Ballparks and Borrowed Time: A Story About Living Fully with Your Friends and Dying Well After a Terminal Cancer Diagnosis

How to “die well together” by investing your remaining time in relationships, joy, and shared experiences—especially in the face of cancer.

Key Story – Bill and the Ballparks

• Bill was a retired pastor and Brad’s former supervising pastor.
• In his late 50s/early 60s, Bill was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer.
• Doctors made it clear he was unlikely to beat the disease.
• Instead of isolating himself, Bill:
• Reached out to his three closest lifelong friends (seminary buddies and fellow pastors).
• Spent about two years traveling with them to major league baseball parks around the U.S.
• They were big Cincinnati Reds fans but visited multiple cities (Chicago, Atlanta, New York, etc.).
• They turned “borrowed time” into intentional, joy-filled time together.
• Bill typically paid for all four friends on these trips:
• He saw it as an investment in people and memories, not just an expense.
• Their wives sometimes connected as well, but most trips were the four guys on “ballpark weekends.”

Impact and Legacy

• Bill eventually passed away roughly in line with his own prognosis (~2 years).
• When his three friends remember him today, they don’t focus on his suffering:
• They talk about the ballgames, trips, dinners, and laughter.
• Their primary memories are joyful, not medical.
• The story illustrates that:
• Terminal illness doesn’t have to define your final chapters.
• Your impact and legacy can be built around connection, generosity, and joy.

Links:

• Cancer & Comedy main follow page:
• https://cancerandcomedy.com/follow
• Free HHH (Healing Through Hope and Humor) course:
• Spoken as: cancerandcomedy.com/free