DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a 58-year-old woman who looks much younger than I am, slim and fit thanks to decades of working out. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with a cluster of autoimmune disorders, among them alopecia. Within 18 months, I lost all my hair.

I wasn’t going to let that stop me from going to the gym. After my workout, I typically wrap my head in a towel when in transit to and from the shower. After I dress, I remove it and put on my wig, in full view of whoever is in the area.

Most of the women in the locker room have supported me through my hair loss. However, every few months I have an encounter like this recent one: A woman in her mid-40s, whom I had never seen before, asked me if I was in treatment. (I had just gotten out of the shower and was only wearing a towel, which is an odd moment to start a conversation.) I told her I was in treatment, but I didn’t have cancer. This was followed by a barrage of questions: “What do you have? How long have you had it? Will your hair grow back? Is it grave?” She even asked me if I lost my pubic hair.

Then she launched into a monologue about her breast cancer, her mastectomy, chemo, and her own hair loss and regrowth. I tried several times to politely end the conversation and get dressed, but she was relentless.

This is the sixth or seventh time this has happened to me. It is always cancer survivors who are looking to bond. While I appreciate what survivors went through, I find it upsetting to be expected to participate in an impromptu support group.

I am a very private person. I don’t participate in alopecia groups, let alone support groups for a disease I don’t have.

Autoimmune issues can be exacerbated by stress, and I find these encounters extremely stressful and intrusive. I would never approach anyone about their medical issues. I am at a loss as to how to prevent this from happening, or at least to quickly terminate these conversations. Hasn’t anyone heard of HIPAA?

GENTLE READER: Your reference to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act caught Miss Manners’ attention -- not because she pretends to be a lawyer, but because it reminds her of the current swirl of contradictions around privacy.

Consumers are rightly concerned about companies using data about them captured online, while simultaneously inundating social media sites with confessions that used to be considered private. HIPAA demands confidentiality of persons who handle medical information in their professional capacities, not private individuals seeking emotional support for their medical conditions.

Your shower inquisitor may have remembered her doctor’s advice that social support can help in managing serious illness, and therefore mistakenly felt deputized in imposing on you an unasked-for, and unwelcome, shower support group.

The solution, when your polite attempts to end the conversation have failed, is a firm “Excuse me, I have no experience with cancer.”

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: It is my understanding that when walking on a sidewalk, one should walk on the right side of the path. And now, with the requirement for social distancing, couples or groups should walk single-file when passing others coming in the opposite direction to allow for a 6-foot clearance, if possible. What is the proper response when people either don’t understand this or choose to ignore it? I often find myself stepping off the sidewalk and into the street or a driveway in order to avoid these people. Other than glaring at them as they pass, is there a proper way to inform them?

GENTLE READER: Not having the power to lock people up, etiquette can seldom guarantee that you will change another person’s behavior -- only that you will have made every effort short of rudeness or force.

This is why governments get involved in pandemics. Miss Manners assures you that crossing the street to avoid someone, stepping onto a driveway and waiting, or stepping into the street -- presuming that you are not putting yourself in even more imminent danger -- will make your point. The glare is optional.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My son is 19 years old and eats like he’s a 6-year-old. He uses his hands and eats very quickly. How do I nicely tell him to slow down and eat with more manners and couth?

GENTLE READER: Teaching table manners is high on the list of parental responsibilities, so it concerns Miss Manners that you have only interested yourself in the problem at this late date.

But she is encouraged that you were on track at one point, since 6-year-old eating habits differ from those of infants.

It is time for a serious talk -- two, actually: you with your son, and Miss Manners with you. Explain to your son that when he goes out into the world, people will judge him by his behavior, not just his good heart. It is therefore time to work on his table manners. This will be more convincing if you can demonstrate and correct, rather than merely observe.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When someone sends out an email invitation to multiple people, how should you respond? Just to the person who sent it, or “reply to all”? I usually respond to all, but I’m wondering if this has been rude.

GENTLE READER: In sending a single invitation to multiple people, your host obscured the nature of the communication, which was a series of separate invitations to individual people; etiquette sees no direct connection between the invitation to Mary and the one to Bob. The proper response by the guest is therefore to the host, not the entire list.

Miss Manners recognizes that this means that Mary -- who, after the divorce, has stopped attending parties at which Bob will be present -- will have to find some other means of divining his location. But it cuts down on a great deal of unnecessary email, an outcome she recognizes as beneficial even if she is not as passionate about extraneous email as some of her Gentle Readers.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I have built a new home to accommodate the special needs of our disabled adult daughter, who lives with us. The building project, and then the move itself, did not go smoothly at all! Murphy’s Law has been at play.

On the rainy day we finally moved in, several neighbors personally appeared over the course of the afternoon to bring tokens of welcome, including holiday goodies and even a plant. It was all very kind and very much appreciated.

Getting settled continues to be a huge struggle. Between caring for our daughter around the clock and unpacking while dealing with unexpected leaks and similar mishaps, I am an exhausted, nervous wreck. I have not even begun to unpack my desk, pens or stationery.

In these circumstances, am I expected to write thank-you notes for the welcome gifts? I’d really like to, but have no idea when I may have the time, energy or wherewithal to figure out the neighbors’ names and addresses, and find notecards and stamps, etc.

Is there a requirement or deadline for such things? I am truly very appreciative, but also a wreck.

GENTLE READER: And therefore you are fortunate to have such good neighbors, on whose kindness you may have occasion to depend.

Miss Manners often hears the argument that it is a cruel imposition to expect those in difficulty to express gratitude. What she finds callous is the notion that in this era of constant feedback, it is kindness, compassion and generosity that may be ignored.

Perhaps later you will be able to reciprocate, but Miss Manners begs you to take a few minutes now to assure them of your appreciation on whatever scrap of paper you can find. (It should not take longer than it took you to write this letter.) Addresses can easily be matched with names on the internet.

If you ignore them, well-meaning people may conclude that you wish to be left alone to cope with your problems.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I had a friend who was constantly calling me on my cellphone up to three times a day, and often when I was working. Her excessive calling began to make me feel anxious, so I asked her as graciously as I could to please not call me so much, that I was feeling “smothered.”

Now my friend does not call me at all. She does have a rigid personality and is perfectionistic. She never apologized to me, either, for how much she was calling me. I feel badly that we don’t talk now. Do you think this is something that will eventually blow over, or is our friendship ruined?

GENTLE READER: Why don’t you call her? You will find, from her response, how angry she is, but this will also establish that you did not mean to cut her off altogether.

And it will give you a chance to apologize. Yes, Miss Manners believes that it is you who needs to do so, for being so blunt, instead of merely saying you could not take her calls during work and other tasks.

Besides, there was no need to say anything at all, now that we have caller ID.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)