--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I haven't talked much about being an…" description: "\"I haven't talked much about being an ovarian cancer survivor because I don't really want to define myself that way.\" — Kathy Bates" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e26/kathy-bates-8711_cancer_i-haven-t-talked-much-about-being-an-ova_3112838.jpg" --- # I haven't talked much about being an ovarian cancer… ![“I haven't talked much about being an ovarian cancer survivor because I don't really want to define myself that way.” quote by Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e26/kathy-bates-8711_cancer_i-haven-t-talked-much-about-being-an-ova_3112838.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e26/kathy-bates-8711_cancer_i-haven-t-talked-much-about-being-an-ova_3112838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e26/kathy-bates-8711_cancer_i-haven-t-talked-much-about-being-an-ova_3112838.jpg) > “I haven't talked much about being an ovarian cancer survivor because I don't really want to define myself that way.” [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A survivor asserts that personal identity should not be defined solely by illness, emphasizing agency and self‑definition. **In simple terms:** She refuses to be labeled only as a cancer survivor. Key Takeaway Define yourself beyond illness. Themes identity resilience self‑definition Mood reflective empowering Type inspirational personal. When to use this quote - public speaking - health forums - personal storytelling Key Concepts personal narrative health advocacy empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How can survivors balance personal identity with community belonging? - What role does public sharing play in healing? A Different Perspective The statement may overlook the importance of shared survivor identity for community support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Cancer survivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer-survivor/) [Define Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/define-myself/) [Ovarian cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ovarian-cancer/) [Survivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivor/) ## Related quotes > [We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up or fight like hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/we-have-two-options-medically-and-emotionally-give-up-or-fight-like/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [“What am I doing here? I haven't talked to my dad in two days. He's probably moved from worry to sheer panic because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-doller/what-am-i-doing-here-i-haven-t-talked-to-my-dad-in-two-days-he-s/) [Trish Doller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-doller/) > [“I don't know everything," she said. Her eyes were filling with tears. "If I knew everything, would I have gotten into this mess in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/i-don-t-know-everything-she-said-her-eyes-were-filling-with-tears-if/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [What I haven't talked about I don't intend to talk about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-freeman/what-i-haven-t-talked-about-i-don-t-intend-to-talk-about/) [Morgan Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-freeman/) > [“I don’t know. I mean we haven’t talked about it. He literally left afterwards, and all he’s done since then is poke me with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/i-don-t-know-i-mean-we-haven-t-talked-about-it-he-literally-left/) [Jennifer L. 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Women's shelters - Jenesse Center in L.A. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-taylor/my-mother-died-of-ovarian-cancer-i-support-organizations-that-raise/) [Regina Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-taylor/) > [I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/i-made-a-decision-to-have-a-preventive-double-mastectomy-i-started/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [The Pacific Yew can be cut down and processed to produce a potent chemical, taxol, which offers some promise of curing certain forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/the-pacific-yew-can-be-cut-down-and-processed-to-produce-a-potent/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [One of the most beautiful experiences our family shared was feeling the love and bond that came to life when my mother was battling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yael-cohen/one-of-the-most-beautiful-experiences-our-family-shared-was-feeling/) [Yael Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yael-cohen/) > [My mother passed away young - she died from ovarian cancer at just 54 years old. Her sacrifices for my sisters and I evoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-de-leon/my-mother-passed-away-young-she-died-from-ovarian-cancer-at-just-54/) [Kevin de Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-de-leon/) > [Risk reduction for BRCA2 carriers includes taking tamoxifen. Removing ovaries prior to age 40 drops breast cancer risk in half. Ovarian cancer surveillance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-funk/risk-reduction-for-brca2-carriers-includes-taking-tamoxifen-removing/) [Kristi Funk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-funk/) > [I can tell that in Refuge the question that was burning in me was, how do we find refuge in change? Everything around me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-can-tell-that-in-refuge-the-question-that-was-burning-in-me-was-how/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) ## More by Kathy Bates > ['Misery' left a lasting mark on me. When I die, it will be 'Kathy 'Misery' Bates Is Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/misery-left-a-lasting-mark-on-me-when-i-die-it-will-be-kathy-misery/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [Cancer and its aftermath changed my outlook in a profound way. I've become less of a hermit, and I travel more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/cancer-and-its-aftermath-changed-my-outlook-in-a-profound-way-i-ve/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [When I was in New Orleans, I was in a grocery store and a woman came up to me and she