--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The cancer bubble. It's almost like he's…" description: "\"“The cancer bubble. It's almost like he's not here. Like he's on pause, and my life with him is on pause, and we're just waiting to see if somebody is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/abigail-barnette-35407_bubble_the-cancer-bubble-it-s-almost-like-he-s_798845.jpg" --- # The cancer bubble. It's almost like he's not here. Like… ![“The cancer bubble. It's almost like he's not here. Like he's on pause, and my life with him is on pause, and we're just waiting to see if somebody is going to hit play again or just stop the thing entirely.” quote by Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/abigail-barnette-35407_bubble_the-cancer-bubble-it-s-almost-like-he-s_798845.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/abigail-barnette-35407_bubble_the-cancer-bubble-it-s-almost-like-he-s_798845.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/abigail-barnette-35407_bubble_the-cancer-bubble-it-s-almost-like-he-s_798845.jpg) > ““The cancer bubble. It's almost like he's not here. Like he's on pause, and my life with him is on pause, and we're just waiting to see if somebody is going to hit play again or just stop the thing entirely.”” [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A loved one's serious illness creates a feeling of suspended time, uncertainty about the future and emotional limbo **In simple terms:** Illness puts life on hold, waiting for recovery or loss Key Takeaway Cherish present moments, support each other during uncertainty Themes family health uncertainty emotional resilience Mood anxious hopeful reflective Type personal emotional philosophical When to use this quote - hospital visits - caregiver support - personal reflection - planning for future Key Concepts mortality pause anticipation Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay present when future feels unknown? - What support helps you cope with suspended life? A Different Perspective Recovery may not happen, and grief can follow; emotional strain remains ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [You can play the game of life, you can quit living your life, but you cannot pause life and come back to it when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mercado/you-can-play-the-game-of-life-you-can-quit-living-your-life-but-you/) [Joseph Mercado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mercado/) > [Looking back, I call the first month after my diagnosis 'the cancer bubble' because I wasn't showing obvious signs of my disease. I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/looking-back-i-call-the-first-month-after-my-diagnosis-the-cancer/) [Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/) > [“Do what you can with what you have. Your job is to live well, embracing what you do know, what you can do, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystal-evans-hurst/do-what-you-can-with-what-you-have-your-job-is-to-live-well-embracing/) [Chrystal Evans Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystal-evans-hurst/) > [“There is no pause in life, the moment we pause, we stop living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/there-is-no-pause-in-life-the-moment-we-pause-we-stop-living/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Time is a constant force, like two poles connected by an elastic string. Taking a pause in life is like stretching that string, gathering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/supratim-das/time-is-a-constant-force-like-two-poles-connected-by-an-elastic/) Supratim Das > [“Waiting for somebody does that. It turns minutes to hours, hours to days, and days to several lifetimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-martin/waiting-for-somebody-does-that-it-turns-minutes-to-hours-hours-to/) [Charles Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-martin/) > [“When you're a teenager,everybody is waiting for you to be something or somebody else-your friends,your parents,your teachers.Sometimes you lose track.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-david-anderson/when-you-re-a-teenager-everybody-is-waiting-for-you-to-be-something/) [John David Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-david-anderson/) > [“That is the problem with our world. Nobody trusts anybody. We are just waiting for somebody to save us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/that-is-the-problem-with-our-world-nobody-trusts-anybody-we-are-just/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [“So much of war is sitting around and doing nothing, waiting for somebody else. With no guarantee of the amount of time you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/so-much-of-war-is-sitting-around-and-doing-nothing-waiting-for/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [You've got a lot of very, very smart people standing by waiting for somebody else to do the work. Not a recipe for long-term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/you-ve-got-a-lot-of-very-very-smart-people-standing-by-waiting-for/) [Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/) > [The beauty of TV is that it does not have to be live. In this case, rather than spending an hour or two hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-velshi/the-beauty-of-tv-is-that-it-does-not-have-to-be-live-in-this-case/) [Ali Velshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-velshi/) > [“You can keep waiting for somebody else to define you, or give you your place in the world, or you can decide that you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fury/you-can-keep-waiting-for-somebody-else-to-define-you-or-give-you-your/) David Fury > [I'm still waiting for somebody to wake me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-hartley/i-m-still-waiting-for-somebody-to-wake-me-up/) [Justin Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-hartley/) > [“Waiting and waiting and waiting... for somebody to reply... but nobody is going to reply.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/waiting-and-waiting-and-waiting-for-somebody-to-reply-but-nobody-is/) Deyth Banger > [Life should come with a remote. There are so many moments I'd give up my life for to pause, fast-forward, and rewind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/life-should-come-with-a-remote-there-are-so-many-moments-i-d-give-up/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) ## More by Abigail Barnette > [“But the best part of catching Neil in the shower was, hands down, the loud, awful singing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/but-the-best-part-of-catching-neil-in-the-shower-was-hands-down-the/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) > [“Every time I thought the bag must be empty, he brought yet another item out. It was like he'd hijacked Mary Poppins's luggage on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/every-time-i-thought-the-bag-must-be-empty-he-brought-yet-another/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) > [“Money does not guarantee immortality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/money-does-not-guarantee-immortality/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) > [“It was like he'd sprung fully-formed from my eighteen-year-old fantasies, the hot History teacher who just couldn't help himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/it-was-like-he-d-sprung-fully-formed-from-my-eighteen-year-old/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) > [“I know I'm not supposed to argue with you when you talk about dying. And yes, you could die, Neil. But I could get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/i-know-i-m-not-supposed-to-argue-with-you-when-you-talk-about-dying/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) > [“You don't want to get in that line...it's fucking long”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/you-don-t-want-to-get-in-that-line-it-s-fucking-long/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) > [“Yes, one