THE FUSE

Several years of studying cancer biology in the lab did not make me ignore the suffering and pain of cancer patients in hospitals. My father loved life and hoped to live longer. He died from esophageal cancer. The doctors were disappointed with his outcome and recommended that he go home without telling him that he had deadly cancer. A couple of weeks before his death, he lost the ability to move, eat, and drink. He fell into a coma-like state a few days before passing away. However, when I said to him several minutes before his death, "If you hear me, push my hand," he weakly squeezed my hand. He appeared to remain aware of me until the end and faced his inevitable fate.