The things people say

August 27, 2009

Sheila here...

Oliver and I were at Fred Meyer this morning buying school supplies when the following conversation occurred:

Cashier: I like your haircut!

Me: Thank you.

Oliver: It’s not a haircut.

Cashier: Oh, is your mom sick?

Oliver: My mom had breast cancer and her hair fell out.

(Way to cut to the chase, O!)

Me: I’m OK now. My hair’s just growing back after chemo.

Cashier: My good friend lived in Virginia. She had breast cancer and had a mastectomy and a couple years later it came back in the other breast and it killed her! I told her she should have had the other one removed. I really wish she had. Now her auntie has it too. She’s not doing so good.

OK, hello! Time out! My son is standing right here! And so am I! And unless your friend later rose from the dead, I really don’t need to know of her demise.

It’s hard to be mad at people when they share their stories like this – she was just being friendly, but I really wish she would have thought twice before telling me breast cancer killed her friend.

I’ve had conversations similar to this one a few times over the past several months. I am not sure if people just have a temporary lapse in judgment, or if they don’t realize that hearing about things like this is scary for someone in my position. I actually think that they just don’t immediately sense the reality of the situation. They just start talking as if they just discovered we both live in Green Lake, or our kids go to the same school. They find a commonality and run with it.

Luckily I am able to take this with a grain of salt. I’m not naive enough to think that there aren’t people who die from breast cancer. But, I also know the facts – mine was caught early, I have great doctors, my MRI scans are clear, I am exercising and eating right, and I’m being watched carefully.

Just a random observation!