Norm Macdonald Perfectly Explained Why You Shouldn’t Say “Battling Cancer” in 2011

Norm Macdonald had been diagnosed with (one could say “battling,” but as you’ll find out, the comedian did not love that word) cancer for nearly an entire decade when he passed away today. And back in 2011, when the comedian may have already been diagnosed, he opened up about the concept of “battling” cancer in relation to his great Uncle Bert on his Comedy Central stand-up special Me Doing Stand Up.

“In the old days, a man could just get sick and die. Now, they have to wage a battle,” Macdonald began. “So my Uncle Bert is waging a courageous battle — which I’ve seen, because I go and visit him. This is the battle: he’s lying in a hospital battle with a thing in his arm, watching Matlock on the TV.”

MacDonald continued: “It’s not his fault, what the fuck’s he supposed to do? It’s just a black thing in his bowel. The reason I don’t like it is because in the old days, they’d go: ‘Hey, that old man died.’ Now, they go: ‘He lost his battle.’ That’s no way to end your life: ‘What a loser that guy was! Last thing he did was lose. He was waging a brave battle, but at the end, he got kind of cowardly with what happen. Then, the bowel cancer, it got brave. You’ve got to give it to the bowel cancer, they were in a battle.'”

While shredding the idea of “battling cancer,” Macdonald brought up another interesting point: if you die, the cancer dies at exactly the same time in your body.

“That, to me, is not a loss. That’s a draw,” Macdonald joked. “It’s not like the cancer’s gonna fuckin’ jump up and be like, ‘Ah, I’m fuckin’ Uncle Bert’s wife. Where is she? I won fair and square. This where he works? Hi, name’s Cancer. Just show me to my cubicle. Bowel, first name.'”

The stand-up clip is from 2011, and according to the Macdonald’s obituary today, the comedian had been diagnosed with cancer in private for around nine years. Those two may or may not overlap, so this whole shtick could’ve come from recent news in Macdonalds health back in 2011.

“Ah, man, I wouldn’t have no brave battle when I’m fuckin’ dying, I’ll tell you this, because I’m not brave,” MacDonald concluded. “So when the fuckin’ sickle of death is over my goddamn neck, I’m going to be so cowardly. I’m afraid of going on ferris wheels and shit. I’m not going to be brave. I don’t care how old I am — I could be 94, and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, please, take my grandson! He’s young and fresh. I’d gladly make a deal with the devil.'”

The whole clip of Macdonald’s stand-up routine, “Courageous Battle,” is available to watch above.