Growing up with terminally ill sisters taught me alot about living with a disease and how others see you. So when I got the cancer dx it was all about strong body strong mind to fight it with all I could dig up on it. Like my sisters, I didn't tell anyone except 2 close friends and a few immediate family members. Really just to keep the stress level down for me so I could concentrate fully on fighting this. I could just picture in my head how some people would get all weird and awkward around me, avoidance of some, overwhelmed/ smothered by others, ect. No Thank you to any of that. This is just how I deal with it.
One of my 2 close friends that know said to me once "I am planning a girls pool day. Can you swim?" WHAT, LOL...YES and I better be invited. So even your closest friends will never fully understand what you go through personally fighting cancer. It's a learning curve for them too.