‘You don’t look sick’ and other things people say to those with cancer

You look good.

I hear that a lot.

I didn’t quite know how to type it here. Some folks say it like this: You look good . As if they’re surprised — shocked that I still look like the guy they saw before I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The same guy who works out regularly, eats well and, yes, tries to look good.

Others say: You look good — inflecting a question mark at the end. As if prostate cancer should make me look bad.

Oh, it might at some stage, but not now. I don’t know how long cancer has been in my body, but after catching it at a relatively early stage, thank God — I look pretty much like I did before: Pretty darn good for my 69 years. (Thank you, good genes and many years of vigorous, reasonably healthy living.)

No matter how the thought is expressed, I receive it with