Fated to accept

A distant relative of mine knew and accepted his fate just like Billy Pilgrim, but in a different way.

I do not know all the details, but here is relatively what happened.

I'm not sure what he had, but it was something like cancer (although not as strong) that would slowly weaken him. When he heard the news, he was not pessimistic, on the other hand, he become even more optimistic, determined to make the best out of his life before he was not able to anymore.

The last time I heard any news about him, my dad said that he was still very healthy.


Although both my relative and Billy Pilgrim came to accept their own fate, how they dealt with it was completely different.
While Billy accepted his fate and waited for it, my relative made the best of what he could before he net his fate.
So can you guess which one will say what in this situation?