of the benefits of being embarrassingly rich is that you find out if you have syphilis much earlier than the average peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/yes-one-of-the-benefits-of-being-embarrassingly-rich-is-that-you-find/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) > [“I could only imagine the prenup I'd have to sign: In the event of a divorce, Mrs. Scaife- Elwood will receive eleventy- bajillion dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/i-could-only-imagine-the-prenup-i-d-have-to-sign-in-the-event-of-a/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) > [“You don't know what you're going to do in a situation until faced with it. Life lesion learned. I was going to have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/you-don-t-know-what-you-re-going-to-do-in-a-situation-until-faced/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) > [“Well, at least you'll get some down time to heal up before the chemo. Of course, that sounds kind of like in The Princess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/well-at-least-you-ll-get-some-down-time-to-heal-up-before-the-chemo/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) > [“Call me old fashioned, but I kind of enjoy the so-called 'walk of shame.' It's really more a 'walk of pride because I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/call-me-old-fashioned-but-i-kind-of-enjoy-the-so-called-walk-of-shame/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) > [“Submission was such a nice mini-vacation, in that respect, a pleasure cruise through sex with heightened senses and emotions, and no thought to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/submission-was-such-a-nice-mini-vacation-in-that-respect-a-pleasure/) [Abigail Barnette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) [Explore all 13 Abigail Barnette quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/) ## More Bubble quotes > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [“Recluses won’t find purpose living out their days in a sacred bubble. Partake in commerce, start working out, volunteer, go on a mission. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-demarco/recluses-won-t-find-purpose-living-out-their-days-in-a-sacred-bubble/) [M.J. DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-demarco/) > [“But you couldn't unpop a bubble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/but-you-couldn-t-unpop-a-bubble/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [I don't even know what that means. People who get credit have to get it from somewhere. Does a credit bubble mean that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-fama/i-don-t-even-know-what-that-means-people-who-get-credit-have-to-get/) [Eugene Fama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-fama/) > [You know, as an only child, you're kind of in a bubble, and there are all sorts of things about my childhood that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-as-an-only-child-you-re-kind-of-in-a-bubble-and-there-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As a bubble you cannot change the world, this is obvious, but you can still make a child happy! Even the most worthless things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/as-a-bubble-you-cannot-change-the-world-this-is-obvious-but-you-can/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The media bubble is the ultimate symbol of what's wrong with this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bannon/the-media-bubble-is-the-ultimate-symbol-of-what-s-wrong-with-this/) [Steve Bannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bannon/) > [When I found out about being cast in 'Spider-Man,' it was like this bubble developed around me. I was floating in it for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-garfield/when-i-found-out-about-being-cast-in-spider-man-it-was-like-this/) [Andrew Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-garfield/) > [Trump has manufactured the first-ever Celebrity Immunity Bubble - rendering him incapable of offense, no matter whom he offends. It's brilliant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/trump-has-manufactured-the-first-ever-celebrity-immunity-bubble/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [ “The Bradford Exchange—a knockoff of \[Joseph\] Segel’s \[Franklin Mint\] business—created a murky secondary market for its collector plates, complete with advertisements featuring its “brokers”… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-bissonnette/the-bradford-exchange-a-knockoff-of-joseph-segel-s-franklin-mint/) Zac Bissonnette > [It was 1999, and we were building a way for college kids to create online profiles for the purpose of sharing... with employers. Oops.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ries/it-was-1999-and-we-were-building-a-way-for-college-kids-to-create/) [Eric Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ries/) > [The end of the 'tech bubble' in the year 2000 is, of course, widely recognized, as the NASDAQ stock index erased three-quarters of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-autor/the-end-of-the-tech-bubble-in-the-year-2000-is-of-course-widely/) [David Autor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-autor/) > [It's like simulating earthquakes: we can over and over study a bubble, crash, bubble, crash. Then we can see mathematically if there's some regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-camerer/it-s-like-simulating-earthquakes-we-can-over-and-over-study-a-bubble/) [Colin Camerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-camerer/) > [Only lets certain people in his bubble...you know who u r...so come on in...if your not one of them...stay the HELL OUT!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/only-lets-certain-people-in-his-bubble-you-know-who-u-r-so-come-on-in/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Every bubble has two components: something - some real trend, and a misconception about that trend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/every-bubble-has-two-components-something-some-real-trend-and-a/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) Browse all 325 Bubble quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The cancer bubble. It's almost like he's not here. Like he's on pause, and my life with him is on pause, and we're just waiting to see if somebody is going to hit play again or just stop the thing entirely.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abigail Barnette" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/the-cancer-bubble-it-s-almost-like-he-s-not-here-like-he-s-on-pause/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bubble" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/the-cancer-bubble-it-s-almost-like-he-s-not-here-like-he-s-on-pause/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/abigail-barnette-35407_bubble_the-cancer-bubble-it-s-almost-like-he-s_798845.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/abigail-barnette-35407_bubble_the-cancer-bubble-it-s-almost-like-he-s_798845.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/abigail-barnette-35407_bubble_the-cancer-bubble-it-s-almost-like-he-s_798845.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The cancer bubble. It's almost like he's not here. Like he's on pause, and my life with him is on pause, and…” — Abigail Barnette", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Abigail Barnette", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-barnette/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The cancer bubble. It's almost like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/the-cancer-bubble-it-s-almost-like-he-s-not-here-like-he-s-on-pause/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-barnette/the-cancer-bubble-it-s-almost-like-he-s-not-here-like-he-s-on-pause/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```