He doesn't 'shrink from' telling the truth, no matter how painful it may be.
He's no 'shrinking violet' when it comes to competition.
The treatment should 'shrink' the tumor.
(..) Leave me alone, snake! Oh, but you are alone. Who knows what you've spoken to the darkness... ...in the bitter watches of the night... ...when all your life seems to shrink. The walls of your bower closing in about you. A hutch to trammel some wild thing in. So fair. So cold. (..)2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers