Stacey Tinianov: Cancer makes people uncomfortable

Stacey Tinianov shared a post on LinkedIn:

“LinkedIn is a “professional” platform and, as a profession, I am focused on changing the narrative in cancer research and clinical care so…

Earlier this morning I came across a post on Twitter. In response to individuals wanting her to “move on” from cancer, the poster wrote, among other things, “Don’t ask me to hide the parts that make you uncomfortable.”

I “favorited” the post and shared words of support.

Ironically, less than an hour later I spoke with a cancer patient and newish advocate. She mentioned that she didn’t tend to share her “cancer stuff” on Facebook and Instagram because “the energy was off.” We talked about what that meant for awhile and landed on the fact she didn’t post cancer stuff on those platforms because her non-cancer friends and family just want to believe that everything is fine.

Now, I am pretty vocal about people being able to feel all their feels and share their truths but I also know what she means.
Cancer makes people uncomfortable.
We could blame it on “the algorithm” that my happy posts get likes/favorites/comments/interaction and my cancer posts only receive acknowledgement from my “cancer friends.”
But is that what is really going on?

So many of us hide the realities of cancer and cancer treatment, even years after treatment ends. This perpetuates the idea that cancer is a point in time, a “one and done,” and belies the reality of the late and long-term impacts that continue for the remainder of our lives.

So, walking my own talk and feeling all the feels out loud today.

CANCER IS A THIEF
Cancer steals body parts, confidence, innocence, birthdays, peace of mind, breath, cognitive abilities, finances, family, and friends. To pretend otherwise perpetuates the “feel good” myth that we are winning against cancer.

We can be grateful to be alive, invested in improving the research, clinical, and supportive care ecosystem, and still say
fuck cancer and we need to Make Cancer Less Shitty.”

Source: Stacey Tinianov/LinkedIn

Stacey Tinianov is a board-certified patient advocate. As a co-founder of Advocates for Collaborative Education (ACE), Tinianov advises companies like Ciitizen and CareLoop, ensuring patient-centricity in their initiatives. She serves on boards such as Bay Area Young Survivors (BAYS) and Camp Kesem SCU, advocating for cancer survivors’ needs. Tinianov’s influence also reaches policy and research spheres, contributing to organizations like the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) and UCSF’s Breast Science Advocacy Core (BSAC).