History Main / SecretlyDying

* Birds will do this, both in the wild and in captivity. Predators are more likely to target a sick bird, and as a result, in social species the flock will abandon any sick members. So to prevent this, sick birds will hide their own illness for as long as possible. Even when an owner knows the symptoms to watch for, their pet might not show any of them until it's gravely ill. And for an owner who doesn't know the symptoms, their pet may seem to be perfectly fine one day, then drop dead the next.

* ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles:'' [[spoiler: Iris has brain cancer; she's not expected to live more than a year without an insurmountably expensive surgery. She hasn't told any of her closest friends about it, and makes excuses or tries to change the subject whenever her friends notice symptoms like nausea and hand tremors. Thankfully in the GoldenEnding, she receives the aforementioned life-saving treatment and is healthy by the end, even reappearing in the sequel.]]

[[folder:Film]]

* Cloud Strife, in ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'', hides the fact that he is infected with terminal geostigma from his family and friends.
* Tony Stark in ''Film/IronMan2'' realizes that the Arc Reactor in his chest, which was supposed to keep him alive, is slowly poisoning him. He prepares for his death by handing control of his company to [[GirlFriday Pepper]] and undergoes a public, [[DrowningMySorrows alcohol-fueled]] [[HeroicBSOD breakdown]]. It even turns out the suit James Rhodes managed to "steal" from him had been pre-programmed by Stark to allow Rhodes to pilot it.
* At the end of ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'', Cheyenne reveals that he's bleeding out from a gut-shot. He asks Harmonica to get him out of sight from the new town before he keels over.
* In ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', Shaun's mum doesn't let anyone see her zombie bite to avoid worrying anyone. This leads to the movie's biggest TearJerker when Shaun has to kill her when she turns.

* {{Inverted}} in ''Film/LoveStory'': when the doctor finds out that the protagonist's wife is dying from cancer, he tells him, but not her. The protagonist does his best to keep it from her, but eventually she learns about it anyway.

* Madame Armande in ''Film/{{Chocolat}}''.
* ''Theatre/BreakingTheCode'' (1996). UsefulNotes/AlanTuring is called before Bletchley Park manager Dilly Knox because his overt homosexuality is upsetting his co-workers. Knox tries to convince Turing that discretion is not only appropriate but kinder to his friends.
-->'''Knox:''' Supposing I said that I'm mortally ill and that I've only a year or so to live. Supposing I'd broken down and wept. Supposing I'd opened my heart to you, and said that I have no wish to die; that I am frightened and in despair. (laughs) Well, I can't believe that you'd welcome such a disclosure, finding it distressing, and embarrassing -- somewhat inconsiderate. And so, having regard for your feelings as well as my own, it would seem to be both correct and appropriate to... [[StiffUpperLip moderate my response]].
-->'''Turing:''' (quietly) Are you dying? (Knox ignores the question[[note]]Dilly Knox died in 1943 of lymph cancer.[[/note]])
* ''Film/PacificRim'': [[FourStarBadass Marshal Stacker Pentecost]] is dying from radiation poisoning due to Mark 1 Jaegers not having proper internal shielding to protect the pilots from the nuclear reactors. Thus, he was slowly poisoned every time he went into combat. He keeps this a secret and secretly takes medicine to control his symptoms to keep the morale of his men.

* The titular protagonist of ''Animation/LeafieAHenIntoTheWild'' is slowly dying for much of the latter half of the film. She lives in a marsh with her adopted duckling son despite being a chicken. The environment is not suitable for a domesticated hen. By autumn, Leafie's feathers are messy, she's overly skinny, and she is weak. She keeps it from her son nevertheless. [[spoiler:Leafie doesn't die of natural causes. She [[HeroicSacrifice lets herself be eaten]] by the one-eyed weasel so she can produce milk to feed her newborn kits]].
* This kickstarts the plot of ''Film/AdviseAndConsent''. The President is dying and, since he has no faith in his Vice President to lead, he nominates a headstrong ex-communist to be Secretary of State to carry out his foreign policy once he dies. The only people who know he's dying are the Senate Majority Leader, who is a close friend, and the Vice President, who figures it out on his own.
* ''{{Film/Clara}}'': It turns out that Clara has an autoimmune disease from which she's dying. We see her taking medication early in the film, but she's later hospitalized and dies there. She kept this from Isaac, who didn't realize it until a friend pointed this out.
* No one at Film/TheBestExoticMarigoldHotel is aware that [[spoiler:Graham]] is dying from a pre-existing heart condition until after he dies.
* In ''Film/TheGiantBehemoth'', even before it’s killed by the military, the ''Paleosaurus'' (a large, sauropod-like aquatic dinosaur) turns out to be terminally ill with radiation sickness.

