Why 'Lost Their Battle' With Serious Illness is the Wrong Thing to Say

In mid-February the family of the actor Bruce Willis revealed that he has been diagnosed with dementia. Here's what some media outlets said: After a "battle" with aphasia Willis is now in a "battle" against dementia. The word of choice in many media stories and in conversations among family, friends and co-workers is "battle." We all know that in a battle there are winners and losers. Writer Sunita Puri suggests that people think of illness as part of their life experience. "It really is an experience," she says. "We don't always know what's going to happen next." Read more about this word choice in an op-ed from Marc Silver on NPR here.