Though I'm not, and could not be considered as a close friend to him, I am still sad that he had to go. He was an officemate of mine and I used to escape to his team's area when I didn't want to work or when it was time to go home. It's really sad that the last conversation I had with him was about him loosing so much weight. I was on a different shift for a year and I was really surprised how thin he was.
Last year, his teammate told me that he was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. I never asked where... I couldn't. But eventually, I found out that it was intestinal cancer. I also found out that my other friend had stage 1 cancer, on the same day. Luckily, she survived but Jhed got worse. I felt helpless, and I really regret that I wasn't able to reach out when he was still alive.
During his wake, his brother described how he suffered. It was difficult to hear, I wanted to leave but I couldn't. Jhed was so brave. When his cancer progressed to stage 4, he said he was tired and he just wanted to rest. After a few days, I heard the news that he passed away. I didn't want to cry. I felt that I had no right to cry because I didn't lend a hand, but I couldn't help it.
Rest in Peace, Jhed... I'm sorry...
