Apparently World Cancer Day comes around every year on 4 February. It’s a date I never really took much notice of in the past but this is my first year of feeling solidarity with millions of people everywhere who are living with this disease. It’s one of the leading causes of death worldwide and 9.6 million people die of it each year (according to the WHO). You think it’s never going to be you.
Lucky me
I believe I’m one of the lucky ones, as on first discovering cancer in my pancreas and liver they thought I had three months to live! It turns out that I have a very rare form called neuroendocrine tumors which luckily is the slow growing type, not the fast one that kills you quickly. So good news there, not so great is that it’s very rare form which means not so much attention or research I guess because two in one million are affected. It’s nice to feel a bit special at least! I had symptoms of rashes and abdominal pain and always explained those away, sadly. Didn’t take the hint…
The journey so far
So I’ve been on this roller coaster for about nine or ten months now (although technically I’ve been living with cancer for three to four years maybe, without knowing it) and I’ve now settled into the realm of ‘stable’. The doctors have told me it’s incurable and life shortening (way less than 10 years, more like five?? they say) but I’m in denial over that one! No surgery possible either. I’m thinking in five-year chunks now. But at the moment all this seems very theoretical as I go for my four to six weekly hormone treatments plus regular blood tests and scans, taking comfort in the fact that the cancer seems to have stopped growing. That’s great news and something to cling onto.
A necessary break
This is my second career now, a pretty full-time commitment of pacing myself between 15 different supplements a day – literally morning noon and night and three to four sessions on the PEMF mat, getting a good dose of electronic waves and oxygen coursing through my cells as I meditate and visualize the cancer disappearing each time. In the spirit of healing, a lovely break over Christmas and New Year in Canada did me the world of good. No responsibilities, loads of Netflix, good Canadian grub and spending time with our Canadian family was absolutely brilliant. Apart from the amazing NHS and Royal Marsden, the support of friends is also one of the biggest factors in surviving the terrible shock that any cancer victim suffers and they have been life-saving in my journey. I owe them a great debt of gratitude.
Staying positive
Underlining all this is something I’m truly grateful for at the moment and that is I’m not in pain and I have loads of energy which is something of a blessing in anyone’s book. So, as I’m constantly told: keep the stress levels low, have a positive attitude, stick to the healthy food and keep the faith going. And that is what I’m doing – in spades. I actually have no idea at this moment in time what the actual status of the cancer is but I’m not dwelling on it. It’s not overpowering my life in terms of my consciousness. I’m actually enjoying life and literally taking each day as it comes. A recent batch of blood tests revealed that everything is mostly at normal levels, so that’s good news.
So a day of contemplation for World Cancer Day, bring on 2022 and as much fun as possible, for today we feast, tomorrow, who knows…
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