My mother has only just died of lymphoma (funeral tomorrow) but she kept it at bay for a long time. She was first diagnosed back in 1988 and her consultant recently told her that she was his longest surviving patient. Of course during this time she did go through the unpleasantness of chemo (twice) and other treatments, but this never crushed her spirit.
She suddenly became weak and lethargic the weekend before last and was admitted to hospital where she deteriorated, slipping away peacefully in the early hours of last Saturday and the death certificate lists lymphoma as the cause of death. But 77 years of happy, active life punctuated by 7 days sedation in hospital is a deal I'm sure she would have taken. I know I would.
We opted for private flowers only at the funeral, with donations to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation suggested instead.