A woman who beat cancer has revealed that she sometimes lies and pretends she still has the disease in order to get perks at work.
The woman, 19, who will be referred to as the pseudonym Kate throughout the story as she asked to remain anonymous, explained exclusively to DailyMail.com that she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, cancer of thewhite blood cells, in 2020.
Immediately, she said she noticed immense changes in the way that people treated her.
She explained that her classmates gave her more attention, whileteachers were much 'easier' on her.
After undergoing surgery to remove a tumor in her leg, Kate was declared cancer free... but five years on, she has now admitted that she still pretends to have the disease at work to 'get out of things.'
Kate told DailyMail.com during a recent chat that as a kid she often tried to 'stay invisible' because she struggled socially.
But after her cancer diagnosis at age 14, she started receiving immense 'pity and admiration' from her peers.
'It felt nice,' Kate explained. 'When cancer forced me into the spotlight, and all I received was praise, it felt like a kind of power I had always craved.
A woman who beat cancer has revealed that she sometimes lies and pretends she still has the disease in order to get perks at work (stock image)
'I know that sounds bad, but after years of trying to disappear, being seen - really seen - felt different. And I liked it.
'At school, my teachers went easy on me. I was seen as brave, even heroic. The rules didn't seem to apply to me.
'There were times I wished I could get that kind of validation without the cancer diagnosis.'
Kate explained that the idea to lie about having cancer dawned on her after she started working at a fast food chain.
She said she was forced to stand for hours on end and that her'feet were killing her,' so one day, she told her boss she had a 'lump in her neck' and needed to sit.
'As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt butterflies in my stomach. I wasn't sure why I had said it, but there it was,' she recalled.
Now, she said she's lied about being sick in order to 'get out of things four or five times in total.'
'I use it as an escape - whether it's getting out of standing at work or avoiding conflict with a friend,' she confessed.
The womanopened up about her lies on Reddit while asking for advice in a post entitled: I lie about having cancer to get out of things, what do I do?
Her admission launched a massive debate between users, with some fiercely slamming her and others coming to her defense
'I've always taken the easy way out, and I don't really know why. Maybe it's because I was never academically smart, and giving up always felt safer than trying and facing failure.'
She admitted that she feels immensely guilty about it, and that she's kept the lies a secret from everyone in her life.
'I feel humiliated, not because I'm afraid people will see me differently - I know I deserve the consequences - but because I used such a serious, painful disease for my own benefit. And that's something I don't know how to forgive myself for,' Kate shared.
'Not a day goes by where I don't feel like some kind of evil, psychopathic demon.'
She recently opened up about her lies on Reddit while asking for advice in a post entitled: 'I lie about having cancer to get out of things, what do I do?'
'I feel disgusting. I know I've done something awful, and I don't even know why I do it,' Kate wrote in the post.
'I don't want to be this person. I want to apologize to every single person who has truly suffered through this terrible disease because I've taken something so real and painful and twisted it into something for attention.
'I don't know what's wrong with me. Am I a compulsive liar? Am I just a s***ty person? I want to change, but I don't know where to start.
The woman previously battled Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2020 and said the'pity and admiration' she received from her peers was 'nice' (stock image)
'If anyone has advice, I'd be grateful. I just needed to get this off my chest. PLEASE HELP?!'
Kate's admission launched a massive debate between users, with some fiercely slamming her and others coming to her defense.
'Since you're asking, yes, you are a very s***ty person for lying about that,' scathed one user.
'You're starved for attention and validation. You need a psychologist. Go get help,' added another.
'You have a lot of unresolved emotions that need to be worked out,' someone else chimed in.
'Frankly, weaponizing your previous disease is going to get worse and worse until you end up in a situation you can't get out of unless you admit to it.
'Please get therapy and work through your trauma before it gets really out of hand.'
'This is compulsive lying and you are likely a sociopath. Seek therapy,' a fourth comment read.
'I lost my mom to cancer in a quick, cruel manner. I have no sympathy for people who lie about having it.'
Despite the hate, Kate told DailyMail.com that she decided to post her story publicly because she felt like 'someone might relate to the message she's trying to share.'
'Maybe not the lying part, but the feelings of invisibility and what it's like to go through cancer at such a young age,' she explained.
