It’s 23 April 2026 and my little brother Mark, now taller than me, but still 3 years younger (he’s 71), is about to lose his battle with pancreatic cancer. I always thought he would outlive me, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Apparently.

He and his wife, Mary, are taking it well, They’ve both had a rough time of it, mainly because the investigational drug treatment he’s been involved with has let him last far longer than the usual pancreatic cancer patient. But the drug stopped working, and they made the decision to just let nature take its course.

Tonight we had a call online, and I was briefly able to rouse him from his not-quite-coma, but this will be the last time. I feel very melancholy about it, but not surprised. I knew this day would come when he first told me that it was pancreatic cancer. There’s a good chance of survival if caught early, but his was not. I believe that he was at stage 4 when diagnosed, and that was too advanced to be assured of survival past 5 years. Still, it sucks.

All is not lost however! Being Christians, we are assured that this is not the end, not really. We await the Resurrection. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ suffered unbearably to save us from our sins, and to ensure our eventual return to an immortal and eternal life.