My Family Told Me to Die of Cancer, But the Diagnosis Was His

I was diagnosed with cancer, and my entire family urged me to give up on treatment.

My sister-in-law, Hailey, was thrilled and immediately started introducing matchmakers to my husband.

My husband, Jason, said, Once youre gone, someone has to take care of our daughter, Lily.

He even started openly bringing other women to our house.

I divorced him, took my half of the assets to pay for my medical bills, only to discover it was a massive hospital mix-up.

The one who actually had cancer was him.

When he came begging me for money to treat his illness, I gave him the exact same advice.

"Once you're gone, I can't be left with no money to take care of our daughter."

Both Jason and I had been feeling some discomfort in our stomachs lately.

Since it was the weekend, we decided to go to the hospital together for a checkup.

To our surprise, Jason only had mild indigestion, while I was diagnosed with stomach cancer.

When the doctor handed me the report, I felt like I had been plunged into an ice bath.

I was still so young. Why was life so cruel to me?

I grew up as an orphan and had a rough childhood. When I met Jason, he was so warm and caring. We had worked so hard to build a comfortable life, and just as things were getting better, this piece of paper was handed to me like a death sentence.

Before I could even process my grief, my mother-in-law, Brenda, called. She didn't even say hello before she started nagging.

"Hailey said you two went to the clinic today. What a waste of money! Youre both so young, what could possibly be wrong with you? If you have cash to burn, you should have bought Hailey a new iPhone instead!"

I swallowed my tears and whispered, "Brenda..."

Hearing the tremble in my voice, Brenda instantly got tense. "Is something wrong with my son?"

My voice shook. "No... it's me. I was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Brenda, I don't want to die."

I had been married to Jason for ten years, and I had always treated Brenda like my own mother.

Having never experienced parental love, I poured my heart and soul into his family.

Even when we were broke right after our wedding and had to eat cheap instant noodles, I would save up to buy Brenda premium steaks to help her nutrition.

I thought Brenda would comfort me and tell me to stay in the hospital for treatment.

Just like every time she got sick, I would quit my job and stay by her hospital bed twenty-four hours a day.

But instead, her voice turned cold and sharp.

"Don't you dare check into that hospital! That's just a giant scam to steal your money! Trust me, I've lived long enough to know how these things work. Cancer can't be cured anyway. Get your butt home right now and don't let the hospital rob us!"

It felt like a lightning strike. It took me a long moment to realize that my mother-in-law was actually telling me to give up and die.

I practically screamed into the phone, "But I don't want to die!"

But my desperation didn't earn an ounce of pity from Brenda. She scoffed.

"Getting sick is your own bad luck. Don't you dare drag our whole family down with you! Besides your mortgage and car payments, you promised to pay for Haileys college tuition. Shes only a sophomore. Do you want to throw her tuition money into a hospital black hole?"

I was shaking with rage. I grabbed Jasons arm, begging him to speak up for me.

I couldn't believe that after ten years of marriage, he could remain so indifferent.

But Jason just stood there, staring at the floor. After a long silence, he finally spoke. "I think Mom is right. Even if we don't count Hailey, Lily still needs to go to school. You can't be so selfish that you leave me broke and alone."

What a line! "Broke and alone."

I had poured all my money and energy into this family for years, never spending a single dime on myself. Is this what I got in return?

I stared at him. "If you were the one diagnosed with cancer today, would you refuse treatment?"

Jason looked at me right in the eye, acting all righteous. "Yes, I wouldn't treat it. I know how heavy our financial burden is. If I got sick, I would spend my remaining days working to make as much money as possible, leaving every cent to you and Lily."

I almost laughed out loud.

He only said that because he knew he was perfectly healthy!

Its easy to act like a martyr when its not your flesh on the line!

Last winter, when a severe flu swept through the city, I was the first to fall ill. Jason refused to let me go to the clinic, claiming that "someone had to take care of our daughter."

I had to drag my feverish body around the house, cooking three meals a day for the four of them.

