{"id":5245,"date":"2025-09-12T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T08:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=5245"},"modified":"2025-09-17T21:34:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T21:34:15","slug":"the-5-things-people-typically-say-when-they-learn-theyre-going-to-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/12\/the-5-things-people-typically-say-when-they-learn-theyre-going-to-die\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 things people typically say when they learn they\u2019re going to die"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Everybody reacts to the news differently (Picture: Getty Images\/Maskot)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week, former royal butler Paul Burrell<\/a> revealed Queen Elizabeth<\/a> II’s response to being told she was going to die<\/a> – and it’s as dignified as you’d expect from the late monarch.<\/p>\n

Upon hearing the news she had cancer<\/a> and may not survive beyond Christmas<\/a> of 2021, she replied with a characteristically stoic<\/a>: ‘Well, that’s a shame’.<\/p>\n

The 95-year old Queen was hoping to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee<\/a> the following year, so asked doctors if they could help her stay alive until then.<\/p>\n

In his upcoming book, The Royal Insider, Burrell claims she ‘scrupulously’ followed their orders after that, undergoing blood transfusions and even giving up her favourite gin<\/a> and Dubonnet tipples to surpass the prognosis by months.<\/p>\n

While hers was a uniquely regal situation, the way the Queen handled being told her life was ending isn’t out of the ordinary.<\/p>\n

Marie Curie<\/a> chief medical officer, Dr Sarah Holmes, remembers an older patient who, when given a terminal diagnosis, had a similarly stiff upper lip response, saying: ‘Oh well, let’s have a sherry then.’<\/p>\n

‘She just kind of took it in her stride,’ the palliative care<\/a> specialist tells Metro<\/strong>. ‘And I wonder if it sometimes reflects the life you’ve already had and what you’ve done, as that particular lady had done everything she’d wanted to do and tied off the loose ends.’<\/p>\n

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The late Queen managed to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee as she hoped (Picture: Getty Images Europe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The fact is, everybody’s circumstances are different<\/a>, which means each person will react differently. <\/p>\n

There are some common themes<\/a> though – and since we’ll all die (and many of us will lose loved ones) exploring the ways this experience typically plays out can hopefully make it seem like a less daunting process.<\/p>\n

‘How long do I have left?’<\/h2>\n

One of the first things people tend to ask about is time; how long they might live for and whether they’ll make it to certain important milestones in life.<\/p>\n

Dr Holmes explains: ‘Like the Queen, people have particular things that they are looking forward to in the future, sometimes quite short horizons, sometimes things much further in the future.<\/p>\n

‘I find round about this time of year that people are often thinking about Christmas, so it’s not uncommon for us to bring “Christmas” forward so they can spend one last one with their family.<\/p>\n

‘The other thing, it’s like the circle of life, they’re waiting for babies to be born or to see new family members – those kind of key moments are really important for people.’<\/p>\n

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Many people want to be there for milestones like Christmas (Picture: Getty Images\/Tetra images RF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr Paul Perkins, chief medical director at Sue Ryder<\/a>, recalls helping make similar memories for patients who don’t have long left, with hospice staff planning everything from weddings to Halloween parties.<\/p>\n

When it comes to giving exact prognoses though, both specialists agree that it can be difficult to pinpoint – and isn’t always helpful.<\/p>\n

‘If people then don’t get the years or months they’ve been told they’ll get, they can feel cheated, or if they get more, they feel like something’s gone wrong and they’ve been misled,’ says Dr Holmes. <\/p>\n

‘In reality, we can’t actually give a definite timescale, so I always try and avoid giving any sort of number. I try to look back over time, because the changes usually carry on at that same rate, and talk about making the most of the present and the time we have here and now.’<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tSupport for anyone dealing with death or terminal illness\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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If you or someone close to you needs support with any aspect of death, dying or bereavement, both Marie Curie and Sue Ryder have resources that can help.<\/p>\n