* The protagonist Jim in ''Film/DateWithAnAngel'' is taking fistfuls of aspirin all through the movie. He's dying of an undiagnosed brain tumor. In the director's commentary, he says that this actually happened to a friend of his.
* ''Film/WarforthePlanetoftheApes'': During the last act of the film, [[BigGood Caesar]] is mortally wounded from a crossbow while saving his people from the humans. He staves off dying through sheer unadulterated determination to see his people safe for many days, only passing away when they finally reach a safe place to call home.
* In ''Film/KamenRiderTheFirst'', it is revealed that most Shocker Inhumanoids require regular blood transfusions to stay alive. While Takeshi Hongo is an exception to the rule, Hayato Ichimonji is this trope as of ''Film/KamenRiderTheNext'', [[spoiler:and the Director's Cut shows his death at the very end.]]

* Painter [[Series/TheJoyOfPainting Bob Ross]] died on July 4th, 1995 of complications from Lymphoma. Until his death, his diagnosis was not known to anyone outside of his family and the staff of his TV show.
* Designer Virgil Abloh (of Off-White and Louis Vuitton fame) hid 2019 his cancer diagnosis from all but his family until his death in December 2021.

* Arran takes over for [[CrutchCharacter Jagen]] as the CrutchCharacter in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'' and its remake, ''New Mystery of the Emblem''. His stats and poor growths are explained as [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration that he is really sick]], and he reveals in the ending that [[IllGirl his illness is fatal]], but he wants to go down fighting with Marth [[spoiler: to atone for his past, where he helped slay rebellious peasants under orders of his cruel former lord]]. The epilogue even [[ShaggyDogStory says he died shortly after the war]].

* Painter Bob Ross died on July 4th, 1995 of complications from Lymphoma. Until his death, his diagnosis was not known to anyone outside of his family and the staff of his TV show.

* ''FanFic/MeanTimeToBreakdown'': Iwanako remembers that in fifth grade she bullied a girl for wearing a hat in class when it was against the rules. It turns out that the girl was going through chemotherapy for cancer and she died later that year.

* ''Fanfic/HisLieInApril'': ''Main/WordOfGod'' states that Kousei's [[spoiler:ailment was the very deadly brain disorder known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; as a result of this, Kousei mental capabilities diminish to the point where he can no longer speak, see, or remember his name. This is explicitly stated in the Director's Cut of the story. Kousei hides his real intentions to his friends as things worsen for him, keeping them to himself.]]

* Arran takes over for [[CrutchCharacter Jagen]] as the CrutchCharacter in [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Fire Emblem book two and Fire Emblem 12]]. His stats and poor growths are explained as [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration that he is really sick]], and he reveals in the ending that [[IllGirl his illness is fatal]], but he wants to go down fighting with Marth [[spoiler: to atone for his past, where he helped slay rebellious peasants under orders of his cruel former lord]]. The epilogue even [[ShaggyDogStory says he died shortly after the war]].

* [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfFrance French president]] François Mitterrand was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1981 a few months after being elected. He managed to hide it for eleven years since it would have hampered him politically, especially with the 1988 presidential election, which got him reelected. His illness was revealed in 1992; he then died on January 1, 1996, a few months after finishing his second term.

* [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfFrance French president]] François Mitterrand was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1981 a few months after being elected. He managed to hide it for eleven years since it would have hampered him politically, specially with the 1988 presidential election, which he won. His illness was revealed in 1992; he then died on January 1, 1996, a few months after finishing his second term.

