Cancer is not a battle, or a war, or anything more than someone's life. Finally there is some research backing me up. New research says that calling cancer a fight can be negative for the patient. Yes, negative.
War connotations lead to feelings of failure. The blame gets put on the patient. Who gets the guilt and sense of failure if they face further progressions in their cancer - which is completely beyond their control. Guilt and failure do not lead to happy people who are willing to take care of themselves and adopt healthy lifestyles. They lead to depression and more.
President Nixon declared a war on cancer. The American Cancer Society calls us survivors from the point of diagnosis. But they are wrong. It is not a battle or a war. It is a life.
So take that battle, war or whatever it is out of the equation. Stop telling us we are survivors.
All I survived is a boatload of doctor appointments. Nothing more, nothing less. I try to stay positive but do not try to shift any blame onto me.
No comments:
Post a Comment