Finally told mom
Zelda : Zach recently started letting people know about his diagnosis. It began with low-stakes conversations, and sometimes offhand remarks, with folks we don’t know well or don't socialize with often. He told a neighbor, then another. He even mentioned it to a clerk when we were checking out at the grocery store. I felt like he was testing the waters; trying different ways to share the news, comparing reactions, and maybe building up his courage to tell his family. I had theories about why Zach didn’t want to tell anyone: If he did, it would be like giving in to cancer: Admitting he had this problem no one could solve. Or worse, opening himself up to pity, or people telling him what they thought he should do. Zach has always hated being told what to do. At the same time, I knew he was tired of hiding the diagnosis from his mom—telling her everything was fine, when clearly, it was not. He wasn’t exactly lying, but it was a charade, and it was getting harder to keep up the performa...