Greetings,
I am so conscious of the negativity of news that I have tried to limit it in recent months. I really don’t want to watch children die, whatever the justification by whomever. It is the first time I have turned off the news. It has prompted some very difficult conversations with my children whose innocence I have worked hard to protect.
I’m the sort of person who has to make a conscious effort to be happy. Unlike some people it (unfortunately) does not come naturally to me.
I’ve tried to bask in the afterglow of my holiday. I even took the mad queen’s advice and recorded the sound of the sea from my hotel room and brought it to Wanstead. Don’t tell anyone!!
Today’s discussion will no doubt be about the King’s cancer status. While it isn’t something I would wish on my worst enemy, I’m hoping it will be an opportunity to talk about the big C more widely than just a royal perspective.
You probably know I am a survivor and my brother was not. I am wracked with guilt and have a show each year dedicated to the pain that comes from it. I know what it does to your head and I know what it does to your family.
I can tell you this about the King’s diagnosis. There will be no part of his treatment that matches up to us normal folk. He won’t have to wait. His procedure won’t be cancelled because of a junior doctors strike, he won’t have to wait hours for the transport, he won’t have to worry about not being able to work and he won’t have to sit in waiting rooms on a ward with other people. The one thing that we (who have been diagnosed) have in common is that feeling the moment the doctor utters those words. You have cancer!! All that chat about survival chances and treatment falls by the wayside because in that moment you think of your mortality and the odds that you are going to die.
I want to be clear. This isn’t about the King. I wish him well, like any new member of the Big C club. I am writing this because that’s what I do in my musings and because I hope this is an opportunity to talk about some of the poor outcomes we have for normal folk in this country.
If anybody wants to talk about their cancer journey and how they are doing, you can leave a message here or join me from 10 am on @bbcradiolondon. I read all the messages.
If you are on that journey now, try to stay positive. Listen to music, watch films, go on walks if you can. Give yourself something to look forward to. You got this 🧡
Jheez, writing this has triggered me. That feeling is always there, just waiting for it to come back. #toodeep 😂
