---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cancer isn't something that makes you…"
description: "\"Cancer isn't something that makes you want to share, it's something that makes you want to hide.\" — Suleika Jaouad"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/suleika-jaouad-6310_cancer_cancer-isn-t-something-that-makes-you-wa_771376.jpg"
---

#  Cancer isn't something that makes you want to share, it's…

![“Cancer isn't something that makes you want to share, it's something that makes you want to hide.” quote by Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/suleika-jaouad-6310_cancer_cancer-isn-t-something-that-makes-you-wa_771376.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/suleika-jaouad-6310_cancer_cancer-isn-t-something-that-makes-you-wa_771376.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/suleika-jaouad-6310_cancer_cancer-isn-t-something-that-makes-you-wa_771376.jpg)

> “Cancer isn't something that makes you want to share, it's something that makes you want to hide.”

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Illness can drive a desire for secrecy rather than openness, reflecting fear and stigma.

**In simple terms:** Cancer makes people want to hide.

Key Takeaway

Embrace openness, seek support.

Themes

stigma health vulnerability

Mood

reflective empathetic

Type

personal motivational

When to use this quote

- patient support groups
- family conversations
- public awareness campaigns

Key Concepts

psychology social dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- How does secrecy affect healing?
- What can reduce stigma?

A Different Perspective

Hiding can isolate and hinder help.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/)

## Related quotes

> [Sex can be a squeamish subject even when cancer isn't part of the picture, so the combination of sex and cancer together can feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/sex-can-be-a-squeamish-subject-even-when-cancer-isn-t-part-of-the/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [Breast cancer isn't one disease - it's probably four or five different types, and without knowing what type a person has, you can't optimize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/breast-cancer-isn-t-one-disease-it-s-probably-four-or-five-different/)

[Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/)

> [This cancer isn't life-threatening so I consider myself to be very fortunate. In the course of my charity work I meet so many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-michael-of-kent/this-cancer-isn-t-life-threatening-so-i-consider-myself-to-be-very/)

[Princess Michael of Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-michael-of-kent/)

> [I think that ties in with issues of identity as well - that sometimes there are parts of us we want to hide, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/i-think-that-ties-in-with-issues-of-identity-as-well-that-sometimes/)

[Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/)

> [I'd love to give my music to someone who really likes to wow the crowd. I feel like half the time I just want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/i-d-love-to-give-my-music-to-someone-who-really-likes-to-wow-the/)

[Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/)

> [I don't want to have to hide from the world anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/i-don-t-want-to-have-to-hide-from-the-world-anymore/)

[Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/)

> [“...what they show tells you what they want to hide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-clevenger/what-they-show-tells-you-what-they-want-to-hide/)

[Craig Clevenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-clevenger/)

> [Cancer isn't going to slow me down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-zohn/cancer-isn-t-going-to-slow-me-down/)

[Ethan Zohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-zohn/)

> [Thank you for explaining that my eye cancer isn't going to make me deaf. I feel so fortunate that an intellectual giant like yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/thank-you-for-explaining-that-my-eye-cancer-isn-t-going-to-make-me/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [Obviously, breast cancer is very much out there but cervical cancer isn't talked about as much because there's a bit more of a stigma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iskra-lawrence/obviously-breast-cancer-is-very-much-out-there-but-cervical-cancer/)

[Iskra Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iskra-lawrence/)

> [“Unfortunately, cancer isn’t scared off by love.” “Mmmm,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bleeker/unfortunately-cancer-isn-t-scared-off-by-love-mmmm/)

[Emily Bleeker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bleeker/)

> [“I spend a lot of time thinking now. Perhaps too much time. But I’ve decided that cancer is not the worst thing that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-farrar/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-thinking-now-perhaps-too-much-time-but-i-ve/)

Marissa Farrar

> [“Even cancer isn’t a bad guy really: Cancer just wants to be alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/even-cancer-isn-t-a-bad-guy-really-cancer-just-wants-to-be-alive/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [I can blame a lot of things for not writing songs, but cancer isn't one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-prine/i-can-blame-a-lot-of-things-for-not-writing-songs-but-cancer-isn-t/)

[John Prine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-prine/)

