Family news

The family news continues to be bad.

I’ve just been speaking to my cousin Pat. She seems to be recovering well from her mastectomy. However, this week she visited oncology & was shocked to discover that her breast had had two large tumours. Some of the lymph nodes that had also been removed, proved positive for cancer. She is now faced with the option of chemotherapy or a second operation to remove the remaining lymph nodes.

She’d spoken to my cousin Trudy & been told that Alma, Trudy’s sister, had been given 9-12 months’ life expectancy. I suppose at least Alma was prepared. She had been told already it was just a matter of time as her lung cancer was too advanced for anything except palliative care. Alma is going to try chemo next month but the most that can achieve is to prolong her life by a few extra months.

Suddenly I’m feeling amazingly well. I had my cancer alarm over ten years ago & survived. Now, to my astonishment, I no longer have osteoporosis, though I’ve still not worked out how to have 900mg of calcium per day on average. There is nothing immediately life threatening for either of us, beyond life itself. If anything, our health seems to be improving. That I can write that statement also suggests I’m not even as depressed as I so often am.

My mother always reckoned cancer stalks our family. Now I am beginning to believe it. Maybe it is just that it is such a large family. Most of my cousins are older than me. They have to die of some thing, some time, so why not cancer. It just seems such an uncomfortable fearful a fate but then most causes of death seem to be unpleasant, certainly undesirable. At least palliative care for cancer patients has improved, making the pain involved more tolerable.