Post 8: Cancer and Cars

Hearing that someone you know has ‘cancer’ is like saying you’ve just bought ‘car’.

Not a specific make of car.

Not a specific model.

No colour details.

No 0-60 speeds, or fuel economy.

Just… ‘car’.

There’s a whole bunch of different types of cancer, each with massively differing treatments and outcomes.

Yet, when we’re told that someone has cancer, we go straight to the concept of ‘balding, chemo-fuelled person’ who is about to die at any moment. Someone we feel sorry for.

And this is not right.

Yes, some people do get very ill and subsequently die from cancer. But *some don’t*.

You don’t instantly feel very sorry for someone that’s just bought a Audi or a BMW, as they’ve now turned into an idiot driver who drives too fast and can’t use their indicators, do you??

People have different cars, and people have different types of cancers. (Although, admittedly, cars come with a degree of choice.)

Depending on about a billion different factors, such as:

EVERYTHING can make a huge difference.

So, if someone tells you that they have cancer, don’t look at them like you’ve just lost a tenner and awkwardly fumble-out a ‘sorry’.

Be brave. Talk to them like they’re human, because oddly, they are. And they’re probably going through hell every time they have to break their bad news to someone that doesn’t yet know of their problems.

Try to understand that in that scenario, Cancer = Car.

#cancer #bebrave #cars