said, "Oh, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/when-i-was-in-new-orleans-i-was-in-a-grocery-store-and-a-woman-came/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [I can sit here on the couch and hear you say, "You're very feminine and very attractive," but I have always struggled with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-can-sit-here-on-the-couch-and-hear-you-say-you-re-very-feminine-and/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [I want to see women onscreen the way I see them in society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-want-to-see-women-onscreen-the-way-i-see-them-in-society/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [I have really focused on mindfulness. That helps me make better choices both physically, psychologically, and emotionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-have-really-focused-on-mindfulness-that-helps-me-make-better/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [I didn't go out on one date in high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-didn-t-go-out-on-one-date-in-high-school/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [People will come up, and they'll talk about 'Misery.' But a lot of people will talk about 'Waterboy.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/people-will-come-up-and-they-ll-talk-about-misery-but-a-lot-of-people/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [I love everything. I love being the empathetic characters. I love being the villains. I think it's like when we're kids, we like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-love-everything-i-love-being-the-empathetic-characters-i-love-being/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [I didn't go out on one date in high school. I played guitar and sang and wrote my own music and poetry and stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-didn-t-go-out-on-one-date-in-high-school-i-played-guitar-and-sang/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [The problem I have these days is that women are often cast in a role - as a police officer, for example - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/the-problem-i-have-these-days-is-that-women-are-often-cast-in-a-role/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [I have had periods of depression in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-have-had-periods-of-depression-in-my-life/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [I kind of grew up on horror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-kind-of-grew-up-on-horror/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [Now if I go through it again, I think I would be a lot more open about it. I admire people who have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/now-if-i-go-through-it-again-i-think-i-would-be-a-lot-more-open-about/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [I was never an ingenue. I've always just been a character actor. When I was younger, it was a real problem, because I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-was-never-an-ingenue-i-ve-always-just-been-a-character-actor-when-i/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) [Explore all 78 Kathy Bates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) ## More Cancer quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Historically, more people have died of religion than cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/historically-more-people-have-died-of-religion-than-cancer/) [Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/) > [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Bollywood is a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/bollywood-is-a-cancer/) [Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [When people go get chemo, they're not injecting themselves with will - I have lost various loved ones to cancer, and I certainly don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-hall/when-people-go-get-chemo-they-re-not-injecting-themselves-with-will-i/) [Michael C. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-hall/) > [“the doctor hesitated before breaking the news to her. "those aren't stars. it's cancer." - forty years a smoker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/the-doctor-hesitated-before-breaking-the-news-to-her-those-aren-t/) [Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [I would do away with super PACs. I think it's a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-conrad/i-would-do-away-with-super-pacs-i-think-it-s-a-cancer/) [Kent Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-conrad/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-ignatiev/if-you-are-a-white-male-you-don-t-deserve-to-live-you-are-a-cancer/) [Noel Ignatiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-ignatiev/) > [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/) [David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/) [Browse all 3,177 Cancer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I haven't talked much about being an ovarian cancer survivor because I don't really want to define myself that way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kathy Bates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-haven-t-talked-much-about-being-an-ovarian-cancer-survivor-because/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cancer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-haven-t-talked-much-about-being-an-ovarian-cancer-survivor-because/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e26/kathy-bates-8711_cancer_i-haven-t-talked-much-about-being-an-ova_3112838.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e26/kathy-bates-8711_cancer_i-haven-t-talked-much-about-being-an-ova_3112838.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e26/kathy-bates-8711_cancer_i-haven-t-talked-much-about-being-an-ova_3112838.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I haven't talked much about being an ovarian cancer survivor because I don't really want to define myself…” — Kathy Bates", "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": "Kathy Bates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I haven't talked much about being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-haven-t-talked-much-about-being-an-ovarian-cancer-survivor-because/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-haven-t-talked-much-about-being-an-ovarian-cancer-survivor-because/#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 } } ] } ```