Ask Amy: A possible stepmother worries about favoritism
Maybe it would be nothing to her, but it is certainly something to us.
And I know that people mean well when they say, "I know several people who have had cancer and they're fine."
More people are surviving cancer today, but we are in the early stages and uncertain about everything.
What is even worse is one friend telling us about all of the people he knew with that cancer who subsequently died.
Really, folks, comments like these don't help, and create more anxiety for the patient and family. Thank you for letting me vent.
– Retired English Professor
Dear Professor: I am running your comment as yet another in a series of “public service announcements” regarding how people sometimes respond to troubling health news.
I once watched someone dismiss a friend’s obvious concern regarding a cancer diagnosis with the familiar: “I had a friend with that, and it’s no big deal.”
This might seem helpful or reassuring to the person saying it, but what they are doing is telling a very worried person that their current feelings are not legitimate.
Dear Amy: Like “Old Worrier,” I met a woman and knew immediately that she was “the one.”
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