What’s the hardest thing you ever had to say to someone?

I had to tell my mom she had cancer. She told me she had gotten a biopsy done and had a follow up appointment in a week. We chatted about it a bit and she said she already got the results back, but wasn’t sure if she understood them. I asked to see, like an idiot.

I stared. I googled to make sure. Stared some more.

She took it well. I think she knew what it said but needed confirmation. My dad took it less well, which is understandable, because you don’t really expect “oh uh, mom, I think you have cancer” on a random Tuesday evening.

They caught it early, so she’s fine now except for some chronic pain. But I wish I hadn’t put myself in that position. It didn’t change anything, just made the wait for the appointment worse.

/r/AskReddit Thread