--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I heard 'incurable'... incurable is…" description: "\"When I heard 'incurable'... incurable is a tough word.\" — Valerie Harper" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/valerie-harper-4175_heard_when-i-heard-incurable-incurable-is-a-to_1223534.png" --- # When I heard 'incurable'... incurable is a tough word. ![“When I heard 'incurable'... incurable is a tough word.” quote by Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/valerie-harper-4175_heard_when-i-heard-incurable-incurable-is-a-to_1223534.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/valerie-harper-4175_heard_when-i-heard-incurable-incurable-is-a-to_1223534.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/valerie-harper-4175_heard_when-i-heard-incurable-incurable-is-a-to_1223534.png) > “When I heard 'incurable'... incurable is a tough word.” [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Calling something 'incurable' is a harsh label that may limit hope and effort to overcome it. **In simple terms:** Harsh labels limit hope. Key Takeaway Avoid fatalistic language. Themes health language psychology Mood empathetic thoughtful Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - diagnosis discussions - patient counseling - public health messaging - support groups Key Concepts Stigma resilience medical optimism Questions to Reflect On - How does language affect recovery? - Can re‑framing improve outcomes? A Different Perspective Labels can become self‑fulfilling prophecies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > ['Incurable' is a tough word. So is 'terminal.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/incurable-is-a-tough-word-so-is-terminal/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) > [Cancer is tough. 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For when aman is so fugitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-more/perfect-scepticismeis-a-disease-incurable-and-a-thing-rather-to-be/) Henry More > [There are no such things as incurable, there are only things for which man has not found a cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-baruch/there-are-no-such-things-as-incurable-there-are-only-things-for-which/) [Bernard Baruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-baruch/) > [There is no such thing as an incurable disease, only incurable people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-siegel/there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-incurable-disease-only-incurable-people/) [Bernie Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-siegel/) > [Never must the physician say, the disease is incurable. 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There's really so little difference between the speech patterns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/i-really-got-the-rhoda-flavor-from-studying-my-stepmother-angela-who/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) > [We think it's food that matters the most, but exercise and food both matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/we-think-it-s-food-that-matters-the-most-but-exercise-and-food-both/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) > [All of us are going to die. Every single one of us. 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It's a fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/i-m-happier-because-i-had-to-face-what-all-of-us-try-not-to-face-that/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) [Explore all 115 Valerie Harper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) ## More Heard quotes > [If you’re a person struggling to eat and stay healthy you might have heard about Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, but you’ll never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-a-person-struggling-to-eat-and-stay-healthy-you-might-have/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. 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You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) Browse all 6,551 Heard quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I heard 'incurable'... incurable is a tough word.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Valerie Harper" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/when-i-heard-incurable-incurable-is-a-tough-word/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Heard" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/when-i-heard-incurable-incurable-is-a-tough-word/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/valerie-harper-4175_heard_when-i-heard-incurable-incurable-is-a-to_1223534.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/valerie-harper-4175_heard_when-i-heard-incurable-incurable-is-a-to_1223534.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/valerie-harper-4175_heard_when-i-heard-incurable-incurable-is-a-to_1223534.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I heard 'incurable'... incurable is a tough word.” — Valerie Harper", "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": "Valerie Harper", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I heard 'incurable'... incurable is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/when-i-heard-incurable-incurable-is-a-tough-word/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/when-i-heard-incurable-incurable-is-a-tough-word/#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 } } ] } ```