My mam has stage 4 incurable endometrial cancer. After having quite a bit of bad news we finally got told the chemo is working but not sure how long that will last.
I've got to the point where if I talk about it with my friends they don't understand or I've made them uncomfortable and not sure what to say. This can be even just mentioning her in passing, doesn't have to be particularly about cancer.
On the otherhand my boyfriend is very supportive and will ask questions and also have a laugh where we can - I think that's important
Just basically want to make it easier for them and for me, I feel like there's an elephant in the room while they'd rather I don't mention it
Hi ylime29
Totally get what you mean. Perhaps the family member least able to talk to us about my wife's cancer is my sister-in-law who herself had a cancer scare a few years ago as I think it brings back too many memories for her. It might also be that my wife's cancer is (currently) incurable while hers was cured so there may be an element of survivor guilt.
When I went public at work, yes some people found it uncomfortable, many more however have come to me to discuss their own experiences with cancer something they had bottled up before.
We do have a guide Talking about cancer that can be useful in a way of steering a conversation.
One thing we sometimes hear from cancer patients is that they do not want to talk about cancer, they want to still be a real person so really glad to hear about your relationship with your boyfriend.
<<hugs>>
Steve
