“I am guessing everyone who has dealt with cancer treatment has a similar list.  The following are true conversations I had during the course of my 2 year treatment plan.”

# 5… “I had to get a lump checked as well.  It was really scary waiting for the test results.  I can only imagine what you are going through.” No you can’t because your tests were negative! Duhh!

#4…Getting on the Survivor Dragon Boat against my will at the 2006 races just weeks after my diagnosis (you can read the whole story in my book The Pink Notes).  As I am sitting there starring at the floor this woman asks me “Are you a survivor?” Am I being punked? What boat am on?

#3…This person was trying to ‘help’: “I told my kids even if they didn’t want to play with Owen and Emma (my children) they had to let them come over” Thanks but no thanks.

#2…This came from a fellow soccer mom: “My friend is a nurse and she said that when a young woman gets cancer, the outcome is usually not good.” Eeeyah.  Nice.  She either thought I was really old or I was going to die.

#1…This came from a woman I knew in high school who notoriously said inappropriate thing so I found it more comical than anything. “My husband does research in HIV/AIDS and he said he would much prefer having HIV over Cancer because the survival rate was so much better.” If this is indeed true, my heart rejoices for those of you with HIV/AIDS.  This in turn means I win the award for having the scariest disease on the planet! Yeeahh me!

As I have said before, life threatening is a matter of perception.  I am sure you have a top 5 list worst things someone said to you while going through a difficult time.  I would love to hear yours.  (Any dirogitory, obscene or disrespectful content is unexceptable.)