A Major Step in the Cancer Journey: Learning to Deal With Vulnerability

The shame that people tend to feel after getting cancer comes from a sense of vulnerability, according to Dr. William Breitbart, the chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Services at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. People feel ashamed that their bodies were susceptible to disease, that they have to undergo treatment, that maybe they’re not as strong as they’d like others to believe.

“What I will often point out to people, is that we have the ability to choose how we respond to this vulnerability,” says Dr. Breitbart. “We can be ashamed of it, or we can use it to create a sense of empathy.”