Hi,
Is it just me, I am waiting for a diagnosis confirmation of SBC but when work colleagues or acquaintances are asking if I have had a diagnosis yet and I just fob them off. I don’t know if i am stopping myself from getting emotional.
X
Hi,
You are under no obligation to tell your colleagues anything. Fob them off all you like if it helps you feel better.
They may mean well by enquiring but it is your life and, possibly, your diagnosis. You don’t have to be ‘water cooler’ gossip. I tell no one anything but that’s just me. I do not have a nine to five job but if I did, in no way would I bring my diagnosis to work.
Hope that helps.
Angel Eyes x
Hi - I didn’t tell anyone at all outside my family for the first four months (I had a diagnosis of secondary breast cancer in November 2020). I had to find my feet with my own feelings, think through my own way of dealing with it and generally just have the courage and the mental framework to talk about it to others.
I’m self-employed, so didn’t really need to tell anyone workwise at all - and I still haven’t told a lot of my clients. But, there’s one who I work with a lot and who I thought needed to know for various reasons. And, I was so glad that I did - they’ve been incredibly supportive of me and it’s good to be in a place where I can say ‘sorry, I’ve got a hospital appointment that day so can’t make a meeting’, rather than making something up.
I know some of that’s not relevant - but I guess, yes, I’m saying, ‘your diagnosis, your rules’ ! Don’t be rushed into talking about it until you’re ready and you know how you want to handle it. But, hopefully people will be supportive and there’s some benefit when you do want/need to let them know.
x