A Battle

A friend of mine from primary and grammar school died the week before last of cancer. His obituary, similar to others who have died of cancer, mentions his 'brave battle against cancer'.

I find it strange how one battles cancer, but not diabetes, kidney failure, Alzheimer's or any other of the myriad diseases that can carry us off.

How does one actually battle cancer? As far as I can see, you take your medication and hope for the best, just like any other disease. Is there anything particularly brave about it?

Granted that the treatment can involve taking you as close to death as possible without killing you, but so do the treatments for many diseases. It's not brave - it's the only course of action available to you if you want a chance of living longer.

We say people "fight cancer" or "lose their battle" with it. This hideously frames cancer as an enemy and the patient as a warrior. Research suggests these metaphors can be harmful. They might make patients feel like they have to fight super hard or blame themselves if the outcome isn't positive.