100LittleButterflies

Ummmm... How is a colonoscopy elective? I mean if you're into that, sure. But this seems like an important diagnostic.

So if OP put something up his butt, would he have gotten that colonoscopy faster?

Have any of them seemed to be trying to provide a painless death to terminal patients?

This has been a big issue for me. My grampa recently died from cancer. He had to suffer a slow and painful death that he should not have had to. Now my grandma has advanced dementia. She is drugged to the gills to keep her calm. There are no lucid moments. She lives entirely in the moment and is more of an emotional reflection of what's happening around her than an autonomous sentient human. It's so painful to see her like that, constantly terrified and angry. People on death row get a more humane death.

People want to be able to share the pain they've survived without lying or hurting people around them.

Being able to simply say you're a widow allows people to understand what you've had and been through without forcing your to say more than one simple word.

But I completely agree. Set your own boundaries and if a question is too much you don't have to answer it. In this case it sounds like this couple does want to share but not in depth and there's no term to allow them that.