25 signatures reached
To: The British Medical Journal and Mr Richard Smith
Apologise for this insensitive article.
Some of you may have heard about or read all or part of the article published in the British Medical Journal: http://bmj.co/1BqiNFv
We demand a formal apology for this insensitive and offensive article.
We demand a formal apology for this insensitive and offensive article.
Why is this important?
Hundreds of thousands of people (in the UK alone) are affected by, or die from cancer every year. If Mr Smith honestly believes what he has written then I suggest he should speak to people who have suffered/are suffering from this horrible disease, or who have nursed people or loved ones through their illness, what their feelings on continued research into a cure for cancer are.
Mr Smith has written a blog, which the BMJ have seen fit to publicise, entitled "cancer is the best death": http://bmj.co/1BqiNFv. How and why he feels about this issue is, I grant, his opinion which he is entitled to. However he doesn't take into account the feelings and emotions of those who have dealt/are dealing with this horrible, debilitating illness either in themselves or in friends or loved ones.
If he genuinely believes that research into cures and treatments for this disease are a waste of resources, maybe he should talk to those who are only with us today because of that research? To imply that wishing for a quick death is, essentially, selfish is ridiculous. I lost 3 grandparents suddenly and one slowly to leukaemia and I feel that, having seen the pain and suffering of the slow, debilitating and, ultimately, dehumanising death for the person who died from leukaemia (as well as the suffering of those who loved them and felt so utterly helpless), a short lived or sudden death is much to be preferred for all concerned. If we can't be selfish in death then when can we be?
I would also like to point out that only in the final stages of this disease can it be made painless, for most the progress of this disease through the body is far from painless. We call upon the BMJ and Mr Smith to acknowledge the offense this article has caused, apologise for publishing this article, and consider removing it from their website.
Mr Smith has written a blog, which the BMJ have seen fit to publicise, entitled "cancer is the best death": http://bmj.co/1BqiNFv. How and why he feels about this issue is, I grant, his opinion which he is entitled to. However he doesn't take into account the feelings and emotions of those who have dealt/are dealing with this horrible, debilitating illness either in themselves or in friends or loved ones.
If he genuinely believes that research into cures and treatments for this disease are a waste of resources, maybe he should talk to those who are only with us today because of that research? To imply that wishing for a quick death is, essentially, selfish is ridiculous. I lost 3 grandparents suddenly and one slowly to leukaemia and I feel that, having seen the pain and suffering of the slow, debilitating and, ultimately, dehumanising death for the person who died from leukaemia (as well as the suffering of those who loved them and felt so utterly helpless), a short lived or sudden death is much to be preferred for all concerned. If we can't be selfish in death then when can we be?
I would also like to point out that only in the final stages of this disease can it be made painless, for most the progress of this disease through the body is far from painless. We call upon the BMJ and Mr Smith to acknowledge the offense this article has caused, apologise for publishing this article, and consider removing it from their website.