* The reason why Creator/ChadwickBoseman's death in August 2020 from Stage IV colon cancer came as a great shock to the public is because nobody outside of his family knew he was even sick in the first place. He had battled the disease for ''four years'', all while making some of his best-known films.

* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': Shortly after being curb-stomped by Yusuke [[spoiler:in his Mazoku-based form]], Sensui (the BigBad of the Chapter Black StoryArc) is revealed by Itsuki to have battled against an incurable illness, and the reason he wanted to open the gateway to the Makai was to find and fight against a very strong WorthyOpponent capable of killing him (namely a Class S entity) before his illness did.[[labelnote:note (SPOILERS)]]By that point, Yusuke's friends (Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara) have achieved that level, but it's Yusuke himself under the unapproved control of his still-living demonic ancestor Raizen who defeats him.[[/labelnote]] The villain's wish is technically fulfilled as he dies post-battle, and Itsuki preserves his body so his soul doesn't face punishment in the Spirit Realm, but the ''means'' of the conflict's end is why Yusuke remains furious until after the end of the season.

* Creator/BillHicks never told anyone but his doctors that he had cancer until he died from it, just weeks after his last live performance.

* Similarly, UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy was much sicker than he ever let on as President. He had been chronically ill since childhood, but his health problems really snowballed as an adult. His bad back that he got from an injury playing football in college, then exacerbated in the Navy was common knowledge, but everything else was largely a secret. An opposition research operation found out about his hormonal disorder, Addison's Disease, but his campaign put out an accurate albeit misleading statement that [[ExactWords he didn't have Addison's stemming from tuberculosis]]. He suffered from (in no particular order): terrible allergies, digestive issues, persistent urinary tract infections, recurring bacterial abscesses, and high cholesterol on top of his hormonal and back problems. As President, he was on antidepressants, steroids, antihistamines, pain killers, stimulants, various antibiotics, and hormone replacement together at any given time. Of course, we will never know what would have happened to him had he not been assassinated, but it’s not hard to imagine him not being long for the world.

* Japanese actor Creator/KenjiUshio was invited to appear at the 32th Japan SF Convention in 1993, but suffered an incident in his hotel room related to illness on the night before the event. Despite this, he went on to appear at the convention anyway while hiding his illness and later passed away less than one month after the convention.

* Subverted with Creator/WillieGarson. Whereas his family knew about his terminal pancreatic cancer, according to interviews with the cast of ''Series/AndJustLikeThat'', the only other person who knew that he was dying was his co-star and good friend Creator/SarahJessicaParker (and which makes the scenes of [[spoiler:Big's funeral]] all the more heartbreaking).

* Designer Virgil Abloh (of Off-White and Louis Vuitton fame) hid 2019 his cancer diagnosis from all but his family until his death in December of 2021.

* Designer Virgil Abloh (of Off-White and Louis Vuitton fame) hid 2019 his cancer diagnosis from all but his family until his death in December of 2021.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Relayer}}'', [[spoiler:[[TheHero Terra]] is the result of the Will of the Earth granting a new personality to a girl rendered brain-dead by the experiments conducted on her. While this version of Terra lives for two or three years, that brain damage didn't just go away and begins to take away her senses and body functions during the final arc. She dies in the epilogue.]]

* In ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'', GenkiGirl and MysteriousWaif Iris says early on in the game that she's going to die soon but quickly plays it off as a joke. In certain [[JigsawPuzzlePlot routes]], it's revealed that [[spoiler: she has terminal brain cancer and has a few months to live, at most.]]

* In ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'', GenkiGirl and MysteriousWaif Iris says early on in the game that she's going to die soon but quickly plays it off as a joke. In certain [[StoryBranching routes]], it's revealed that [[spoiler: she has terminal brain cancer and has a few months to live, at most.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'':

** In ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' this is revealed to be the case with [[spoiler: Nagito Komaeda]]. While it's never revealed in the main story, going through his Free Time Events reveals that [[spoiler: Nagito was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma and frontotemporal dementia right before he was accepted into Hope's Peak Academy and has around a year and a half left to live. May or may not be subverted as he appears alive and well in ''VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls'' and ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'' but this may be due to [[BornLucky his]] [[BornUnlucky luck]] keeping him alive past his life expectancy.]]