Would my father still be alive?

Would he still be alive if he had sought out medical advice when the cough first started rather than waiting TWO YEARS? Would he still be alive now, nine years after he died?

I don't know.

Would my father still be alive if I tried just a little harder to convince him to go to the doctor? Would it have helped to have had just one more fight with him about going to see what was wrong? Would it have mattered if I forced him into the car and drove him to the doctor myself?

I don't know.

It's possible nothing that he or I or anyone could have done would have meant he would still be alive today to celebrate his 81st birthday. But, there's no way to know for sure, is there?

No, there's not.

All I know for sure is that he was a stupid man to not go to the doctor when he could have treated the lung cancer that eventually spread to his brain and killed him.