We are currently waiting for the call from my surgeon to tell me if the liver surgery can go ahead next week. Given it is past 5pm, I suspect we won’t find out until Monday. Which will make for a long weekend. This period without a concrete plan has been very hard for me psychologically.… Continue reading A long weekend – not the good kind
Some of you may have seen 60 Minutes on Sunday evening. It featured the story of ‘Patient 71″, a woman named Julie Randall who was diagnosed aged 50 with metastatic melanoma. She found a place on a US clinical trial and is now in excellent health. There is much that is great about her story.… Continue reading You can’t always get what you want…
This week is Young Survivors Week, part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in Australia. It’s an interesting term – survivor. I don’t like it. It implies that something (awful) is over – “oh, I survived, I made it through”. The examples used in the Cambridge Dictionary entry prove my point: One survivor described his torturers as… Continue reading The tribe has spoken
My scan results came in on Friday. They weren’t fantastic but nor were they as bad as I feared. I had my scans done at Peter Mac so got to hear the results from Michael. He is not panicked by them which I’m trying to take comfort from. In short, my liver now has three… Continue reading The Waiting Place
My parents considered naming me Faith. However apparently they looked at me post birth and decided I did not look like a Faith. And so Caitlin it was. Not my favourite name but very much the least of my problems. Perhaps the fact I didn’t look like a Faith was telling. Despite identifying myself as… Continue reading Nevertheless she persisted
Since I last wrote I’m back firmly ensconced in Canberra. It’s been an easy transition with the exception of my medical care. I always knew my Peter Mac doctors were good but it’s now clearer than ever. I have a grim prognosis. The five year survival rate for my diagnosis is somewhere between five and… Continue reading My other citizenship
I’m writing this from hospital where I’ve ended up due to some issues with my throat. I’m tentatively of the view that I’m on the mend due to some very good medication. It has been a pretty awful week. My throat has meant I’ve been unable to properly eat or drink since Sunday which has… Continue reading Strong, brave and positive
