Hello,
Today (4th February) is World Cancer Day, this is to bring more awareness and money to different caner charity’s
I have decided to do this blog piece, this is more people that have just found out they have cancer or there friends and family.
When I first found out, it was like been hit by a bus. I could not quite get it around my head, Cancer?
Don’t let it fool you, when you first find out you have cancer, it it has the power to traumatise you to the point that you start deteriorating, just by knowing this information. This can last for a long time, but try as much as you can to change this view point.
When you go see your doctor/oncologist it is easy to leave and can not remember anything that has been said, or you walk in and forget the list of questions you had ready. It is ok to get ready a list of questions, and record what has been said so you don’t forget anything.
I was having my haircut the weekend I found out I had cancer (I am not sure why) it was a Friday and I was getting my results on the Monday, the hairdresser was doing the usual chat, What you doing this weekend? Are you going out? he then went on to tell me what he was doing, the thing is, if I said to him, well! not doing much this weekend as I’m waiting to get results on Monday to see if I’m going to be alive in a few months time, would have spoilt the level of conversation, so I just played along, and said I wasn’t doing much.
At times it does feel like you have been transported to another world.
At the start you get told a lot of statistics. The percentage to survive, the percentage to be operated, the percentage of it coming back, and by the end of it there are so many numbers it just confused me.
I was told I had a 3% chance of survival, I had a 20% to be operated and I had a 80% of it coming back. I was operable, It did come back, but I have managed to get rid of it now 4 times, – right now the 7 tumours have now shrunk to 2, and I’m hoping that due to some surgery they have gone. Everyone is different so there is no point of listening to those statistics, everyone as there own journey.
Also, cancer is a very personal journey, I decided to have chemo, to choose between chemo or not is a hard choice, and to anyone who’s family member is going thought this and your reading this for advice, I would say that ANY choice the patient makes regarding cancer is a very brave decision, whatever they choose.
My advice is controversial, and I know I should dress it up, but I’m not going to.
Try and get on with your cancer.
Having cancer has taken me to places and situations I thought I would never have been in, it has taught me lessons which as made me more stronger than I thought I could be. It has shown me how much depth some friends and families love can be, and introduced me to new friends. Cancer has made me been, me.
As soon as a person hears the word cancer, we automatically think about death, I think the key is, is to thing about life, thats why I have called this blog Living with cancer, as it is important to do as much “Living” as you can.
By turning this around, and accepting my situation, it empowered me, it was never what cancer could take from me, it was what can I take from cancer.
I have had help from some of the charities too, (Pancreatic Cancer UK, Pancreatic Cancer action, Macmillan’s, Maggie’s, Cancer Research UK)
I will be putting some online videos on in the next few weeks, please contact me if any questions.
Carl…
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