Why pony "cancer"?

[angel_rose]

I was never bothered by it until I got breast cancer. Now it bothers me slightly. I'm not really sure why but I think it's just the word "cancer" that bothers me. I guess I'd rather not have something so depressing associated with ponies. But you can't get away from the word no matter what.

[elvenwine26]

I think you're being oversensitive but that's just me.  If it bothers you to refer to it as that, you can always call it smooze or mold, age spots, whatever.  Plastic breakdown is a bit of a mouthful imo.

[InkyMilk]

Thank you for explaining it with those examples hathorcat, I appreciate it. I do know I've read the word in similar sorts of contexts before it hasn't bothered me, so I can see how the word can be used in other words unrelated to the diseases that instantly pop into mind.

I'm not asking people to suddenly change the term and I'm not stamping my foot and throwing a tantrum here, so I don't really like other folks here making me feel like I'm the first or only person who has wondered or thought about this.

[elvenwine26]

ah It's cool.  Everyone has the right to feel differently about different things.  But you did ask if we thought you were being overly sensitive.  Naturally the response will be different from person to person.   Sometimes people have negative association with words.  Like I can't stand the word/name Gizmo or my friend dislikes the word "meal", and you don't care for "cancer."

[hathorcat]

@InkyMilk - no problem we all have to ask questions otherwise this forum would be rather quiet

[InkyMilk]

ah It's cool.  Everyone has the right to feel differently about different things.  But you did ask if we thought you were being overly sensitive.  Naturally the response will be different from person to person.   Sometimes people have negative association with words.  Like I can't stand the word/name Gizmo or my friend dislikes the word "meal", and you don't care for "cancer."

Actually, I asked if I was maybe not interpreting the word correctly, not if I thought other people think I'm oversensitive or not. I said, 'maybe I'm being oversensitive', which to me, isn't an invitation for other people to give me their opinion on it. All I wanted to know was where the term came from and why people did or didn't think it was appropriate. I'm glad for hathorcat's post since I can now see the word in a bit of a different context than what I originally thought and it makes a little more sense, and I'm also glad I can use the term age spots instead to mean the exact same thing in a way that, to me, doesn't feel like it's trivializing a serious and deadly disease.

[ashes]

No worries InkyMilk - it is always good to ask questions and find out more about terms and such.  I admit that until this thread I never gave the term much thought.

[elvenwine26]

Different people different interpretations.

[will2Bfree]

...I guess I'd rather not have something so depressing associated with ponies. ...

I think that's a really good reason.

@InkyMilk - You're not alone, and I've definitely seen people mention being uncomfortable with it before, so you're not the first, either.

Like I said, it doesn't really bother me anymore, but that probably wouldn't be the case if I actually found out I had cancer. I've been aware of the other uses for the word long before I became a member here, so it's not ignorance that made me shy away from the way it was trivially thrown around here, either. It's since become a part of my pony vocabulary, but I did feel bad using it at first. I'll probably keep using it for now, because it is the generally accepted term and I've become used to it, but I do feel bad for those it offends. I'm usually not a very PC person, in fact, in a lot of cases I'm actually rather anti-PC, but everybody has their hang-ups and I think personal experiences can play a big part.

[partypony566]

Ive never heard anyone offended by it either. And it's certainly not meant to trivialise the actual disease.

It's not meant as insensitive to anyone that has lost people through cancer.

It's based on the fact that it's nasty, and spreads and cannot be cured, that's it.

[will2Bfree]

Ive never heard anyone offended by it either. And it's certainly not meant to trivialise the actual disease.

It's not meant as insensitive to anyone that has lost people through cancer.

It's based on the fact that it's nasty, and spreads and cannot be cured, that's it.

Nobody said it was meant to. Intentions aren't always the outcome.

I know I've seen another post about this, but I don't know who started it. I might have to go dig it up if I get some spare time.

[tsark35]

After reading over this thread, actually, I must admit, I'm coming to prefer the term "age marks" myself. It....well, it just sounds better than "pony cancer," to my ears.

[Like A Tea Spoon]

The term never bothered me, having lost a few people in my life to cancer, I just see it as a term or condition. It's an ugly word for an ugly illness but I seriously doubt the term was made to insult or hurt anyone. It's not like we make lightly a very serious illness by tying it to a plastic toy's condition.

If you don't like the word, use a different one... though people may just bring up "cancer" because it's more widely used in this hobby.

I believe one reason cancer was used to describe an issue with these plastic ponies, is because the word/term fits the issue as some people have pointed out all ready.

[Lyra]

I have always felt  like that about the term too; even though the word cancer obviously has different meanings, my mind always goes to the most obvious first. I know a lot of people agree with you!

[tulagirl]

I have not really given this much thought, but I can see how this might really bother some and if it does I would think you could just call it something else.