If I was even five minutes late, Hailey would roll her eyes and call me dramatic.

But when Jason and Brenda caught the flu a few days later, Jason was the very first to call an ambulance and check himself into a private ward.

He even demanded that I deliver hot, homemade soup to him and Brenda three times a day.

If he were the one with cancer today, hed probably already be lying in a hospital bed, demanding I sell my organs to pay for his treatment!

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to stay calm.

"Leave every cent to me and Lily? That sounds beautiful, Jason."

"I only agreed to help pay for Haileys college because I felt bad that your mom was getting old. But ask yourselfhas a single dollar you earned ever been spent on me or our daughter?"

"You complain when I buy Lily a thirty-dollar dress, yet you didn't hesitate to spend three hundred dollars on a pair of designer heels for Hailey just so she could show off at school!"

"If you were the one with cancer today, you would have transferred all your money to your mother and sister already. You wouldn't give a damn about me and Lily!"

Jason looked guilty. His lips trembled as he tried to defend himself, but I cut him off.

"Save it. I don't want to hear your excuses. My cancer is still in its early stages. The doctor said there's a high chance of recovery. Im still young, and I am not giving up. We are going to sell our house, and I am taking my half of the money for my treatment."

We bought that house together after years of hard work.

I had every right to my half.

But Jason reacted like a cornered animal, instantly flaring up.

"Absolutely not! If you sell the house, where is my family supposed to live? Renting an apartment?"

"Mom is getting old, and Hailey doesn't even have a job yet. You're forcing my entire family onto the streets!"

"And what about Lily? Do you really have the heart to take her out of a premium school district and send her to some sketchy public school?"

"So your entire family is just going to watch me die? I can be cured! Why can't I get treated?!"

I threw his hand off and screamed at the top of my lungs.

Jasons face hardened into cold annoyance. "If you're going to insist on throwing our life savings into a medical black hole, then let's get a divorce. I am not going to let my mother and sister suffer because of your selfishness."

I stared at this hypocritical man. It felt like I was seeing him for the first time in our ten years of marriage.

I never could have imagined that the man I loved with all my heart would one day tell me to go home and wait for death, all because he didn't want his standard of living to drop.

I remembered how he had sworn to cherish me forever before we got married, calling me the only woman who was willing to build a life with him from scratch.

I had endured so much struggle with him, yet at the first sign of a real storm, he was ready to throw me overboard without a second thought.

I blinked back my tears and nodded.

"Fine. We'll sign the divorce papers tomorrow."

Jason stared at me coldly. "Don't regret this. Once we're divorced, you're on your own. Don't come begging me when you run out of money. This is your own choice."

With that, he spun around and stormed out of the hospital.

I watched his retreating back, and the tears finally spilled over.

This man was never worth my ten years of devotion.

How pathetic that it took a terminal illness for me to finally see his true colors.

By the time I got home, I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I wanted to pack some essentials and head back to the hospital to check in.

But the moment I unlocked the front door, Hailey rushed up to me, holding a thick stack of printed photos.

"Hey, Chloe. I heard you and my brother are getting divorced. Come on, help me pick. Who do you think would make a better stepmom for Lily?"

"You're going to die anyway, so don't be so bitter and selfish. Once you're gone, someone has to take care of the house."

The thought of my daughter calling another woman "Mom" made my chest throb with agonizing pain.

Hailey couldn't hide her smug grin. "If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't even waste money on chemo. I'd leave all the cash to my brother and Lily. At least then, Lily might actually visit your grave and buy you a decent tombstone."

"But look at you, insisting on selling the house just to keep yourself alive. How can you be so incredibly selfish? You don't care about your own daughter at all. No wonder she won't want to support you when she grows up!"

She sounded so proud of herself.

After spewing those venomous words, she exchanged a smirk with Brenda. They clearly thought I was still the same submissive pushover they could walk all over.

But now, I just gave her a cold, empty smile.

