Over the last several months in the hospital, I have had the honor of being able to take care of some truly remarkable patients. One of the saddest scenarios that we frequently deal with, is newly diagnosed cancer. A patient will come in, typically with vague symptoms for several weeks. It could be some abdominal pain, an odd cough, unusual headache, or weight loss. Their symptoms will abruptly worsen, at which point they seek help—either coming to the ER themselves, or first calling their primary care physician, who promptly advises them to go to the hospital for further evaluation. Blood tests get drawn first, which will often show a series of abnormalities, and then imaging scans will reveal our worst fears: evidence of widespread cancer. They will then spend at least a couple of days in the hospital, while we strive to ascertain a tissue diagnosis and at least get started with some sort of treatment plan (sadly in so many cases, there won’t be any available that will meaningfully prolong someone’s quality of life). This type of scenario is why I always advise anybody—especially above a certain age—to go get checked out IMMEDIATELY as soon as they experience any new and unusual symptoms, because things can spiral out of control very quickly.

As I take care of these patients in the hospital, and I try to help them and their families come to terms with the enormity of the diagnosis and navigate a path forward, I find so many of them to be the absolute model of bravery. Here they are, faced with an absolutely horrible diagnosis, and they will find the strength to remain completely level-headed and calm, usually turning their attention to their families, and making statements to me about all the great things in life they have been able to do and how grateful they are for the good things they have been blessed with. As I’m sure you have guessed, most of these patients are over the age of 70 (still young by today’s standards), and I’ve had a couple of them over the last few months remark to me about how quickly life goes by. “It goes by fast”. One gentleman in particular said this in such a profound tone, that it has really stuck with me.

There’s a famous classic British sitcom called “As Time Goes By” which has a great music introduction (you can listen to it here), starring Judy Dench and Geoffrey Palmer (who sadly passed away last year). I have written previously about how working in medicine gives you a sense of perspective that you would never otherwise be able to get. Our lives are but a small flicker of time in the vast expanse of things. It’s so easy to forget this, especially for younger people.

We think we have all the time in the world to do all the things we dreamed of doing. There’s always tomorrow…there’s always tomorrow… let’s put that off a little longer.

We too frequently get stuck in the weeds of trivial things that are unimportant, without realizing that every second we are spending on them, is a second of time we are closer to our end.

We forget that with each passing year, time literally accelerates and we will have no idea where the years go.

The older generation looks at the younger generation, and sees them making many of the same mistakes that they once did, and wishes that they could just tell them about how quickly the time will go by.

I heard the truth of life put very well once: There was a photograph from the late 19^th century, probably from France. It was a small gathering, and attention was focused on the lady in the middle. She was a very beautiful lady in a stylish hat, leaning back, smiling, and having a great time. Just think now: nobody remembers her or anybody else in that photograph. They are all gone. Yet they were once having an enviably good party.

When we die, we will all be memorialized for an hour and then forgotten about forever. Barring our loved ones who may mourn us longer (but who all of us hope will eventually move on and live life again), nobody else will remember us fondly. And certainly nobody in 100 years.

This thing we call life goes by in a flicker. Enjoy it to the maximum, make the most out of every day, chase all your dreams, be good to your family and friends. And do your best to make whatever positive difference you can in your short time on this earth.

Carpe Diem.

Suneel Dhand is a physician, writer, and YouTuber. He is Founder at MedStoic Lifestyle Medicine and DocsDox . Follow him on YouTube and Facebook.