I did not know James but looked him up because a friend had attended his funeral today. Life can be so cruel and for this young man to be taken from his family, friends and students so young defies comprehension and inspires anger against nature and its cruelty/unfairness, though I understand that that is illogical. I do need to advise you, however, that as someone who has had cancer and who endured major surgery and six cycles of chemotherapy, I find the expression “battle with cancer” really unhelpful. I know of others who have been through it (or who have supported loved ones through it) who feel the same way as I do. You can’t fight cancer, you really can’t, because it’s shocking and designed to win. All you can do if you have it is fight the (often ghastly, debilitating) symptoms and the noxious treatment and side-effects, while putting your faith in the professionals to fight the disease on your behalf, which they do with skill and compassion. I feel that the expression “battle” implies that someone who is taken by the disease somehow didn’t fight hard enough, which is misleading and belittles the person who is being attacked by such a dreadful disease. I’m sure that James fought his symptoms and the treatment and that his surgeons/oncologists did absolutely everything that they could and tried everything they knew. I appreciate that the expression is what people feel they have to use but I would never use it. Dreadfully sad for him and for his family this evening.