• Dave@lemmy.nz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      36
      ·
      1 year ago

      Article says “a brief illness”, which narrows it down.

      • nslatz@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        57
        ·
        1 year ago

        There is a journalistic shorthand at work here, “brief illness” usually means something discovered too late to treat, RIP Sir.

        • Dave@lemmy.nz
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          27
          ·
          1 year ago

          Yeah, my first thought was cancer, though there are plenty of other possibilities.

          • NielsBohron@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            22
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            I’d agree that cancer is most likely, especially given his relatively young age. Acute issues (like a stroke or appendicitis) wouldn’t really get called an “illness” at all, and most of the other terminal diseases you expect to see first diagnosed in people in their 60’s (like early onset Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, ALS, etc.) don’t typically have much of a mortality rate until people reach their 70’s. Plus, cancer seems the most likely to fly under the radar until relatively late, given how many cases have few or no symptoms until after the tumor gets metastasized or inoperable.

            Exceptions exist of course, but cancer seems to make the most sense to me.

            • WHYAREWEALLCAPS@kbin.social
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              4
              ·
              1 year ago

              If I had to lay odds, I’d say colon cancer. That sneaks up on a lot of men as they age and is notoriously hard to fight once it spreads. Once it does your 5 year survival rate is 13%. If you catch it while localized or regional, your odds of survival aren’t bad.

            • nslatz@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              Heart attack or stroke are usually described by the media as “died suddenly”.