Four weeks on

It is now just over 4 weeks since the radiotherapy finished and I was liberated from the daily trek to KOC. I have no idea whether the treatment has been effective and will not until I have seen the consultant again at the beginning of next month; between now and then is a sort of limbo period on the cancer front. Even then, no-one has given me a timescale as to when the next blood test is due to take place so I have no idea whether the consultant appointment will mark an end of the journey. No point in dwelling on that one, there are things to do and life to be lived.

Writing that last phrase reminded me of an entertaining news story that has been unfolding in the UK over the last few days, so please excuse me while I digress for a bit.............

The UK parliament is set to debate a bill on assisted dying in the near future which has provoked two responses of note: one from a group of religious leaders, the other from the hospice movement. They are remarkable for different reasons, but both worthy of a mention.

The Religious, predictably, came out against the whole idea of assisted death with a well rehearsed argument about people potentially being coerced into suicide, and most emphatically did not approve of the idea of professionals helping those who were no longer capable of killing themselves. I realise that this was well meant and comes from a philosophical view about the sanctity of life, but they really had not thought this one through. Their attempt to ensure that life is prolonged for as along as possible (the "only God may decide" argument) may, paradoxically, lead to shortening of the lives of people who are diagnosed with a terminal illness. My simple argument runs as follows:

• Being diagnosed with a potentially terminal illness is a pretty serious turning point in anyone's life which forces them to consider what they might wish for in the worst case.
• People's responses to this will differ. For some, length of life will be pre-eminent in their considerations; for others, quality of life will be the prime determinant.
• For the latter group, many will ensure that they have the means to choose the timing and nature of their demise.
• If assistance is illegal, people will have no choice but to end their own life whilst they are still physically able i.e. their lives will be shorter than they could have been.

The temptation is to conclude that the people who signed the open letter are uncaring and unfeeling *******s, but I suspect that they just have not thought it through properly.

The second response was, frankly, hilarious. The hospice movement (if they don't have on in your country, I would recommend Wikipedia), came out as being against assisted dying because it would harm their business!!!! If anyone ever needed evidence that good intentions can turn into self preserving institutions which have completely lost touch, this is it.

Enough of that, back to the blog proper.

Life here is returning to normal following the 7 week interruption and I am getting back into the "swing" of things. My energy levels are still not what they were, but at least I can stay awake long enough to get back to working. I am extremely fortunate to be working with people who are both colleagues and friends and have been incredibly supportive; I am painfully aware that they have had to work harder whilst I was effectively out of circulation.

With luck, the fatigue will continue to reduce (note to grammar pedants: is this a double negative?), as will the physical effects. If anyone reading this is facing similar treatment and is curious about the latter, please feel free to contact me by email etc. I promise you that it is nothing scary, but it did not seem appropriate to share here.

Will update randomly, but next definite "scheduled" post will be after seeing the consultant at the beginning of next month.

A bit stuck for a song this evening, so falling back on a tried and trusted favourite band.......

Country boy