A cancer survivor is detailing the loneliness she felt after two close family members ghosted her after learning of her breast cancer diagnosis.
Ashley Levinson, from New Jersey, was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma last summer. After starting chemotherapy in August 2023 and undergoing a double mastectomy in January 2024, she’s now in the final stages of her treatment journey.
“I can say a little over a year later that I am now cancer-free,” she told ABC News.
However, Levinson, 53, explained that her happy health update feels bittersweet — she always assumed she would celebrate the news with her closest relatives. More than a year has passed since she has spoken to them because they cut ties after learning of her diagnosis.
“They both acknowledged that I had cancer, but that was about it,” she explained. “It was really a punch to the gut when the people I thought were my core people weren’t there for me.”
Levinson was on the receiving end of what experts call “cancer ghosting,” which is a surprisingly common experience among patients. The term describes when friends, family or loved ones of a person with cancer either stop communicating with them or become distant and have little communication.
Dr. Monique James, a New York-based psychiatrist with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told the outlet that cancer ghosting amplifies the sense of loneliness that patients often feel after their diagnosis.
As for why people would do this to their friends or family members, James explained that it’s often a response to their past experiences with someone who had cancer. It can be a self-protective mechanism because they fear the future. But, she says, it’s hurtful for the person going through cancer now.
For people tempted to ghost a loved one with cancer, James recommends trying to focus on the present, listen to those who were diagnosed and let them know that you’re there for them in some way.
Levinson told ABC that having that kind of support from her loved ones would have made a big difference throughout her breast cancer treatment.
“Maybe they felt ignoring it would make it go away. But as we all know, cancer does not go away on its own and it really does require a small army,” she said. “There are days where you feel like you can’t take another step and sometimes hearing from that person or hearing a kind word gives you the ability to take that step that you need.”
