Jeffrey Weiss

Jeffrey Weiss is an author at Religion News Service.

All Stories by Jeffrey Weiss

Choosing ethical medical treatments as the options narrow

By Jeffrey Weiss — September 8, 2017

(RNS) — Should I feel like any experiment is good enough for me? I won’t go that far.

The latest news has challenged my life. What should I do now?

By Jeffrey Weiss — August 24, 2017

(RNS) — This week, my eight-month MRI came back with bad news: Looks like a recurrence, with a tumor the size of a big grape.

Now that I have brain cancer, I’m ready to offer moral advice

By Jeffrey Weiss — August 15, 2017

(RNS) — Damifino what the best advice should be. But I can hope some of my suggestions may make some of the world a little bit better even when I’m gone.

John McCain’s morality, and no one else’s, should guide his response to brain cancer

By Jeffrey Weiss — July 27, 2017

(RNS) — For a political hack to try to spittle him out of his work? It’s frankly astounding.

Does it matter to me that McCain and I now share a diagnosis? Maybe.

By Jeffrey Weiss — July 20, 2017

(RNS) — 'I hope that his experiences are public enough that it helps many people understand this awful illness,' writes Jeffrey Weiss.

Cancer may kill me, but my dog’s problem just broke me

By Jeffrey Weiss — July 13, 2017

(RNS) — The sudden probability that I might have to put down my pet dog has become the most unambiguous bad possible event in my life.

Why considering ‘not to be’ makes me smile

By Jeffrey Weiss — June 26, 2017

(RNS) Stuck with “to be” means stuck with however much suffering there will be until the unavoidable end. Having the choice means you get to decide how much suffering will be acceptable.

The Arabic word that perfectly describes the uncertainty of my condition

By Jeffrey Weiss — May 31, 2017

(RNS) I know just enough to understand that it’s sometimes used with a wry grin more than a devout nod: Yeah, sure. I’ll get all over that if the Almighty sets that up. Right. Ubetcha. Maybe.

Accepting cancer’s challenges, with a little help from Tao Te Ching

By Jeffrey Weiss — May 17, 2017

(RNS) My brain was damned near on hold. And one acquaintance gave me a copy of a spiritual book I’d never heard of: The Penguin Classic edition of Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.

A caplike device to fight cancer has me leaning into an old religious tradition

By Jeffrey Weiss — May 2, 2017

(RNS) For just about the rest of my life, I’m likely to never have a bare head in public.

Why I’ll forgo the big-time funeral and donate my remains to science

By Jeffrey Weiss — April 4, 2017

(RNS) My decision is a bit in keeping with Jewish traditional teachings about what to do with bodies. And some not in such keeping. Which, given my basic attitude as a Jewish agnostic, probably is consistent.

At life’s end, a rare point of agreement

By Jeffrey Weiss — March 20, 2017

(RNS) I like thinking that there may be a Higher Justification for me trying to continue to accomplish some things that will be considered good when I’m gone.