Terminology

It's strange how we are labelled by how others see us...

As I blogged some time ago now, the first thing Nurse said to me when I went for my initial check-up once radiotherapy ended was, "Stop thinking of yourself as a cancer patient. You're someone who's had cancer. You don't have cancer any more."

Shortly after that, I blogged furiously about a job application form I'd been asked to complete. The form insisted that if I'd had cancer, I had to tick the "disabled" box. I'm not disabled. I never have been. However, if I hadn't ticked that box and had got the job, I could have been dismissed for having lied on the application form. So, that was my first encounter with how I'm labelled now and, in that case, it was discriminatory both ethically and legally, as I've just found out.

It seems that the form should have included a box that said, "Have you any long term health problems". Well, the thing is, that might well be legally correct, but I don't view myself as having long term health problems. Now, I have no health problems. I could have a recurrence, of course, but that's really not much more likely than someone who's never had cancer getting a diagnosis. Indeed, it may well be statistically less likely. So why should I have to tick a box that says I have long term health problems? Another label.

Finally, I discovered that, according to some organisations, I'm "living with cancer". I don't understand that one. It directly contradicts what Nurse (who ought to know!) told me. I'm not living with cancer. Again, statistically, the likelihood that I'll have a recurrence really isn't high - but again, another label.

So am I, as I have been told:

• "disabled"
• "suffering from a long term health problem"
• "living with cancer"

Check all that apply.

The only problem with this is that I can't tick any of them! So why do people want to label me? Is it to highlight that because I've had cancer I'm different from them?