It can sometimes be helpful to share with your family how you are coping, and encourage others to do likewise. It is important to understand that what works for one family member may not work for another. Coping styles, no matter how personally helpful, should not be imposed on others. In the face of cancer, communications may become uncomfortable. It sometimes becomes difficult for family members to share their thoughts and feelings.
Some people worry about upsetting or depressing others.
Some find it hard to use the right words. For most families, sharing makes the disease easier to endure, so it is worth the effort to search for a way to keep communication flowing. It is a common and loving impulse to protect those we love from painful information. However, maintaining secrecy is very difficult to accomplish in most families, and it tends to establish walls and create isolation of each member in the family, just when closeness and intimacy are most needed. Family members do have the right to remain ignorant of the facts, but this choice should be left up to the individual.