‘Along with the tamoxifen this made me feel dreadful. ‘I felt very ill after the chemotherapy as it sent me into an early menopause,’ she says. Tracey, for example, prefers to think of herself as simply being unlucky. ‘I do not mind being classed as a cancer survivor,’ she says, ‘but do admit that I sometimes suffer from survivors’ guilt as a colleague at work died at age 47 and my next door neighbour at age 56.’ VictimĪ term that was almost universally disliked by our readers is the word ‘victim’ to describe someone with cancer. Tracey, on the other hand, isn’t bothered by the word. ‘Since I have secondary breast cancer it's not appropriate,’ she says. Also, the aim of getting back to health is to resume life as normal – as it would have been maybe enhanced by experiences – but labelling someone as a survivor is like looking back rather than forward.’Įleanor also doesn’t like the term. ‘Cancer can return after many years and it seems that this term may be ignoring that fact. However, not everyone is so keen on the term.Ĭhris prefers not to describe herself as a survivor. It’s a very common term and is even used by some cancer charities, as well as people who’ve had cancer. People who live with and beyond cancer are often described as being survivors.
#SYNONYMS FOR BRAVE WITH A M HOW TO#
‘Brave I can cope with, though I never know how to respond (shrug of the shoulders and a muttered “thanks” usually happens!).’ Survivor Vicky also doesn’t mind being called brave. ‘I am happy to be called brave and strong as I feel this is an excellent description of anyone who has had cancer and tolerated the treatments.’ ‘Folk often say I'm “brave” and sometimes that can be quite a boost,’ she says. I think you can make a choice to be positive about it, but it is not bravery.’Įleanor, on the other hand, feels differently. ‘You simply do not have a realistic choice.
‘I don't like being described as brave,’ she says.
People with cancer are sometimes described as being brave, whether it’s for going through treatment or coping with the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis. Actually, there were eight years between her initial diagnosis and her death, but for most of that time she was feeling well not having difficult treatment, and not fearing that her illness would have the outcome it did.’ Brave ‘My cousin died after “bravely battling cancer” for eight years. People telling you to “keep fighting” when you’re feeling weak or having a low day makes you feel as though you’re doing something wrong or even worse, being cowardly.’Ĭhris questions whether ‘battling’ is an accurate term for everyone’s experience of cancer. ‘I think it’s human nature to want to have control over things like illness, but all these words just pile on the pressure for people with cancer. ‘Celebrities and newspapers seem especially keen on these words, as though individuals somehow have an ability or a strong character trait which can go above and beyond what the surgery chemotherapy radiotherapy and medicines do. ‘Haven’t you been brave enough or fought hard enough? ‘What does it mean if you lose the battle?’ she says. Ines believes that words like battling are best left to descriptions of war, not illness. Newspaper headlines often talk in these terms when describing a famous person diagnosed with cancer.
Sometimes when someone dies as a result of cancer, they’re described as having lost their battle. People with cancer are frequently described as fighting a battle with their illness. We asked some Vita readers which words they do and don’t like using. Some people find certain words motivating, while others find them upsetting. Words that are often used to describe cancer such as ‘battling’ or ‘survivor’ can divide opinion among people who’ve been diagnosed with it.
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