A cancer diagnosis is not time to start using the past tense

Yesterday Curt Schilling, former NBL player for the Boston Red Sox and elsewhere, announced he was diagnosed with cancer. He did not say what kind of cancer nor his prognosis, which is really no one's business but his own.

And the media immediately started using the past tense when speaking about him and eulogizing him.

Hello! A cancer diagnosis is not the time to start putting someone in the ground. It is a time to give them respectful privacy so they can deal with their illness and its treatment.

According to this morning's news, he is 'dealing with a health crisis'. Well, yes its not a good thing but let the man have some peace while he copes. And he's still here.