We transform them into courageous warriors, ready to battle and conquer the forces of the evil disease.
Barack Obamatweeted, John McCain is an American hero & one of the bravest fighters Ive ever known.
Cancer doesnt know what its up against.
Give it hell, John.
In aWhite House release, President Donald Trump stated, Senator John McCain has always been a fighter.
Mike Pencewrote, Cancer picked on the wrong guy.
John McCain is a fighter, and hell win this fight too.
Gabrielle Giffords gavethe rallying cry, Youre tough!
you might beat this.
Fight, fight, fight!
But for some cancer patients and their families, the war metaphors felt problematic, misplaced.
If a person dies, does that then mean he lost?
As Josh Friedman wrote in apiece for Time, Toughness and courage are staples of our cultural business.
But these are not how we survive cancer.
We survive cancer through luck, science, early detection and real health insurance.
It can feel a little pitying.
The person might say, Thank you, it sucks, and then talk to you about it.
How Are You Doing Today?
Crowe says, you’re free to say, I heard the news.
This must be tough.
How are you doing today?
and then let the person tell you if its tough or not.
We should pay attention to the language they use.
Even Quakers who are nonviolent Pacifists have a line in sports events and it goes, Fight!
Kill, Quakers, kill!
That can mobilize people.
Its a rallying call to get through another day.
So I wouldnt give up on that language if the person is still using it.
you might easily ask how somebody wants to talk about it, she says.
you could say, It seems like some people dont like the word fight.
What word would you like me to use?
you might always ask.
