This article appeared yesterday (20 July). Although the writer doesn't say as much, I suspect her husband has cml... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/11738594/I-kept-my-husbands-cancer-...
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Only my boss and head of HR know I have CML. Admittedly I've move companies since dx, but nobody is any the wiser. A bizarre sense of 'wanting to carry on as normal' kept me in the job I was in when diagnosed. There's a lot to be said about proving to oneself that it won't affect you (not necessarily good, but it's easy to say that in hindsight).
Chris
I too hid my diagnosis from most people in the first few weeks.... especially my parents and my daughter. I suppose the shock of it all, due to the fact that I was obviously about to enter accelerated phase and the prognosis was around 12 months if I didn't/couldn't have an SCT almost immediately, really did throw me off focus and I couldn't cope with other peoples distress. At the time I could barely function and I don't know how I got through each day... sorry yes I do, it was because of my partner David, and this is the point I got from reading this article. The suffering of those closest to you often goes unnoticed and I am aware of why this is, but it is so hard for the husband/wife/partner/child to deal with the fear of loss. Worlds are turned upside down and I think that was what I was trying to put right- or at least not be the cause of - for those that I loved. It is still hard 16 years on to think about how all of us coped during those initial weeks and months after diagnosis.
These days I have no problem talking about the fact that I have CML- but only if it's relevant to the conversation. I don't want to be defined by it. If I had a less treatable cancer I am not sure if I would feel the same way.
Sandy