When I was at school one of the guys in my year had Leukemia - Not very good prognosis in the early 80s
I believe he died a few years later on
I guess the thing is when you're terminally ill but you're still pretty much fully functional you just have to put it to the back of your mind and push on.
It's that or waste the last of your life feeling sorry for yourself and going to pieces in a duvet
most people i have known who were terminally ill, including the o/h weren't fully functional, the pain and distress for him and for me was monstrous. Same for others in that position, some get inadequate pain relief and some go down very quickly,sad way to end one's life.