# What would you do if you had 3 months to live? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 14, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397 "2014-05-14T01:47:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Artemis\_Tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Artemis\_Tardis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis_Tardis)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/1 "2014-05-14T01:47:26Z")
Lets say that you discover you are suffering from a disease. A terminal one. Your death is unavoidable, you have tried all treatments avaliable but it is no good. You will be gone. Dee e ay dee. You will be active and functional for your first (or last…) two months and a half, but then you will stop functioning and have to go to on palliative care. Your end will be through Euthanasia, so you will not suffer or be a burden to family. I think I would do crazy s\*\*\* all the time. Go paragliding, run naked on the street, buy a lambo, live the rest of my life on an unhealthy diet that includes bottles of Jack Daniels, max out all my credit cards and do everything I didn;t had the chance to do. Probably spend the most of my time with my dear friends… Basically HAVE FUN. What about you guys? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/2 "2014-05-14T02:09:12Z")
Assuming that I was certain I was actually dying, I would try to burn through all my annual leave so I could travel and have fun. But…I guess that means I’d have to tell my boss what was going on since I have major deadlines coming up. That would be pretty awkward. I don’t think I’d have the balls to tell anyone the truth. Which means I’d either go AWOL and piss everyone, including my family, off. Or I’d operate as if everything was 100% normal until the very end. The denial would be hard for me to overcome, I think. If I’m still feeling good and healthy, then how could I justify to myself spending all of my money and not worrying about the future? I just can’t see myself doing this very easily. For me to believe that I was actually dying, I’d have to be really sick. Which would suck terribly. So I guess I wouldn’t want to be in this situation. If I’m going to die soon, I don’t want to know about it that far in advance. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/3 "2014-05-14T02:26:56Z")
I think I would just get my affairs in order and save my loved ones a lot of grief. I have a few handmade things I would like my granchildren to have and would mark them appropriately. I would trash all the junk they might feel guilty about throwing away. Mostly I would just relax, maybe have some good love making sessions but nothing special. ---
**Author:** ![Charley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@Charley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charley)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/4 "2014-05-14T07:35:22Z")
I think my answer to this has changed since my emigration, unsurprisingly. Now, I’d just pull my children out of school, get my husband to take a leave of absence and we’d all go home. I’d spend my time with my friends and family and try to be near them when the end came. Nothing fancy or dramatic. If my time is up, I have few real regrets and wouldn’t waste time on anything other than my loved ones. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/5 "2014-05-14T08:20:07Z")
I’d just keep doing what I’ve been doing. I would probably tell my ex and maybe my brother near the end, but that’s it. I’ve always wanted to know when check out time is. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/6 "2014-05-14T11:06:10Z")
Find a nice, isolated spot out in the wilderness where I could die in peace, and remain unfound and undisturbed. Just me and the cold wind and stars. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/7 "2014-05-14T13:25:44Z")
Assuming that I found a doctor who would be able to accurately guesstimate something like that (most of the time they are wrong) then I would get my affairs in better order than they already are and proceed to have a two week binge of alcohol,drugs and sex. If I survived that, I would then spend every minute with my remaining family members and my SO. Realistically though, if I only had three months,odds are that I would be gravely ill and that my final months of life would be spent in a hospital or hospice unless I used one of my firearms to prevent myself from suffering a painful and degrading death. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/8 "2014-05-15T02:40:28Z")
1. Get medical leave from work so I’ve got that income, and my health and life insurance are kept up. 2. Get my affairs in order (wills, finding paperwork etc.). 3. Get an advanced payout on the life insurance (I forget the term, but it’s where you can get part of the proceeds before you die if you’re 100% sure gonna die soon now), and see the world - flying first class the whole way. Take husband and kids with me of course. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/9 "2014-05-15T03:04:34Z")
I think I’d do a Leaving Las Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/10 "2014-05-15T03:08:48Z")
Assuming I can trust the medical opinion is 100% including the timesframes. 1. Quit my job, tell the boss why and why I wasn’t going to work out a notice period. 2. Get my financial affairs in order including my will, superannuation and check out what the death cover was and any restrictions. 3. Tell the family. I’m single, the kids are adult, no big deal. Let them know whats happening with the money and assets once I check out. 4. Do a few things off the bucket list, take some time to appreciate things that I hadn’t done before. 5. take things into my own hands rather than go into the palliative care place. I’d rather my kids remember me having a beer and a laugh with them then on my back in a hospital bed dying. Screw that. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/11 "2014-05-15T03:13:37Z")
