My sister

I am coming up to five years following testicular and renal cancer. I have been so fortunate thanks to the skill of the surgeon who saved my life by performing a partial nephrectomy. I have recentlly received the all clear following my most recent scan. My relief however means little to me as my sister was recently, and completely unexpectedly diagonosed with advanced lung cancer. This came as a shock as she is not in a high risk group, never having smoked and spent her life living in the clean air of the countryside. Like me, she is elderly, but until the diagnosis she had enjoyed a mostly health life.

This morning I had a call from my nephew, who has come over from Australia to be with his Mum, to say that my sister has deteriorated during the night and may not survive the day. She apparently has a very aggressive cancer, but we are all shocked at the rate of decline. I am living in another part of the country, and am not able to see my sister, but she has close family with her, and is apparently pain free and accepting of her situation. We can only hope that she will die peacefully and without pain, and not linger on. My heart goes out to others who find themselves in this sad situation.