January 28th. A day to remember.

Four years ago today I had my first 12 week check up post my surgery to remove my primary sarcoma. The X-rays were clear and I had the added bonus of being allowed to drive again. 28th January 2014 was a good day.

One year ago today I visited Mr T in hospital. He was grumpy, he was thirsty, he was hungry and he was sick of Mum and Sues company….. 😂   Mike and I rocked up to Warrington Hospital and made the day more bearable – especially for Mum and Sue who needed a break from dads grumpiness 😂. We waved dad off for surgery to reduce the swelling on his throat and that was the last time we saw him conscious. The days ahead were torture. 28th January 2016 was a bad day.

Fast forward to 2017 and my lovely husband and I are snuggled in our hotel room in a very cold Chicago. We are having a fab time on our holiday. 28th January 2017 will be an excellent day. Especially as we are on the hunt for quirky bars!

This day will always be remembered for lots of reasons, but we need more good and happy memories to be made.

Love from the US of A xxx

Our corner suite has a view of the 360 observatory (formerly John Hancock) – the black building.

Charity involvement generally starts when you’re impacted by something. Since my diagnosis I’ve been involved with many charities including Clatterbridge Cancer Charity,  Macmillan, Look Good Feel Better and Sarcoma UK.

As you will see from my social presence most of my time is spent doing activities for Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. So why is this? Well, they keep me engaged.  All activities are completely charitable – I donate my time and do not get anything in return.  

So how do they keep me engaged?

Is simple really,  they are personal. They simply keep in touch. As soon as I see an email or a call from the Clatterbridge Cancer Charity I eagerly open it to see what I can do or how I can help, as do my friends and family.   This small charity makes each and every single volunteer feel important and valued. This is what makes the charity a success. 

Last month my mum and I was helping in the office at the charity and the phone calls the workers handled were incredible.  People wanted to donate in their will,  donate goods,  donate money and even donate their time.  People are literally banging on their doors to help.  This is fantastic. 

It’s not all like this. 

Unfortunately not all charities get this and do not engage their supporters which is a massive shame as they are missing a trick. Not all supporters can climb mountains and run marathons. We all have different skills which can be extremely useful and these should be explored. 

Onwards and upwards.

I look forward to helping out in 2017 and giving back to the very people who have saved my life. 

In many ways 2016 has been the worst year. There’s been countless headlines filled with news of passing celebs, status updates from friends mourning their loved ones and, of course, I also lost the main man – my wonderful dad.  I’ve genuinely been shocked by the amount of sad news in this year, in particular amongst my friends. I’ve been to more funerals in this year than I have in my whole life.  There are far too many of us who have lost a parent this year.

However, 2016 hasn’t been all bad. This is the first year since 2011 where I’ve been cancer free for the whole year. I’m now 18 months clear and hoping 2017 continues to be the same.

Hope you’ve all enjoyed Christmas and have a wonderful new year.

Now then, we’ve all had days where we’ve been under the weather, a tad hungover or just downright tired and we’ve ‘pulled a sickie’. I get it. 

But then there’s those who take this one, or a thousand, steps further than acceptable. I read stories of people who fake cancer diagnoses for financial gain. Yep, people really do this. And they knock me sick – taking money from kind and generous people, upsetting relatives etc.

Then there are those who feign a cancer diagnosis for sympathy. I’m saddened to say that one of my relatives fall into the latter category. He even went as far as asking me about chemotherapy and the side effects. 

How can anyone sink so low to think it’s acceptable? Cancer is not a joke. Cancer is not something to be mocked. It’s serious and it’s a killer.

I’d rather pull a sickie for a ‘cold’ and have a duvet day….

On a positive note, here’s some pics of our sarcoma support group Christmas meal. Thanks to Rob for organising 🙂

Scanxiety was high today, well it was an X-ray but it x-ray and anxiety don’t work.

I had a mid term x-ray which was clear. My next scan is in February so another three months to enjoy life.

Hopefully, we can squeeze another few trips away in that time…. #YOLO

16th October is a date which will be forever etched in my memory. 
Today marks the fourth anniversary of having my sarcoma removed. I went to theatre at 8am and came out six hours later and seven and a half pounds lighter. Oh and cancer free.
The last four years and been one hell of a journey but as I’ve said countless times before, at least I’m here to tell the tale. I’m thinking of all the people who aren’t here to do so and of those who are going through treatment. 

Love to you all x

 Yours truly will be here…

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155441093277281&substory_index=0&id=266245642280

Four years ago, my GP told me to cancel my holiday to Thailand (unless it was the trip of a lifetime….!) as she suspected a tumour in my leg. A week later, I was diagnosed with a sarcoma and given a 5% chance of survival past two years. 

Hello world – 4 years later . Thank you to my amazing family and friends for supporting me. The biggest thanks goes to my gorgeous husband.
Love to you all X

This week Jeni from the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre asked me to be a patient representative for them at an event in Warrington this week. Of course I said yes. This hospital has saved my life three times and is still looking after me.  

Two ladies, Lorraine and Gill had decided to shave their heads to raise funds for this amazing hospital. The bonus was that Warrington Wolves player Ashton Sims was going to be the guest of honour! 

Lorraine and Gill raised over £5,000 WOW!!  They even looked fab with shaved heads! I looked like Uncle Fester when I was bald 🙂 Well done ladies. 

Scroll down for the video of Ashton shaving their heads.

Well today was the results of my first ever six monthly scan. 

What a wait

It was sheer hell sat in the waiting room at The Linda McCartney Centre. It was heaving, standing room only. I arrived early as usual but had an hours wait from my actual appointment time – as I’ve said before this us fine as it means a patient needs Dr Ali’s support like I’ve needed it in the past. After the agonising wait, with me thinking the worst, I heard the wonderful words out of Dr Ali’s mouth “it’s good”

My scan was clear. Free of the sarcoma which has desperately tried to cling to me for almost four years. I was relieved but exhausted-it certainly takes it’s toll on you being worried! I’ll certainly be celebrating at Vicky & Mikes wedding tomorrow.

F*ck you cancer

This week was sad as we said goodbye to Paul O’Neill after living with leukaemia for the last 11 months. Here I am releasing a message tied to a balloon and yep, it’s in the colours of Saints and it was worth holding the red ballon for you. Good night God bless Paul X