Navigating 'But You Don't Look Sick?'
Living with a blood cancer diagnosis often means facing the challenge of an invisible illness, where outward appearances can be deceiving. It's a situation many of us have encountered, whether from friends, family, colleagues, or even strangers.
In this forum, we invite you to share your personal encounters with this well-intentioned, yet often frustrating inquiry. How do you respond? What thoughts or emotions does it evoke? Have you found creative ways to educate others about the hidden aspects of blood cancer?
Shortly after my MDS diagnosis in 2017, I overhead my mother telling a church friend about my blood cancer. This lady acted like she didn't believe it. She said, "Well, Connie looks healthy!"
So you want me to look as bad as I feel? Makeup helps. Of course, I used to think cancer patients had to be thin.makeup sure does help! I actually gained weight with my 2nd and 3rd leukemia bouts. It seems like my body knows it mat need to hang onto the weight. Either that or the inflammation drives the scale higher.
What I found a bit annoying were the people who hadn't seen me in sometime and whose comments on my weight loss weren't complimentary. lol Went from 140 to 90 pounds! They backtracked real fast when I told them why I lost weight. lol
I can see why those kinds of comments might not settle too well. I hope you're finding support on your health journey. Thanks for sharing! I was in television for a couple decades. A friend I worked with lost a lot of weight on a weight loss program. People thought he was sick (which he was not) because they were so used to seeing him heavier...he was never 'fat'. He took a lot of grief!
Yes I’m always asked why I’m seated. I do a little work outside then rest same when cleaning the inside. I don’t care any more when I’m tired I rest. I just don’t have the energy like I use to. I’ll changed and I feel it. But I don’t look sick
Yeah, it sure can be defeating to not do what we were once used to doing. There was a time when I had to take a break and sit just walking from my bedroom to the kitchen. But right now, those days are a memory. Are you in active treatment, ? Do you have support in helping you with things at home? Same here...and I'll feel it for a few days. I'm told the same thing..."you're looking good" or something like that. I jokingly say "well, you should see my labs!"
Why thank you
