Bloody hell.

It's his announcement. If he feels it is a battle he has lost, well I can fully understand why, I'm not going to criticise his choice of word.

Only the title and first sentence contain an expression you heavy handedly dislike. I don't see him ruling out palliative care, or any of the other criticisms you level. The rest of the short post is a poignant summary and thanks. It's disappointing, but rather typical of HN, that the top comment and most of the comments are now around the language of cancer, not Alex, his life or work.