“Top shelf.”
That was the upbeat response Bill O’Reilly would always give whenever anyone asked him how he was feeling.
Inside his body, cancer was slowly taking what was left of his life, but that was hard to tell from talking to him and he made sure of it.
Mr. O’Reilly died in 2014 at the age of 44 after a difficult five-year battle against cancer. He left behind his wife, along with a daughter and a son.
On Saturday, during the Canadian Cancer Society’s 15th annual Relay for Life event in Corner Brook, his widow Michelle recalled the monumental effort he put forth.
“He was going to beat this,” she told those gathered for the event at Corner Brook’s civic centre. “He truly believed and had everyone else believing he was going to beat it.”
While some people say dying is losing the battle with cancer, O’Reilly disagrees. She said cancer is beaten by how one chooses to deal with it and if they can find ways to make the best of life while fighting the disease.
“He fought with dignity and bravery,” she said of her husband. “He lived his life to the fullest and died with no regrets … Cancer cannot take away memories. It cannot take away love or take away hope.”
