friends

You might be worried about how you’re going to tell your friends you have cancer because you’re not sure how they’ll react or how you’re going to feel. You might worry that you’ll start to cry and they’ll get upset. Don’t feel that you have to put on a brave face for them. If your friends get upset it’s only because they care about you.

it's not easy

There’s no easy way or right way to tell people you have cancer. Just do what feels right for you. You might find it easier to tell them over the phone. But if you don’t feel you can tell them yourself, maybe your parents or a teacher could explain things to them. Your friends might already know that you’ve not been well if you’ve been missing time from school or college.

strange reactions

You might find that your friends react in different ways. Some will treat you the same as always. Others might avoid you because they don’t know how to be or what to say. This can be really upsetting for you. But it’s important to realise that they’re behaving in that way because they’re not sure how to deal with your situation. It’s not anything you’ve done.

do you feel cut off

You might feel cut off from your friends at times. If you’re in hospital and they can’t visit you, or if you’re not feeling up to seeing them, you could keep in touch through texts, chat rooms or phone calls. It’s a good way to keep up to date with what’s going on. You could ask a few of your friends to pass on messages to others if you’re not able to get in touch with them.

carrying on as normal

You probably won’t want to talk about your cancer all the time. It might help to ask your friends to carry on as normal. This lets them know how you want to be treated.
Explain to them that you might not always feel like getting involved in everything they’re doing. But tell them that you still want to be asked anyway.

gaining new friends

If you’re having your treatment on a teenage cancer unit you’ll meet other young people in a similar situation. You might develop special friendships with some of them because you can understand each other. This can often lead to really close friendships.