In this blog post, we hear from Arvinth! His #OneWordForCancer for World Cancer Day 2026 is ‘fear’. Here’s why…
Fear
Fear is the word I’ve chosen because it’s something that almost everyone affected by cancer recognises.
It shows up early. It doesn’t rest. And for many people, it doesn’t disappear just because treatment ends and life is supposed to go back to normal.
Fear is often described as something to overcome, or something you’re meant to get past. But fear doesn’t simply go away and it doesn’t need to in order for life to continue.
Feeling afraid is normal. It’s human. It makes sense.
What we don’t talk about as much is what fear can’t take from you.
Cancer has a way of stripping things back. It can take certainty, comfort, and any sense of control you thought you had. It can change how you see the future and the person you thought you were becoming.
But even in all of that, there is something fear cannot take away.
It can’t control how you respond.
It can’t control how you choose to feel.
Those things still belong to you, even when everything else feels uncertain.
Strength isn’t the absence of fear. It’s what you do while fear is there.
Fear follows you into hospital rooms, into waiting for results, into conversations you never expected to have. Sometimes it’s loud. Other times it sits quietly in the background of everyday life.
And yet, alongside that fear, people continue.
They get out of bed.
They turn up to appointments.
They sit in waiting rooms.
They pause when they need to.
They push forward when they can.
That might not feel like strength when you’re living it but it is.
None of this happens without fear. It happens with it.
Fear doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re facing something that matters.
And every time you keep going while feeling afraid, you’re making a choice, even if it doesn’t feel like one at the time.
That’s why I chose the word fear.
Because fear isn’t the opposite of strength. Often, it’s where strength shows itself most clearly.
If you’re feeling fear right now, this is what I’d want you to know: fear can take many things, but it can’t take your ability to decide how you meet each moment.
And continuing, in whatever way you can, is already enough.
Click HERE to find out more about World Cancer Day 2026 at Shine. 🌎🧡
If you’d like to support #OneWordForCancer, share a selfie with our poster and a word that reflects your experience. Be sure to tag us or share with fundraising@shinecancersupport.org so we can add you to our gallery!
