Hi fairyslipper!
I, too, survived cancer! (ovarian, two years ago) The look on the cancer specialist's face as I was wheeled into surgery told me my odds were not good at all. It was a bad bad time and the following year was far from pleasant. But for some unknown reason, it had not metastasized and after surgery I had a good prognosis that turned out to be true! Like you, I have made changes in my life to keep cancer at bay. And, like you, I love talking about having survived cancer!

Happy anniversary to you!

People who have not been so close to the edge just do not want to contemplate the edge at all. S.Cat and Rain are right about that. But like you, I also enjoy talking about my unexpected survival. I try to frame it as, "Isn't it wonderful! I am so totally cured from cancer! It's so wonderful to be alive!", but of course that does not always go over real well.
For me the difference is that people react so much more mildly to an announcement of previous cancer than to an announcement of CPTSD with previous homelessness and stays on the psych ward. The amount of sympathy I thought I received regarding cancer was many many times greater than what I had received for the CPTSD. The contrast made telling people about the cancer seem to be eliciting warmth and sympathy.
Have you been able to find a good site for cancer sufferers and survivors? It's easier to find sympathy and celebration among people like ourselves, with similar experiences (just as this OOTS site is such a blessing for those of us with cptsd).
FWIW, my own experience with cancer woke me up to parts of life that CPTSD had weakened in me. The influx of sympathy brought me a renewed appreciation for human company, however imperfect. Looking at death gave me a new appreciation for life even though I was someone who had been suicidal for many years, and actually did it attempt it a couple of times. The "shame" of cancer, compared to what I endured with CPTSD, was pretty much nonexistent for me.
All the crying I did when I had to give up my dog when I became too sick to care for her did help me learn that lots of crying could actually lead me to finally finding it therapeutic to cry. (I did get my beloved dog back right after the surgery.) And I was strongly impelled to take care of my health, not wanting to ever see that sad look again on my dog's face! I realized that even I, isolated hermit that I was, even I had someone whose happiness mattered more to me than my own!
So for me there have been many gifts. I am much healthier and happier now, because of my cancer experiences.
(And I cannot even begin to tell you how HAPPY I am to have HAIR again !!! after all that nasty nasty chemo! Some people look fine bald, but not me! And I was so surprised that it mattered so much to me. I learned that being bald is a lot worse than having too-thick hair that grows like crabgrass and takes forever to blow-dry!)
So let's you and me party down and celebrate your ninth and my second anniversary of LIFE!!!
