I lost my business partner to cancer yesterday.
He had colorectal cancer that had metastasized to this liver, and by the time he was diagnosed, tumors covered over half of his liver. He lived for eighteen months after diagnosis. He had been going to MD Anderson, one of the premier cancer treatment centers in the world, and they told him he could probably live for "years" on chemo. He didn't quite make it to the plural part of "years".
I had called him no less than four times Monday, with no return call. That's not like him at all so I asked his daughter to look in on him. He had been just fine on Friday, and actually feeling pretty good. She went over to see him and found him in his bedroom covered with blood, and lifeless, on the bedroom floor. He had apparently been there for a couple of days.
This is such a shock to his family, and to me. He was like my family, I had worked with him for over a quarter of a century. We all thought we had more time with him.
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That's a rough one. 
My heart goes out to his daughter...
I hope your good memories will sustain you as you go through this time of grief...
That is horrible.
I am SO sorry. His poor, poor daughter. I really hope she gets some counseling because there's no way she should have to deal with a shock like that all by herself.
And I am so sorry for your loss. You and his family must all be heartbroken.
It's easy, when a death is as sudden and shocking and, frankly, bloody as that, to focus on the manner of his death, but while there's no denying that nobody would choose to have a deathbed scene like that, the goodness of the rest of his life shouldn't be diminished by that context. Plus, I suspect that while he was dying he probably wasn't focused on the tragedy of it--if he were conscious, he was probably just trying to problem-solve and cope in a practical way with what was happening. I think that in a situation like that, the grief and horror come later (and for him, they never did, as there was no later); he was probably not consumed by the same sadness that the rest of you are feeling. Still... it was traumatic for everyone who loved him, in addition to the grief of losing him, and I am truly sad for you.
much sympathy to all those who knew and loved him.
I have lost several relatives to cancer, and it has turned my mom into someone who is no longer Mom on most days. Her mother died of stomach cancer that metastasized to her colon. I know how much it sucks.
to you and your partner's family.
Many blessings to both of your friends and family
