--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But in fact, depression is not a side…" description: "\"“But in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying.”\" — John Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/207/john-green-12_depression_but-in-fact-depression-is-not-a-side-eff_1274266.jpg" --- # But in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer… ![“But in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/207/john-green-12_depression_but-in-fact-depression-is-not-a-side-eff_1274266.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/207/john-green-12_depression_but-in-fact-depression-is-not-a-side-eff_1274266.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/207/john-green-12_depression_but-in-fact-depression-is-not-a-side-eff_1274266.jpg) > ““But in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Depression in terminal illness stems from facing death, not just disease side effects. **In simple terms:** Dying causes depression, not cancer alone. Key Takeaway Address emotional health in end‑of‑life care. Themes mortality mental health illness acceptance Mood empathetic somber Type medical philosophical When to use this quote - palliative care - patient counseling - support groups - family discussions Key Concepts existential dread psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can caregivers support emotional needs? - What strategies ease end‑of‑life anxiety? A Different Perspective May ignore other depression causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) ## Related quotes > [“But, in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying. - Hazel Grace Lancaster”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/but-in-fact-depression-is-not-a-side-effect-of-cancer-depression-is-a-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever, they always list depression among the side effects of cancer. But, in fact, depression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/whenever-you-read-a-cancer-booklet-or-website-or-whatever-they-always-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying. (Cancer is also a side effect of dying. Almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/depression-is-not-a-side-effect-of-cancer-depression-is-a-side-effect-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/depression-is-not-a-side-effect-of-cancer-depression-is-a-side-effect/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever it always list depression as one of the side effects of cancer. But, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/whenever-you-read-a-cancer-booklet-or-website-or-whatever-it-always/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever, they always list depression among the side effects of cancer. But, in fact, depression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-you-read-a-cancer-booklet-or-website-or-whatever-they-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Depression is a side effect of dying”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/depression-is-a-side-effect-of-dying/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Depression is a side effect of dying. (Cancer is also a side effect of dying. Almost everything is, really.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/depression-is-a-side-effect-of-dying-cancer-is-also-a-side-effect-of/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Depression is a side effect of dying. (Almost everything is, really).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/depression-is-a-side-effect-of-dying-almost-everything-is-really/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Nostalgia is a side effect of cancer," I told him. 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Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Depression quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/) Kirsten Gilchrist > [“my stomach turned and burned with the acid of failure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ames/my-stomach-turned-and-burned-with-the-acid-of-failure/) Heidi Ames > [That is the real problem of depression - a condition which will affect an estimated one in five of the population at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/that-is-the-real-problem-of-depression-a-condition-which-will-affect/) [Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/) > [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“Why in depression" "If we are human, why not have the right to smile, Why in depression, young, and beautiful as earth, Why in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanilsa-pena/why-in-depression-if-we-are-human-why-not-have-the-right-to-smile-why/) Yanilsa pena > [“Depression makes me stronger”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shayamalan/depression-makes-me-stronger/) Shayamalan > [“Shorter believes that psychosomatic illnesses (such as leg paralysis at the turn of the twentieth century or multiple personality disorder at the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/shorter-believes-that-psychosomatic-illnesses-such-as-leg-paralysis/) [Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/) Hugh Williamson > [I'm certainly not a perfect mother, but I'm trying to be what my mother wasn't for me. My mother's battled depression, so I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-hamill/i-m-certainly-not-a-perfect-mother-but-i-m-trying-to-be-what-my/) [Dorothy Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-hamill/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) James Buckham Kennedy > [Scars by Papa Roach. <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophielianne/scars-by-papa-roach-3/) Sophielianne [Browse all 4,965 Depression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. 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