Archive for the cancer Category

A new perspective

Chris On December 29, 2013 / cancer, innovation, new year, time, unemployment, value of life, value of time / 4 Comments

I always find that the approach of New Year is a an ideal time to take stock of things.Our regular commitments subside and there is a little thinking time.Personally, I am never happy for my work to ‘stand still,’ and am always looking to improve things and embrace innovation, particularly in social-media. A few months ago I was at a conference, where I met a lady who listens to a presentation and creates a story from what is being said. I found this absolutely riveting, and the picture at the end captured the presentation perfectly! It actually made a boring talk very interesting! I felt that this would add a lot to my blog, so Anna very kindly took one of my most popular pieces and did one for me! So

Coping with life during treatment (Dee’s story)

Chris On December 15, 2013 / cancer, cancer wards in hospital, life during cancer treatment, treatment during Christmas / 6 Comments

This week has been mentally tough. I have had my routine treatment, although I was feeling pretty rough, because of my chest infection. However the positive side of that was I got examined again. A larger dose of antibiotics was prescribed, and things are improving. As I had been feeling lethargic, it meant that I spent more time than usual on my computer. Looking into more detail of some of the things that were happening in the cancer world, and in particular, some of my friends who are currently going through treatment.Coming into the Christmas period whilst undergoing treatment is very tough. It is a particularly poignant time of year anyway, but when people are seeming so happy, it can be very difficult to feel the same way! My own

The joy of sharing!

Chris On December 8, 2013 / cancer, giving not receiving, sharing, sharing cancer experience., sharing via social media, the joy of sharing / 6 Comments

The last 2 weeks have been quite difficult for me, as we are now reaching the festive period, but unfortunately my chest infection means that I am very limited to what I can do. In my life before cancer I was a party animal. When I wasn’t working I was socialising, both privately and in a business capacity. This aspect of my personality has not changed at all, as I really am a people lover. However, gone are the all night parties and late night drinking. No more dancing till dawn.A lot of my physically energy is lost to constant treatment, I am unable to taste my food, or drink alcohol! I am absolutely exhausted by about 11pm.This made me think seriously about what joys in life I had left!

Always grateful, but still feeling guilty!

Chris On December 1, 2013 / cancer, emotions of illness, frustration, grateful, guilt, illness, low immunity, winter illness / 13 Comments

Winter can be a difficult time, even for those in reasonable health, but for me, it is becoming my personal nemesis, and I look forward to it less each year! Here in London, the weather has been kind this year, and even though we are now into December, the temperatures are only just getting quite cold. It is no coincidence, that my health has been in reasonable shape, during the lovely summer we have enjoyed.However this week has woken me up with a large dose of reality! You would have thought that after 6 years of similar cycles, I might have learnt, but no! Far be it from me to disappoint. I am like the baby who continually puts his fingers in the electric socket, to find that it hurts,

Coming together in adversity

Chris On November 17, 2013 / adversity, cancer, cancer policy, coming together, haematology conference in Durham / 2 Comments

This week has been like a massive blur! My treatment took up Monday and Tuesday, and I spent Wednesday, catching up with my work and preparing for some presentations which I was doing on Thursday and Friday. It is now 2 years since I started this particular regime of treatment, but with a combination of drugs and blood treatment, my body is able to help me have a reasonable quality of life. If I think back to when this issue started, I was unable to dress myself, or even cut my own dinner properly, and now thankfully I can do both! However it seems like at least another year before I will know if I can come off the treatment safely. This uses up a large chunk of time and energy, but

Do you know that feeling of isolation?

Chris On November 10, 2013 / #notalone, cancer, holistic, holistic needs assessment, Isolation, Macmillan Cancer Support, social-media / 6 Comments

This week has been an incredibly busy week on social-media for me. Last weeks post found it’s way to many lovely people out there who shared and shared, till I think at last count we had 31 re-tweets of one link alone! Although my work is cancer focused of course, I try to talk on subjects that will affect all of us at some stage. Watching the news in recent weeks, I was shocked to see how physically isolated, a lot of our older generation has become. Nearly 1 in 5 older people are in contact with family, friends and neighbours less than once a week; and for 1in 10 it’s less than once a month. Half of all older people in the UK, about 5 million, say the television

Time is the real currency of my life!

Chris On November 2, 2013 / cancer, currency, time, unemployment, value of life, value of time / 4 Comments

I hope I’m not speaking too soon, but life has been very kind to me recently. I have found time, and stayed fit enough, to catch up with lots of people in the last few days. It seems that much as I decided that cancer was not going to dominate my life, it actually is, but in a different way to the one I had imagined! When I was diagnosed, on that terrible day back in 2007, I was very determined not to let cancer dictate my life, and to be able to still choose what I do with it. I suppose at that time, I was getting a little ahead of myself, as there was no guarantee that I was going to live for very long at all. However,

“Wearing cancer like a badge?”

Chris On October 12, 2013 / cancer, cancer survival, Jennifer saunders, media and cancer, using cancer as a medal / 9 Comments

Well, this week I didn’t have to look too far for the content of this piece. There have been many potential subjects, but some can wait. This one has provoked a lot of outrage in the cancer community, and I wanted to add some thoughts of my own. I am mostly sceptical when reading/listening to media reports, as generally they are ‘slanted,’ and often taken out of context. When listening to celebrities talking, I am always seeking a hidden agenda. A new book/record/film to plug. Come out and say something controversial and get yourself back in the spotlight! So I was a little surprised to read some comments from Jennifer Saunders about her cancer experience, that I felt were quite thoughtless to her fellow patients. However at the bottom of