h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Rotten news, my friend.

My mother had breast cancer. She felt a lump in 1992. It turned out to be a 9 cm tumor. They removed her breast, she had intense chemo AND radiation.

She's my nanny on Thrusdays, she plays with her granddaughter every week. She's finishing her PhD.

She's a real fighter. She was pretty MAD that she had cancer, she was too busy to be sick.

The treatment wiped her out, but she was stubborn and kept going. She was given options of wait and see, or feel miserable and try to kick a$$. Well, she kicked butt.

So, more than just seeing patients with cancer diagnoses, I lived with it a bit too.

If there is anything that you'd like to ask about, or things you'd like to have clarified. Or anything. Anything. Just ask.

There're loads of people to help.

I'll avoid all the platitudes, as you've got enough of that from everybody, no doubt, but trust me, I'm thinking of saying all those vacuous cheery, poster-with-the-little-cat-on-it things!

Friar

Thanks, Friar, my friend.

Your mother is clearly a remarkable lady. May she live long and enjoy many more grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

I too have a number of cancer stories in my family and acquaintance. There are some good outcomes and some rotten outcomes. In my case I have been told that the liver secondaries or metastases or whatever you call 'em cannot be eradicated, only perhaps reduced for a while.

At the moment I would say that however rotten I feel at times, my life urge is quite a bit stronger than my death urge. I haven't quite finished yet: there are things I want to do, and I need some time and a reasonable quality of life to do them. I have a reasonable prospect of getting that. So at the moment there is everything to go for.

Thanks so much for your support. I look forward to our disagreeing (and maybe occasionally even agreeing) in PR and elsewhere.

Bels