This combination of 2023 photos shows Kate, Princess of Wales, left, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. For some cancer patients, sharing the news can be a difficult decision. Austin initially kept his prostate cancer quiet. Kate also waited to publicly disclose her cancer. Ever since Anthony Bridges found out he had prostate cancer six years ago, he hasn’t stopped talking about it. He told his Facebook friends immediately.
Their reactions hardly surprised experts. Dr. Otis Brawley says he’s encountered men who don’t even want to talk about their prostate cancer with their own doctors. “So many of my patients say people talk to them with a different tone of voice,” Smith said. “‘They lean into me differently, they look at me with their eyes differently.’”
“She has the added challenges of having young children,” said Dr. Christina Annunziata, a cancer doctor at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax, Virginia. “As hard as it is to explain to friends and family, or even coworkers. It’s even harder to explain to young children.”Dr. Paul Monk, who treats cancer patients at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said it’s important for patients to bring along a family member or other support to appointments.