justifiably annoyed or overly sensitive? you tell me.

I read an article a little while ago about a Conservative politician who just finished treatment for breast cancer. The article was probably meant to make me feel inspired but instead I just go angry.I felt guilty for not being more charitable (is that a word used in this sense by anyone other than those raised Catholic?) and disappointed in my own lack of empathy.I bookmarked the story and decided to postpone writing about it until I could understand my reaction.It's been a couple of weeks. I reread the article and got angry all over again.I work very hard at not being judgmental of others' choices. This is a hard thing when you hold strong opinions but I do try my very best to underline that I've made what I consider to be the best choices for me. So why am I so annoyed at the choices of someone else?Paula Peroni (the Conservative politician from Sudbury) is to be commended for her strength. Her approach to diagnosis and treatment seems to be very different from my own. She wore a wig, never stopped working, and told no one until after she had finished treatment. She seems most concerned that someone will think less of her for having had cancer. Perhaps that comes with being in politics.While Peroni seems to stress that these were the right choices for her, the writer of the article seems to frame them as a goal to which we all should aspire. And Peroni herself seems to frame the path she chose as being the most virtuous:"When you tell people you have cancer, "you put a res...
Source: Not just about cancer - Category: Cancer Tags: metastatic breast cancer chemotherapy health care pissed off show and tell conversations cancer blog rants Source Type: blogs