compiler said...
I join in with my dislike of the aforementioned platitudes.
But there are other platitudes, often mentioned by us, that I deeply dislike.
1) Cancer Warrior. No, I am not a warrior. I have not chosen to go to war and I don't care for the term. But at least I understand the term. The next one makes no sense.
2) Cancer Survivor. First of all, for most of us, we never know for sure if the cancer is all gone. To me, a survivor is someone who goes to war and then comes home. The war is OVER. Our war will never be over, especially for those of us who have had a reccurrence.
This has come up in the past and as I recall my view is not the majority one on these two.
Mel
Those are good points. I've wondered for years how to describe myself. I don't think "survivor" fits because I've not been through any ordeal of treatment. Usually, if a conversation about
cancer comes up, I simply say that I am a patient. And, rather than being "cured" of it, I hope to outlive it and die of something else before it ever affects me. I get a range of reactions, and often have to explain that some prostate cancers are very slow growing.
If others, who have been treated, aren't comfortable with other labels, then "patient" can apply to all of us.