Everyone keeps telling me to stay positive.

You do not owe anyone a good attitude. There is no evidence that being positive changes how a cancer behaves. Being told to feels like one more job on a very long list.

Most people saying it are frightened and do not know what else to offer. You are allowed to tell them what you actually want, which is often just someone to sit with you.

Written by two physicians. Checked against patient information from the US National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK.