"People who die from their cancer diagnosis are not weak, have not lost, are not losers," she continued. "People who survive their cancer diagnosis are not winners who beat a mighty foe." More than cancer patients or their loved ones, Quirke challenges journalists and others who write about cancer to think long and honestly about their language. "Allow cancer patients to define themselves, always, but stop contributing to a paradigm of war for this specific disease," she said. "The war metaphor serves survivors, but not those who die from their cancer diagnosis, nor those who love them," she said.

Source: Stuff March 11, 2019 22:30 UTC