"Actually, Hailey, since Ive been paying for your college tuition and credit card bills out of my own pocket for the last few years, don't you think you owe me some financial support now?"

Hailey's face flushed with anger. She raised her hand, aiming a slap right at my face. "How dare you! I only called you 'sister' out of respect for my brother! Without him, you're nothing but trash! You deserve to get cancer and die early. Selfish people like you always get what's coming to them!"

Look at that.

This was the girl I had raised and supported for nearly eight years.

Even a dog would have shown more gratitude.

Brenda chimed in from the couch. "You're going to die sooner or later anyway. This house is worth a lot of money. Why can't you just leave it so the family can live comfortably? You just have to cause a scene with this divorce. You got cursed with this disease, and now you want to drag all of us down with you!"

Lily was sitting on the sofa, sobbing loudly. "I don't want to move! I want to stay in my princess room! Mommy, please don't sell our house!"

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat, walked over, and tried to hug her. "Sweetheart, Mommy is very sick. I need the money to see a doctor. If I don't get treated, you won't have a mommy anymore."

But Lily kicked my hands away with all her might. "You bad mommy! You just don't want me to have my room! Daddy said if we sell the house, I won't be able to go to my school anymore! Why do you have to get treated? Why don't you just die?!"

I froze, completely paralyzed.

I never, in my wildest dreams, expected my own daughter to tell me to die.

I could ignore the rest of them, but this was the child I had carried for nine months and raised with my own two hands. How could she turn into such a heartless monster?

What had all my sacrifices been for?

What did I even mean to this family?

Tears completely blurred my vision.

Jason walked out of the bedroom, looking at my pale, devastated face with a cold sneer. "Do you get it now? If you stubbornly insist on throwing money into the hospital, you'll end up with a daughter who doesn't even recognize you. Think carefully about the consequences!"

In the midst of my overwhelming despair, I stood up. For a split second, I really wanted to just end it all and find some peace.

But then my eyes fell on the stack of photos in Hailey's hands, and a sudden spark of defiance flared up inside me.

If I died, this disgusting family would just live happily on my hard-earned money.

Why should I make things easy for them?

I wiped my tears and walked firmly into the bedroom to grab our marriage certificate. "We're not waiting until tomorrow. We're going to the court clerk to file for divorce right now."

Since no one in this world cared about me anymore, I had to learn to love myself.

Once I got cured, I was going to watch every single one of them get exactly what they deserved!

Jason didn't expect that his threats would make me even more determined to divorce him.

Infuriated, he kicked the coffee table, sending it crashing to the floor. "Think carefully, Chloe! If we divorce, Ill marry someone younger and prettier immediately! Ill make sure Lily calls her 'Mom'! You'll have given birth to her for absolutely nothing!"

I let out a cold, mocking laugh and looked down at Lily. "Let me ask you, Lily. If your dad was the one who got cancer today, would you refuse to let him get treated too?"

The entire room went dead silent.

But Lily didn't hesitate for a second. She threw herself into Jasons arms. "Daddy got divorced just so I could keep my room! He's a good daddy! I don't want Daddy to die!"

Brenda burst into a proud laugh, hugging her tight. "Good girl! That's my sweet granddaughter. You're a million times better than your ungrateful mother!"

Hailey sneered. "Lily, do you want a new, better mommy?"

"Yes!"

Lily excitedly grabbed the photos from Hailey and actually started flipping through them.

I stood in the middle of the living room, feeling like a complete joke.

I walked into my room and quickly packed my belongings.

Jason followed me, leaning against the doorframe, trying to hurt me with more vile words. "I heard chemotherapy makes your hair fall out and makes you look hideous before you die. Don't expect me to show up at your funeral. Since you don't have any parents, I'll just let the city cremate you. I don't want to see a disgusting corpse."

"Don't worry, Lily's new mom will treat her way better than you ever did. You can just watch our happy family from six feet under. And don't expect me to buy you a tombstonewe'll be divorced, and I won't spend a single cent on you."