Hardly a day goes by when I find no news or information about the heroic way of cancer people to deal with cancer. Social media, blog posts, podcasts, and Co. are overcrowded and should move us to tears. Charity events for people with cancer are running all over the world. Oh, how terrible this disease is, how great victims have fought and even partially defeated evil, or how bravely they fought to ultimately sometimes have lost the fight.
I’ve always hated such things, but I didn’t dare to publicize them. Those who are not affected must not judge, I thought. Pretty much a year ago just before Christmas, it was time for me. I underwent multiple operations, had four chemo cycles, and survived. What I experienced was not a treat, and what my loved ones have been through was certainly not sweet. Yes, it hurts insane, and it’s a terrible ordeal! But am I a hero, and do I have to let the whole world share my fate with all its ups and downs? Do I have to boast of defeating cancer? The answer is a definite no!!! Cancer patients are not heroes, and those who flirt with their illness disgust me. If they require public communication and need to share every detail of your physical and emotional impulses with the world, then you should start psychotherapy. For me, as a person affected, something has been revealed that I already suspected. This public display of cancer is nothing more than an exhibitionist act to suppress the inability to process one’s destiny. Now, as a victim, I have the right to criticize my fellow victims. Shut up, don’t take yourself so seriously, don’t show off how brave you are, stop whining, and above all, stop asking for pity and admiration. It is your cancer, your fate, your responsibility. It is quite enough for your closest circle to deal with it. And please make sure that your children, relatives, and friends do not publicly share your fate. This is also unnecessary and belongs more in the category of your private matter.
I think I’m kicking some of the asses when I say that my illness has not provided great personal insights, enrichment, or in any way helped me grow in any form. So do not make such a theater and see that you can cope with it in silence and modesty.
