Why are we in hiding?

When I was bald, I often asked myself who I was covering my head for when I was out in public? Was it for me? Was it because I didn't want people to know my business? Was it so people didn't feel sorry for me? Was it to be less confronting for other people? Now that I am down the track a bit I see that however I appeared, I still looked like someone with cancer, and I wish I had the courage to at times be the public face of cancer, to show that yes I have cancer but hey look I can still do the grocery shopping! I feel the same ambivalence after my mastectomy, whether it is something I should hide (which brings associated feelings of shame) or something which, if visible, might give courage and solace to someone else in the same situation. I also realize now that just because someone looks at you, doesn't mean there is negative judgement associated with that. Because now, I am the person looking, and all I feel when I see soemone who looks like I did 2 years ago is empathy. We all do things for a combination of reasons, both personal and public, otherwise we'd be doing the shopping in our pj's picking our nose, and screaming like a harridan at the slow person in front of us. Or was that just me this morning in coles....