When I was first diagnosed with cancer, several friends asked me to write a blog in order to keep abreast of progress with my treatment. I was averse to the idea of this for fear of it sounding too self indulgent. One in two people will get cancer in their lifetime – I’m not unique. This isn’t rare. Cancer is commonplace, and close to becoming as much of a certainty in a person’s life as death and taxes. What, therefore, could I offer in my writing that hasn’t already been said by sharper and wiser minds? Not much…but after much contemplation I have decided that perhaps that’s not the point.
I am so lucky to have been born into a family that has, throughout my life, offered unwavering, unconditional love and support. However, it’s friends old and new rallying around me, sending me gifts, and keeping me amused and entertained throughout that I have been, and continue to be, most overwhelmed by. Cancer is all-consuming, relentless and exhausting, but worst of all it’s lonely. That is why I am eternally grateful to you all for sticking with me and keeping me afloat. It goes some way to counteract the truly darkest of days.
This blog is therefore written as an apology to you all for sometimes failing to reply to messages or being slow with updates. Please stick with me. Response or not, knowing you are there and knowing you care means so much. Hopefully this will at least keep you up to speed with where I am.
I also want to use this platform to highlight my frustrations with the current system we have in place to treat patients with cancer, and the need for fresh debate and new policy if we are going to affect meaningful change and improve survival rates.
My greatest hope is that, by some miracle, I am cured of my disease, or it is controlled without the need for gruelling treatment, so that I can dedicate the rest of my life outside of my profession to working in the background with other individuals and doctors interested in changing how we treat cancer.
I am inspired to do this not because I’m arrogant enough to say I have the answers (I don’t), but because I was struck upon my diagnosis (and arguably in the years leading up to it, where I was misdiagnosed on multiple occasions) at how archaic some practices and treatment plans are, and by the injustices cancer patients face daily. These frustrations lead me, inevitably, to the internet, where I found an overwhelming number of people who shared my concerns, one American cancer sufferer in particular insisted I watch a documentary called ‘Surviving Terminal Cancer’ by Dominic Hill. Dominic’s eloquent, thought-provoking documentary engages established oncology experts to help highlight the myriad of ‘Catch-22’ situations that stifle the development of cancer treatment. It’s an hour and forty minutes long, and whilst it focuses on a particularly lethal form of brain tumour, the principles are universal. I urge everyone to click on the link and watch it.
Cancer might not be in your life at the moment, but with an unexplained rise in cancer in young people (up 48% for people diagnosed with bowel cancer under 40 in the last 10 years) and the statistical probability of getting cancer only recently increasing from one-in-three to one-in-two, everybody should be engaging in this debate.
I am aware I am writing this from the ‘privileged’ position of being a private patient at The Royal Marsden and as such am being treated by world leading oncologists, but even here there is a need to continually evolve and improve if we are to advance our understanding of cancer quicker than we have in previous decades.
I know that getting any lasting respite from cancer is unlikely for me. As such, this platform may be my only opportunity to share my cancer story with you. I promise not to drown you in too much science and political debate and I do not intend to clumsily re-hash the points already made in ‘Surviving Terminal Cancer’.
If you want to keep reading all future posts will be in the blog section within the menu at the top of the page. Please also check out the fundraising page. This is where I give a special mention to all the people doing amazing things to raise money for me and causes close to my heart.
As the advert says: ‘life with cancer is still a life’, and there have been some funny stories along the way which I hope to share in later posts. I hope it keeps you interested and entertained, but mostly I hope it keeps you aware.
As common as cancer is, it is also as unique to the individual as the individual themselves. This is my story of how I’m navigating my way through living with my advanced cancer.
Incurable Curiosity 