No News is Good News!
Sorry we have not posted anything in a while. Hopefully the
title explains the current situation. We had our most recent consultant
appointment a few weeks ago, and everything remains pretty much the same as
before. The PSA remains low at 2.00 which means no change in the treatment regime
for some time yet. Our doctor said that it looks like the PSA is doubling, roughly
every six months. So we continue to live life to the full.
We have thoroughly enjoyed the long hot summer this year.
This is the first time I can remember having enough time at home to be able to
really enjoy the garden during this time of year. We barbecued most evenings
and spent as much of our time as possible outside. I won’t go on about work again,
but the demands of the busy holiday business at the College always made it
difficult to have any quality time at home.
We have managed to fit in a few activities since our last
blog update. I will give you an idea of what we have been up to.
We spent the day with friends, Ruth and Russell at Brands
Hatch on a Help for Heroes event. Russell has an Ariel Atom which he drove for
the day, offering injured servicemen and women the sort of thrill and excitement
that they have not experienced since leaving the forces. It was humbling to see
these people with severe injuries having such a good time. There were about 40
super cars there, from McLaren to Lamborghinis. We were lucky enough to have a
few laps with Russell in his Atom, which I think was the fastest car there. I
found it absolutely terrifying, in an exhilarating sort of way!
We have had the chance to catch up with a few family members
with visits from my cousin Penny and her husband Peter from New Zealand, and
both my brothers, Bill with his wife Emmanuelle, and Jamie who were back in the
UK from Hawaii and New York respectively. It has been great to catch up with
everyone.
Penny, Me, Peter, Bim
Jamie & Dan
Me, Bim, Bill, Emmanuelle
We have also managed a couple of short breaks away. We had a
few days in Wales to see Chris, which, as always involves good food, a lot of
laughs and a number of glasses of wine! And we have just come back from a week
in Dubai, visiting friends Linda & Benny. So, as you can see, we have been
keeping busy.
Benny, Linda, Me, Bim
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We are coming up to the two year anniversary of my diagnosis
and we often think back to what it was like at the time and how we came to
terms with it. It might just be because of our situation, but there seems to be
much more news about cancer recently. There have been some interesting articles
over the last few days about how you should talk to someone with a terminal
diagnosis. Even doctors don’t really have training on what to say apparently.
It is a really devastating time and it is difficult for friends and family to
get the balance right. If you find yourself in this situation here are a few
things to consider.
·
The first and most important thing is to contact
them in some way – text, call or visit. They will be feeling terrible already,
you contacting them won’t make it worse, and you might just help.
·
The opposite of this is also true. Don’t ignore
them or pretend that there isn’t a problem. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know
what to say, just say something.
·
Avoid trying to give advice – about diet or alternative treatments. It
really doesn’t help.
·
Try not to be overly sympathetic, this can make
you feel worse.
·
Being told to stay positive doesn’t help.
Talking to someone who has a terminal illness might seem
difficult, but just offer your help and friendship and then take your lead from
them as to whether they want to talk about it. We have had several times when
halfway through a conversation about my illness I have just said “I’d like to
talk about something else now”. In fact everyone seems quite relieved at that
point and we switch to something completely different!
I don’t think I have anything else to tell you at this
point, so thank you for reading this blog again.
