I got cancer and now everyone suddenly wants to hang out

I’ve barely ever been invited to anything, and now that I’ve got cancer, people won’t leave me alone. It feels weird and honestly a little painful.

I’m still the same person I was a few weeks ago. Same job, same personality, same everything. But I was never the “popular” one. I didn’t get invited to after-work stuff. No one really made an effort to connect outside of meetings or group chats. And now? My phone’s blowing up.

People I barely spoke to at work are suddenly texting, asking if I want to grab a coffee or go for a walk. One coworker who lives just down the street—who has never reached out before—is now messaging me every other day.

I know I should probably just take it as a sign that they care. And maybe they do. But something about it feels… off. Like part of them is just curious. Like I’ve become some kind of emotional project or gossip topic.

I don’t want to be ungrateful. Some of the attention is nice. But it also makes me feel like I had to get sick for people to even notice I was here. And that hurts more than I thought it would.

Has anyone else experienced this? It’s like I went from invisible to “interesting” overnight. I’m trying to stay positive, but there’s this voice in the back of my head asking: Would they even care if I wasn’t sick?