Top 10 things NOT to say to a person just diagnosed with cancer!

10.Wow, really? What's for dinner?
(Who "really" cares!)

9.Oh, I've had biopsies before, and they're mostly benign.
(Hello, it didn't come back benign.)

8.How did your autopsy come out?
(Ok, stupid, it's a biopsy!)

7.When is your vasectomy
scheduled?
(That would be mastectomy, genius.)

6. You're stronger than you think.
(That may be, but strength is not what you're feeling in the immediate days following the diagnosis.)

5. You need to "buck up". Other folks have been through far worse than what you're facing.
(That's when you don't want to ever express feelings of apprehension to another soul.)

4.You need to just live in the moment and not worry about the future.
(Said by a person who doesn't understand the uncertainty of total chaos in the early days following the biopsy findings)

3. God has a purpose for everything.
(Indeed, as a Christian, I know that beyond the shadow of a doubt. Don't preach a sermon to the choir)

2. What are you so worried about? They caught it early.
(There are no band-aid surgeries with cancer. The treatments are life-altering.)

1. The surgery isn't that bad. You'll be just fine.
(Unless that's a personal testimonial, put a sock in it!!)

Some of these statements seem funny and almost ridiculous, but in the last week, all of them have been said to me by at least one person.

Advice from someone who knows:
The BEST thing to say to someone just diagnosed with cancer is:
I'm so sorry, and I love you. We'll get through this together. What can I do to help?

This informational blog has been brought to you directly from "Life in the Bottle".