> [“Cancer isn't the worst thing that can happen to a person. And neither is dying young. Taking life for granted, living badly-- these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lurlene-mcdaniel/cancer-isn-t-the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-to-a-person-and-neither/)

[Lurlene McDaniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lurlene-mcdaniel/)

## More by Suleika Jaouad

> [With a Catholic mother and a Muslim father, I've always had a great interest in religion, but I've never practiced one myself. After I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/with-a-catholic-mother-and-a-muslim-father-i-ve-always-had-a-great/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [It felt like 10 years, but I was actually in treatment for three-and-a-half years. I finally finished in April. Two years ago, I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/it-felt-like-10-years-but-i-was-actually-in-treatment-for-three-and-a/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [There are days when I even long for the paralegal job that once upon a time made me so miserable. It wasn't the perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/there-are-days-when-i-even-long-for-the-paralegal-job-that-once-upon/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [When I finally returned home after my five-week hospitalization, I could feel the stares of strangers on my bald head and thinning eyebrows. Everywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/when-i-finally-returned-home-after-my-five-week-hospitalization-i/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [The bone marrow transplant procedure itself can be dangerous, but it is swift, which makes it feel strangely anti-climactic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/the-bone-marrow-transplant-procedure-itself-can-be-dangerous-but-it/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [Even amid the shock of my diagnosis, I held onto the hope that I'd be able to make the most of my down time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/even-amid-the-shock-of-my-diagnosis-i-held-onto-the-hope-that-i-d-be/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [I'll never go so far to call cancer a gift. It's a really terrible disease. It's taken the lives of so many of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/i-ll-never-go-so-far-to-call-cancer-a-gift-it-s-a-really-terrible/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [I think often when we talk about things like cancer, the kind of final act at the end of the story comes with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/i-think-often-when-we-talk-about-things-like-cancer-the-kind-of-final/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [Before my diagnosis with leukemia, two years ago at the age of 22, I'd always excelled at making resolutions. But I was never as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/before-my-diagnosis-with-leukemia-two-years-ago-at-the-age-of-22-i-d/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [Like a lot of other young people, I never thought about health insurance until I got sick. I was 22, and my adult life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/like-a-lot-of-other-young-people-i-never-thought-about-health/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [And there came a point in my treatment where I couldn't see that end in sight. And that was the most challenging, I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/and-there-came-a-point-in-my-treatment-where-i-couldn-t-see-that-end/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [But no conversation between doctor and patient can magically turn an uninsured patient into an insured one. Doctors are just as helpless as patients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/but-no-conversation-between-doctor-and-patient-can-magically-turn-an/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [Cancer magnifies the in-betweenness of young adulthood: You're not a child anymore, yet you're not fully ready to live in the adult world, either.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/cancer-magnifies-the-in-betweenness-of-young-adulthood-you-re-not-a/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [I get along well with my medical team and I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. But the idea of discussing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/i-get-along-well-with-my-medical-team-and-i-have-a-tremendous-amount/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

> [For the better half of my early 20s, I was Bubble Girl. When I found out I had leukemia at 22 my world suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/for-the-better-half-of-my-early-20s-i-was-bubble-girl-when-i-found/)

[Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

[Explore all 99 Suleika Jaouad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/)

## 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": "Cancer isn't something that makes you want to share, it's something that makes you want to hide.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Suleika Jaouad"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/cancer-isn-t-something-that-makes-you-want-to-share-it-s-something/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cancer"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/cancer-isn-t-something-that-makes-you-want-to-share-it-s-something/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/suleika-jaouad-6310_cancer_cancer-isn-t-something-that-makes-you-wa_771376.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/suleika-jaouad-6310_cancer_cancer-isn-t-something-that-makes-you-wa_771376.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a54/suleika-jaouad-6310_cancer_cancer-isn-t-something-that-makes-you-wa_771376.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Cancer isn't something that makes you want to share, it's something that makes you want to hide.” — Suleika Jaouad",
                "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": "Suleika Jaouad",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Cancer isn't something that makes you...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/cancer-isn-t-something-that-makes-you-want-to-share-it-s-something/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/cancer-isn-t-something-that-makes-you-want-to-share-it-s-something/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
