I've never heard of these survivor days. I agree, it seems like a bad idea for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which because you are memorializing the departed at their point of greatest suffering and sadness. That is not the way to honor someone who has died of a terrible disease.
Sorry for what you've gone through but I'm glad you're still with us.
Thank you. But the "survivor days" I saw being advertised by ostensibly suicide prevention groups isn't memorializing the dead; it's a support day for the loved ones left behind. Which, for clarity, I'm not saying there are never loved ones left behind who grieve, but it makes it a hierarchy of grief, like, somehow that's a worse grief, a personal attack on you the not sick person, whereas if your loved one died from a stroke, well that's nobody's fault.
Ah, I see - I thought it was something observed on the anniversary of a loved one's death. A generalized survivor day for everyone seems troubling for different reasons. As you say, we don't have a day for people whose loved ones die of cancer or auto accidents. It would be kind of like saying, "those poor suckers, I'm glad it wasn't me..."
I'd almost be a little more open to it if the day was about suicide prevention - reaching out to people who are hurting, making it clear you've available to listen or help someone in need. But a concentrated effort of everyone doing that on just one day is wrong, too. Really these are the sorts of efforts (and resources) that should be in place across a whole community, and not just one day a year.