I came across these lines in Kathleen Watt’s engrossing 2023 memoir, Rearranged

“Doctor Thomas sat over his dinner,
Though his wife was waiting to ring,
Rolling his bread into pellets;
Said, “Cancer’s a funny thing.

“Nobody knows what the cause is,
Though some pretend they do;
It’s like some hidden assassin
Waiting to strike at you.

“Childless women get it.
And men when they retire;
It’s as if there had to be some outlet
For their foiled creative fire.”

His wife she rang for the servant,
Said, “Don’t be so morbid, dear”;

They are from the poem, Miss. Gee. The link has a fine audio-recording.
Note: W.H. Auden’s father was a physician.