Week one

When it became clear that Alec Webb was far more ill than anyone had cared to tell him, he tore up his English life and came down to die on the Riviera. He had always wanted to visit the Riviera but he never thought he would move there to live the last few months of his life at the age of 36. He had always thought that he would live long enough to do all that he wanted to do.

Alec was a well educated man from a well educated family. He went to the best schools that his parents could afford. He graduated from Cornell University Magna Cum Laude with a law degree. He was recently named a partner in a prestigious law firm in New York.

In January he went to his doctor for a regular check-up but instead he was given the news that he had Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma. He was hit with the information like a ton of bricks. As he sat in the doctor’s office all he could think about was his life and accomplishments. How could someone with his education and background be diagnosed with such a rare disorder? The doctor gave him options to weigh carefully.

Alec did not take long to make his decision. He packed his bags, grabbed his passport, and took himself on the greatest adventure of a lifetime. He spent the last three months of his life sitting on the sandy beaches drinking margaritas in the Riviera. He possibly could have lived longer with chemotherapy or radiation but he could not have had the time of his life sitting in a hospital room receiving treatments. What would you choose, a life of chemotherapy with all side effects that come with it or live your last moments doing the things you always dreamed of but were to afraid to do?