I'm currently writing a book about a 17 year old actor living in Atlanta. He finds out that his mother and brother have cancer and the doctors aren't talking about how they can treat it, they're talking about how long they have to live. (This really happened to my teacher's sister, earlier this year) I want to know, A) What type of cancer would kill them in a six month period, B) What are the symptoms/ effects of this cancer, and C) I'm thinking of killing the father too, What type of illness could he die of other than cancer? The book ends with the 17 year old (who'll be 18 by the time the book ends) coming to peace with his life over the past six months, so ultimately the book is about loss. Any help on the issue will be greatly appreciated.
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I've had some experience with this, as i lost my grandmother to cancer a few years ago.
In answer to your first question, the most common cancers are prostate (in men) and breast (in women), although I believe that they are some of the easiest to treat. Lung cancer is also common, and I think it's more difficult to treat, although I may be wrong. Also, there's cancer of the blood, or leukemia, which I believe is particularly dangerous. For a full list, and links to details of each, click here.
For symptoms, see the above link.
And if you want to kill the dad off with something, else you have a muiltitude of diseases to choose from. If you want to go for full emotional impact, Alzheimer's is supposed to be very stressful and upsetting, on both the person with the disease and the family. It also occurs over a long period of time, so that could be a plot point. However, for realism, the dad would have to be over 50 years old, at least, I would say, 55, as it is almost always present in elderly people. For more information, click here.
That's my only proper suggestion, but there are many other things - perhaps a smoking related illness, or an STD such as AIDs (which could add another plot element for your MC to overcome - his dad could have been cheating on his wife, for example).
Anyway, hope I helped, and good luck with your novel.
There's always been a lot of tension between Lois and me, and it's not so much that I want to kill her, it's just, I want her to not be alive anymore.
Ahh, poor MC, he doesn't have such a great time, huh?
Mm....Cancer. Well, Kaz has got a great link there, but as for which one would take a life in six months....well......there isn't really one. Most cancers take years to kill you and some are treatable.
However, if it is the second or third time that you have a cancer it is less treatable and you may only have six months to live. Especially if you refuse treatment. Breast and prostrate are fairly simple to treat (I use the term loosely) and are therefore not gonna kill you in six months. Leukaemia is a lot harder to treat but will kill you over a long period of time. AML and APL are particularly dangerous. But most leukaemia's affect children rather than adults. Adults are harder to treat.
As for the dad...why not get him in an accident rather than an illness? That way it's more of a shock to the reader because one moment he's fine the next he's dead. A car accident. Always a good way of getting rid of a character.
I'm sorry I couldn't really help. If you do find a type of cancer than feel free to pm me if you'd like help describing all the affects etc as I have extreme first hand knowledge. (I had leukaemia when I was 3. ALL.)
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