The Sickness Closet

             "One of the few things about illness people can control is whom to tell. That's why so many choose to keep it secret." (Willaims). Sounds like the introduction to some dramatic reality show or soap opera, doesn't it? But as I continued to read the article I realize how true that statement was. Who would want to be viewed as weak, fragile, or "sick"? Nobody. People are worried that if they go public, "come out of the closet", with their disease, that people will pity them or it will affect their business or job. If you lose your job, and therefore your healthcare, while having a serious illness- well, that sucks. So i guess I understand why some people choose to keep it a secret.
            Mary Elizabeth Williams opens the article with a statement about just a seemily normal guy, who turns out to have cancer, but be keeping his illness a secret. She writes, "If a potential client’s choice comes down to the healthy 30-year-old and the middle-aged man with a tumor, well, who would you choose? So he presses on in secret, cleverly arranging his business schedule around doctor visits and scans. He’s in the cancer closet." (Williams 1). And so begins the sickness closet idea. She uses a lot of real life example of people who choose to keep their diagnosis as a secret, or make it public. She also includes quotes from them to explain their reasoning. I think that is an effective strategy because it allows the reader to identify with their personal issues. She also uses some striking imagery and statements. She writes, "And Ginger notes that even in this day and age, when you can’t swing a cat without hitting a LIVESTRONG bracelet, “There’s such a death sentence that people put on cancer.” The reality of illness is that there are plenty of days when you’re going through the rigors of treatment and its side effects, that you just don’t want to be the official spokesperson and explainer for This Is What My Disease Looks Like. (Williams 1). I never really thought about it that way before, and i think its a powerfully true and enlightening statement. Another one that caught my attention is, "There are other reasons beyond the fear of career repercussions for keeping illness a secret. Nobody wants to be viewed as an invalid, or the one who might be circling the drain." (Williams 1).

http://www.salon.com/2012/02/29/the_sickness_closet/singleton/