We say: So sorry to hear you've got cancer... a lot of people seem to have it these days... I've got an uncle who has it, in the colon, and a friend, she's got breast cancer, and...
We mean: Well of course I'm sympathetic - what made you think I wasn't? But one doesn't want to dwell on bad news, does one?
What is says about us: My conversation is triggered by key words. If you'd been burgled, for example, I would have told you about the time I was burgled, and when it happened to my Mum, and...
-oOo-