Khandro....I agree about a get well card.....no reply needed, but an email is different.....it is like a letter.
There is illnesses and there are illnesses.If you have cancer one is not necessarily at death's door, in fact the majority are not and hence no excuse from not replying to an email.However those who may be drowsy, due to drug therapy etc one would not criticise a non response.
Sometimes people can't get their heads around the fact that they have cancer. We frequenty refer patients to the Pyscholigist for counselling. Additionally chemotherapy is extremely cytotoxic and really can knock the stuffing out of people and even cause life-threatening neutropaenic sepsis which requires urgent admission.
Your friends may not be in a position to reply for a whole host of reasons. To withdraw moral support for a lack of replies is very harsh, JJ.
When folk are feeling unwell or low it is not at all unusual for them to shut themselves away. To receive emails is nice, insofar as it's nice to know you are being thought of. However, to feel obliged to respond to each and every one is onerous and just adds to their stress levels.
I am surprised that you cannot see this JJ given your own health issues. Perhaps you should back off with the me-me-me attitude and accept that your friends just don't feel up to responding according to your expectations, no need not to drop them a line though.
Eccles has said something meaningful and you should note it - It's important to send messages in, JJ, and if I was standing in your shoes, I wouldn't expect anything back from my addressees - when a response does come through, that's good, sure. And if you can help pass on a little humour/sunshine, that's even better.