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BY DR. GLENN MOLLETTE

Some people want you to know when they have a cold, bad hair day, gout or hemorrhoid flare ups. Many of us have seen pictures of wounds, sores, legs in casts, people on ventilators and much more. Many of us have seen a lot of dead bodies on social media. Numerous funerals of people you may have known have appeared on social media. 

Maybe this works out for people who can’t attend the funeral. I’m not being critical. If this works for the family, then it’s no one else’s business. If the deceased person was a private kind of person and would not have appreciated such a public display, then the family should honor the deceased ‘s wishes and disposition. 

Some folks are more private. Take for example Catherine Middleton, Princess of Wales who is married to Prince William, apparent heir to the throne of England. She has been diagnosed with cancer. Anyone diagnosed with cancer knows it’s a mental punch in the gut. The media has gone overboard harassing her about being more public about all the details and going on with  life as the British Press and perhaps some of the public expect.

King Charles was diagnosed with cancer. He had a procedure done. We probably don’t really know for certain the state of his health, but he is working and giving an overall impression that he is OK. His health will always be in the news. 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hid his cancer diagnosis for a while and his non-disclosure was not received well by fellow government officials or the general public. What if there had been some kind of national defense crisis? I concur that The White House and his fellow chiefs of staff needed to be on full alert because of the nature of his job. However, did his health crisis need to be in the news? 

What if Joe Biden really does have some form of dementia? Would we be told at this stage of the Presidential campaign, and do we have the right to know? Would you vote for him if such a diagnosis were made public? What if Donald Trump had a health issue that became public?  Would this impact your vote? 

There are times when it’s best to simply let it all hang out. If you have a problem, then simply say what it is and move forward, right? It’s never that easy because people always want to know more. They want to know what the doctor is saying. They want to know how often you have to go to the doctor. They want to know what medicine you are taking and how often you take the medicine. They want to know if you are feeling better or feeling worse, and what is the long-term prognosis? They want to know how it makes you think, talk, walk, and feel. It seems like it’s never enough. 

I lean toward the side of privacy. I believe a health issue is between a person and his or her doctor. Every individual deserves the right to either disclose their sickness or suffer with it privately. Most of the time people tell what they feel they need to tell. Many people want to tell it all and it helps them to work through the situation. That is OK. Many others don’t want the hassle of having to rehash their illness over and over again. They don’t want their illness to define their lives. That is also OK.

If it is impacting your job, regardless of whether it’s being The President of the United States or a delivery person for Uber, then you have a responsibility to let others know and then move forward accordingly. Sometimes this means giving up a job. Often it may mean gaining support from others who will support you a hundred percent because they respect your honesty, work ethic, and integrity. 

On some level we all have or will face this in life. May God help each of us as we all handle life differently and try to be understanding of those who do not necessarily respond to such life challenges as we think they should.

(Glenn Mollette’s column is published in over 600 newspapers in all 50 states.)