I hate it how people nonchalantly talk or joke about cancer. I hate hearing the word. I hate seeing stuff about Relay for Life. I hate how all these made-for-tv movies about overcoming the bump in the road that is cancer. It's not just something you triumph through. It's not pink ribbons you put on your backpack. It's seeing a parent hovered over the toilet for weeks at a time. Watching the people you love most become vulnerable.

But I could never say this to anyone because it sounds like I'm a bitch. So I put up listening to all the commercials and fundraiser announcements, when all I want to do is forget.