Are you ready for it?

Although we've spoken many a time on this blog about things like cancer, this summer will see ITV killing off one of it's big charicters on Corronation Street and already it's brought a tear to my eye.

The charicter is called Hailey Cropper (yes, the transexual one) and up until this post goes live, she's only just been diagnosed with the cancer. The story will run for a while as the treatment fails and of course leading to her death in the soap.

It got me to thinking though, how ready are you for the news?

Like how would you react if someone close to you told you they had cancer, what would you do? what would you say?

I was always brought up to "be ready for the worst to happen, anything else is a bonus".

Ok, so lets do a little role play....

Imagine that someone you love or have a soft spot for you comes to you and tells you that they have cancer. Without knowing what sort or the odd's of them getting through it alive.... what is your reaction?

Sad?

Being sad would be expected i think and of course at some point either right then or at a later time (maybe away from that person) you're bound to feel sad.

Angry?

Suprisingly, anger is quite a common emotion to feel when finding out that somebody has cancer. Not angry with the person of course, but for those who are religious, its common to be angry with any god that you follow.... Anger can work in a good way too. We tend to do things when were angry and getting angry with cancer can sometimes be enough to spare a person on in getting the treatment they need.

Happy?

Again, you wouldn't be jumping for joy, but some people are known to be happy when they are told by somebody that they love that said person has cancer. Sometimes it's because a person at such a mentally challanging stage in their life has chosen to confide in you. It can be happy because after months of scans and tests, there's finally an answer, so treatment can begin.


The truth of the matter is, there's no right or wrong way to react to cancer. With how far science has come it's more and more likely that the person who's told you would be a cancer beater and would go on to live a healthy life after beating it.

But you don't have to go through it alone you know. If somebody you know has cancer, don't feel that you shouldn't be getting help if you need it, because that person is worse off than you. There's helplines world over and websites galore full of advice for people like friends and family of those who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Corronation street runs in the UK via ITV on a monday at 7:30pm + 8:30pm, wednesday 7:30pm and fridays 7:30pm and 8:30pm.