Thanks for sharing . Your story is so valuable and makes me think that the warrior/ survivor story that necessarily dominates fundraising and treatment has consequences.To take this on a tangent…
As a cancer survivor, ive found it doesnt just end with the ‘all clear’.
I had testicular cancer 13 years ago, caught it early, bollock gone, blast of chemo and regular checks over 5 years to put my mind at rest.
In theory that should have been the end of that, no more cancer, forget about it, move on.
Ive found that nigh on impossible to do. The cancer I had would have spread VERY quickly to my stomach, chest then brain. I think the same as john hartson had?
Catching it early saved me from either a shit load of treatment or ultimately death. That thought did me in a bit. It was the second ‘brush with death’ id had in my life and it quite literally affected my noggin.
Also, going to christies every month for 5 years , and to be told im cancer free each time, put my mind totally at rest.
At the end of that 5 years, the feeling of being signed off should be one of happiness, instead i found it to be one of worry. That safety net was whipped away and now every ailment i have ….cancer.
Lingering chesty cough - lung cancer
Bit of a spot that takes ages to go - skin cancer.
Etc etc.
didnt help losing my mum at 70 to lung cancer and a brother on law at 42 to cancer. Dad and sister have also had very minor skin cancers.
So ive found a cancer diagnosis that is beaten is still ultimately a life of worry.
Sorry to waffle.
The experience of having survived cancer is life changing for everyone. And you are right, there is a huge impact, and not just mental.Thanks for sharing . Your story is so valuable and makes me think that the warrior/ survivor story that necessarily dominates fundraising and treatment has consequences.
For many the experience of having survived cancer is life-changing and ,so far , we have focused too little on the mental impact the long and hard road to cure has .
Thanks for sharing . Your story is so valuable and makes me think that the warrior/ survivor story that necessarily dominates fundraising and treatment has consequences.
For many the experience of having survived cancer is life-changing and ,so far , we have focused too little on the mental impact the long and hard road to cure has .
They never offered me a plastic one, are they any good? was it on the NHS or private ?Right. Replaced with a plastic one :)
Lay in my hospital bed pre op and have thr surgeon come round with a tray of plastic bollocks of varying sizes to show me which one i would have was a surreal moment :))
NhsThey never offered me a plastic one, are they any good? was it on the NHS or private ?
Doesn't sound like I'm missing much then , might just save the nhs the cost.Nhs
Felt like a fuckin bullet for ages!!
Remember walking to my sisters not long after , had to wear jogging bottoms as jeans hurt too much and it felt like it was clanking against my leg
Doesn't sound like I'm missing much then , might just save the nhs the cost.
Because of its ability to spread, and quickly .... should it turn out to be the aggressive kind ??
There are people all over the country, the world, walking around totally unaware that they have cancer of one type or another.
I bumped into the local hardcase one day..he clocked how i was looking at him and made his way to me ( here we go) he spoke to me like i was in charge, almost like he wanted to sack staring me out whenever he seen me. I looked at the kip of his kite and asked what was wrong..he lifted his jumper up and his torso was full of bruises, he'd been battered with bats. He said he'd been in the doc's and the doc had shit him right up ( the reason his kite was a cross between green and grey), when he shown the doc his bruises the doc counted em ( double figures) and told him any one of them could have already caused cancer. It always stuck in my mind, his hardcase bottle had gone, i actually felt sorry for him.