Blogging can be a great way to journal your experiences and share with others. Why not create your own cancer journey blog, or have a read of other blogs created by our members?
Unsure how to get started? Take a look at our help pages on blogs.
I have now completed my course of radiotherapy. For three weeks my life has revolved around the Christie hospital. What an amazing place it is! I now know from personal experience why it is one of the leading centres in the world for cancer treatment. Everywhere is so busy and yet there is a sense of calm throughout.
Although the actual treatment only took a minute the door to door trip could take anything up to 4 hours. This was because of traffic and there was usually a long wait. Obviously in...
I’ve been doing a creative writing course and thinking about senses. I remember when I convinced the doctors to remove the breast implant (mastectomy) that was killing me softly -that day, I washed my hair. I normally bath, but on days when I shower I always remember, 14 years ago now!
She stands in the shower,
Remembers, skin tingling,
A post operative hour,
Through the stitched scars
still lingering.
The implant removed,
from the one it abused.
Now perfumed and bare,
With soap in her hair,
She is...
Okay, so having never done anything like this before I have decided to start a blog so I have somewhere safe to offload and so I can keep some sort of record of how things are going.
Please bear with me through his
At the grand old age of 46 I found a lump 16/17 Feb 2019 and having a family history of breast cancer figured it might be a good idea to get myself off to the docs. Roll on Monday 18th Feb and I'm at the GP's. When the doc says "So where is this... ah" you start to realise you did not...
In autumn of 2016, Paul and I had come to one of our regular appointments with the oncologist. We were so sure everything would be fine. But the oncologist informed us that Paul's PSA had gone up a little. He said that there was no need to get worried just yet but that it seemed like Zytiga was slowly losing effect.
I remember that we drove home in silence. The minute we got in, Paul switched on the TV and tried to get lost in some of his favourite TV programs. I rang one of my friends back...
In 2013, Paul's PSA level began to rise. He began to feel unwell too with weakness, nausea, vomiting and lack of appetite. He lost a lot of weight in a very short period of time.
In the spring of 2014, CT and bone scan revealed that the cancer had spread to bones and lymph nodes. Looking back on it now, I cannot understand why the scans were performed as late as spring of 2014; I mean, the PSA had been going up and up for months at this point. This is why I encourage everyone who has cancer...
I met my husband Paul in June of 2009 in Marburg, a small town in Germany, where we both attended a Buddhist seminar. Being from Germany originally, I had been living in the small town in the south of Germany for many years, whereas Paul had come from Dublin in Ireland to join the weekend course. I think Paul and I would probably never have spoken to one another, if one of the lectures during the seminars hadn't been given in German rather than, as would have been appropriate for an international...
"Animals are such agreeable friends. They ask no questions. They pass no criticisms." - George Elliot
Over the past several years the benefits of pets to mental wellbeing has grown clearer and clearer. The companionship pets offer is a great way to reduce anxiety and stress, and dogs especially encourage owners to exercise, and possibly socialise with other dog walkers.
Over the past several weeks I’ve been talking to Community members and our own staff about the impact pets have on their...
Last week I had my first PET CT since the end of my chemoradiotherapy. I had previously only had one PET CT (August) 2017 before my major surgery. The surgeon felt that it was not necessary to hit me with more radiation if avoidable. My previous MRI and Ultrasound had come back clear, but as I was now 19 months on fro the first PET CT, I thought it was a good time to get some baseline of where I am at; not least because I am leaving Qatar shortly and wanted to have some certainty as to my progress...
This Sunday’s Mother’s Day, a day to celebrate mothers mean to us; all they do for us, and all they mean to us. To recognise this year’s Mother’s Day, I’ve been talking to several mothers on the Community about how having cancer has affected them as a mother.
I’m not going to take any further time introducing or the piece – so without further ado, here are our mothers of the Community…
'The thought of them got me off the floor, got me talking, smiling...
Just a couple of weeks back I was fortunate enough to have the LGBT foundation get in touch asking if we’d be interested in hearing from a friend of theirs, David, who was diagnosed with cancer last September. David wished to share with us his story about being a gay man and facing cancer – fortunately, David's recent chemotherapy treatment has been successful!
David’s story makes for an extremely heartfelt and eye-opening read, from a perspective perhaps shared too little on the...
