people crazy when they hear that. It doesn't mean I've given up; that I have looked at death and nodded, 'it's time.' Far from it. But, I'm at peace because I think I've done my best to make a difference. I hope when the real time comes, someone says that about each of us."
posted by found missing at 11:49 AM on August 18, 2008

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posted by Artful Codger at 2:48 PM on August 18, 2008

I loved his blog. From one resident of Cancer World to another:

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posted by princesspathos at 4:17 PM on August 18, 2008

It seems odd to say this but after reading his blog today I love this man, Leroy Sievers, and am sorry he died. As a person surviving cancer I'm grateful to him for saying what he did. What a good man. I'm glad his writing is on the web and will continue to be enjoyed. He made the world a better place.

My loving condolences to his family and friends.
posted by nickyskye at 6:03 PM on August 18, 2008