I am with you on this. Lets take this out of Saath Phere and in reality.
If you family knows, they can be pro-active and help you when you really need to be seen by the hospital. They will remind you of your medicines and check-ups and make sure you are comfortable.
I think one owes this much to the people ho live with you and matter to you and above all to whom you matter a lot.e.g your spouse , parents and kids.
If one does not want to share with friends and relatives who stay far away it is understandable, but then they will be in shock after something happens.
Just to give few examples that happened to me or someone close to me.
1) My FIL has Sugar, BP and a few things. He is very active, but he hides his condition from all of us.He will get upset if you ask him if he has taken his medicine and nobody knows his Medical number, if he has to be taken to the hospital. I am not in favor of it. If he is visiting us, we need to know, what is going on with his health.
2)My father, due to some reasons, I am not in touch with them for a while. He had a very bad accident and was hospitalised for a month or so. They never told me about it. God forbid, if soemthing were to happen, I was totally unprepared.
3) My Cousin ( by marriage) his father was hospitalised for Heart issues and he lives in US. Family was back in India. They did not tell him hoping he will get better and then he passed away. My cousin , if he had known a day earlier could have reached India in time to meet his father before death.
So , I very strongly feel that people, who are living with you, should always be aware of your health condition.