The author's complaint is about an entirely self-imposed nonsense barrier.

>When people asked how you were doing, no one expected you to say “Fine.” Instead, they asked, “How are you holding up?” and you’d answer, “Well, you know.”

So what? Maybe it's because I've spent my life in careers where performance can be measured (even badly), but I haven't since high school felt pressure to exaggerate beyond "alright" or the classic "it's going".

I mean, sometimes I am actually in a good mood. I must be crazy. I'm sitting here waiting for a bleomycin infusion and I just told the nurse I had a good weekend. How inconceivable! Just two days ago I could barely eat dinner! What right do I have to be happy?

Good news: typing this made me laugh, a little. It was worth it.