When I sit down in the oncology day ward for treatment, I normally get looks from other patients who expect it to be my mother having the chemo. One day I decided to ask her not to accompany me to my appointments any more. Many of the nurses who treat me are my age, and they talk to me as if I were a friend. Only once in the whole year did I see another patient my age getting treatment. Patients I talk to in the day ward generally think I am not “sick” sick. They say things like, “But you’re okay. You’re so young and fit looking.” Nowadays, evolving cancer treatments mean that a lot of people diagnosed with cancer will be cured. The result is that there is an expectation that if you look well and if you are young, you will be cured. I have spent more time than I would have ever wished watching television this year and have noticed a trend of storylines in which people who have cancer go into remission. (Times) >
Filed under: Cancer, Patients
