
I would much rather someone tell me how hard or must be.īeing brave to me is going into a burning building to rescue people. I was especially uncomfortable when my doctors and surgeons would say it. Here are some of the things we were told by people who have been called brave, strong, or an inspiration. There’s no right way to respond to something, and no individual opinion here invalidates any others. But others said it boosted them and made them feel validated. For some it made them uncomfortable, and for many, they felt it made it worse. The majority would rather this language not be used.


We asked a group of people how they felt about these comments.

They are told how brave or strong they are, or that they are an inspiration. People undergoing cancer treatments or prophylactic surgeries due to genetic mutations are often referred to as warriors, fighting a battle.
