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Jim Green battling second tough round of cancer

February 16th, 2012 · 12 Comments

Although many of you will know this already, thanks to the instant world, I wanted to note the news that flashed out yesterday about former councillor Jim Green.

Green, who is an essential part of Vancouver history with his battles and ingenious ideas for building social housing, creating banks, redeveloping Woodward’s and more, had a bad bout with lung cancer two years ago.

(I was surprised at the time at how lowkey he was about it. He missed a couple of radio shows with the civics panel on Bill Good and only mentioned when he came back, his usual sometimes impatient and prickly, sometimes bubbling over with enthusiasm self, that it had been for lung-cancer surgery.)

Word came out yesterday, via various friends and then ultimately a message from the mayor’s office, that it was back and serious.

As the message said: “As you may have heard Jim has been quietly battling cancer over the past while. The cancer is spreading and Jim is spending all of his time with his family and working on various exciting projects,” before asking media to call Councillor Geoff Meggs for information and comments, rather than his family.

I heard from someone who called me yesterday that he is getting hospital-style care at home. Home, for the last few years, has been a mid-tower penthouse in the Woodward’s building, a beautiful space filled with the books, pictures and artifacts of his life, with windows all around that allow him to look out over the city he has loved and fought for so long.

Others would have wanted a place higher up in the building with a view. Jim liked being able to look at the old buildings along Cambie and at his Woodward’s project around him from a level where he felt like he was among them, not viewing them from above. I’m sure there are a lot of people in this town are hoping he will get to see that view for many, many more days and months.

 

 

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