It would definitely involve maxing out the credit cards. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/12 "2014-05-15T04:50:15Z")
I think I’d go skydiving, I’d go Rocky Mountain climbing, I’d try to go 2.7 seconds on a bull named “Fu Manchu”… 😃 Seriously, I’d put my legal affairs in order (will, pre-arrange a funeral, etc.). After that, well, maybe just try to get as much out of life as I could. Within reason, of course; I wouldn’t go bungee-jumping, for example, because bungee-jumping has never appealed to me. But perhaps a trip to parts of the world I haven’t seen; or perhaps something less exotic, such as learning to ride a motorcycle. Or maybe both. At any rate, I’d probably do the things that time and money have held me back from–for the given amount of time, I could certainly find the money to accomplish a few things on my bucket list. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/13 "2014-05-15T17:48:55Z")
Kate Winslet, beware! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/14 "2014-05-15T19:26:29Z")
make the rounds at 31 Flavors three times. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/15 "2014-05-15T19:41:00Z")
I have actually faced a similar situation, and my response was not what I would have expected. If you’d asked me a year before I’d have given you a long list of things I wanted to do and named the boy I wanted to do most of them with. In the event (I was told I had about five years left and most of that would be as an invalid in extreme pain and weakness) all that I wanted was as many “normal” days as I could get. I kept it on the down low, hid the pain as much as possible, and just let the gossips have their way with whatever conclusions they drew from the symptoms they did notice. As the weakness began to take over I started to separate myself from my friends in the hopes of causing as little pain as possible when I finally left. We were at an age where that is happening naturally anyway, so it was a fairly easy transition to near complete isolation. I was on so much pain medication that I couldn’t get around on my own anyway. At that point I just wanted it to hurry up and be over with, and to be allowed to sleep until then. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/16 "2014-05-15T19:48:41Z")
I would quit my job (politely), immediately start smoking again, live on cookies and potato chips, buy a horse to replace my beloved Bob, and ride without a helmet. I’d blow through all my money and tell my sister she is the beneficiary of my life insurance and to let my condo go into receivership (or whatever it is called when you default on a mortgage). I would then walk away from all my physical posessions and live in a hotel until I die. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/17 "2014-05-16T02:13:26Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I have actually faced a similar situation, and my response was not what I would have expected. If you’d asked me a year before I’d have given you a long list of things I wanted to do and named the boy I wanted to do most of them with. > > In the event (I was told I had about five years left and most of that would be as an invalid in extreme pain and weakness) all that I wanted was as many “normal” days as I could get. I kept it on the down low, hid the pain as much as possible, and just let the gossips have their way with whatever conclusions they drew from the symptoms they did notice. > > As the weakness began to take over I started to separate myself from my friends in the hopes of causing as little pain as possible when I finally left. We were at an age where that is happening naturally anyway, so it was a fairly easy transition to near complete isolation. I was on so much pain medication that I couldn’t get around on my own anyway. At that point I just wanted it to hurry up and be over with, and to be allowed to sleep until then. Don’t leave it at that! You did get better, right? You’re not still dying? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/18 "2014-05-16T08:01:43Z")
My partner and I would go on a 2.5-month around-the-world cruise. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/19 "2014-05-16T12:18:45Z")
> [@demian\_travis](#): > > I think I would do crazy s\*\*\* all the time. Go paragliding, run naked on the street, buy a lambo, live the rest of my life on an unhealthy diet that includes bottles of Jack Daniels, max out all my credit cards and do everything I didn;t had the chance to do. Probably spend the most of my time with my dear friends… Basically HAVE FUN. What about you guys? Sounds like my current situation, other than having no clue what a lambo might be. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397/20 "2014-05-16T13:09:03Z")
My wife and I would take FMLA, then come up with a travel itinerary. I’m thinking Grand Canyon/Zion/Arches/etc. for a couple of weeks, then a week at home to spend some time with friends and family, then St. Croix for a week or two, then a week with the in-laws, then a few days hiking in the Blue Ridge with the kid, then settle in at home for a couple weeks until Glacier was hikeable, then head out to Montana for a few last hikes out there, not to mention pizza at Truby’s. Then finally home for hospice care and say goodbye to everyone. > [@kayaker](#): > > Sounds like my current situation, other than having no clue what a lambo might be. I’m guessing a Lamborghini. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-3-months-to-live/688397.md?page=2)