People who are dealing with a serious diagnosis often keep their health condition a secret to avoid taking on the the fears, worries and judgement of those around them, writes Iamlisamachado — via healthing_ca healthing cancer
There were other signs, like bloating and abdominal discomfort, but it was the rectal bleeding that led Catherine Perka to a gastroenterologist and a cancer diagnosis: 'The whole thing feels like, I want to say a dream, but it was more like a nightmare.'If you have read some of my other stuff, you know that we’ve been here before.
Years ago, at one of the first patient and caregiver meetings that I hosted for people living with leukemia, I met a woman who had been diagnosed five years before. The group, about 50 people, had been talking about how they shared the news of their diagnosis with others.
There were so many questions. First, there was intense curiosity about just the simple logistics of keeping such big news under wraps. What did she say when she was going to doctor’s appointments? Where did she hide her medication? What about the frequent blood tests, didn’t anyone notice the tiny red hole in her arm?Then came the judgey opinions. It was unfair and selfish to not include those who loved her, a few people said.
Putting aside the fact that who you tell and what you share about your health is a very personal decision, and quite honestly, no one’s business, the discussion was an excellent illustration of the potential personal cost of a serious illness that goes way above and beyond simply the possible loss of life. A serious diagnosis changes everything. It can shatter relationships, careers, mental and emotional health.
But there were also the longtime friends who stopped calling, who disappeared and never came back, the ones who felt the need to see their doctors and get checked for cancer — because after all, if it could happen to me, it could happen to them.
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