Lori,

I was "outed" by a friend, who told someone, then they told 2 friends, etc. Next thing I knew rumors were flying, and everyone had heard some version of the story, which was much harder to control.

I ended up putting a post on facebook to stem the rumor that I was dying. I actually found it calming to talk about it, as it was then just information, not this overwhelming "thing". Everyone is different though, so you have to do what feels right for you.

The "I have cancer" starts to fade, although it pops up again when you get treatment, check-ups after or think anything is off. I truly believe that your attitude toward this will have a huge effect on how things go. I approached it with the idea that this was a problem to deal with, and I would deal. Then I did. That's not to say there aren't hard times, but I thought about all the other people in the world who have bigger problems than me (ALS, dementia, which can't be fixed - no food or home or job), and remembered that in the bigger scheme of things, I am very lucky.