This past week has proven to be a very difficult one. Quite a few celebrities have died this week and unfortunately it's all from one common enemy: cancer.
On Sunday, January 10, 2016, the legendary British singer David Bowie passed away at the age of 69 after battling liver cancer for 18 months. While many fans were made aware of his cancer diagnosis more than a year ago, nobody saw this one coming.
Also on Sunday, ex-Disney Channel star Michael Galeota, who starred in "The Jersey" passed away at the age of 31, however, it was not from cancer.
Then on Thursday, January 14, British actor Alan Rickman, best known for his role as Severus Snape, passed away also from pancreatic cancer at the age of 69. This was even more shocking as no one other than his family knew that he was sick. To many fans this was a devastating blow.
Finally, there was a double whammy for singer Celine Dion. First, her husband Rene Angelil died at the age of 73, also from cancer, on Thursday. Then, her brother Daniel Dion passed away on Saturday, January 16, from throat, tongue, and brain cancer at the age of 59.
As a whole, this week has just been heartbreaking. According to a recent article by the CDC, cancer claims the lives of about 8 million people every year. This year is no exception.
What really got to me this week wasn't just the fact that more than one celebrity died, but that all but one was claimed by cancer. It's just such a surprise, given that these all happened within days of each other.
So, for this past week, many have been mourning the loss of many wonderful people. Social media is flooded with tributes and messages for all of those who passed away this week. It just seems so unfair that we got hit with so much heartbreak in one week.
People have also taken note of how similar David Bowie and Alan Rickman's deaths are. Both were British legends, both were 69, and both had cancer. It seems as though the only difference is that David Bowie was aware of how serious his cancer was, as he knew that he was terminally ill. Alan Rickman, on the other hand, seemed to not know how sick he was until just before Christmas.
Although we say goodbye to the stars we've lost, we will also have ways to remember them. Before his death David Bowie released his final studio album, which seemed to be his way of saying goodbye to us. The same can be said for Alan Rickman, whose final film role will be the voice of Absolem in "Alice Through the Looking Glass," which is set to be released this year.
The new year has gotten off to a rather sad start as we pay tribute to these wonderful people, but hopefully things will take a happier turn as the year goes on.
