Contractor till I die - last invoice now posted

[d000hg]

Good to hear. Did you already tell the family, extended family and freinds or are you still figuring out how to do so? Apart from anything else, having to explain all the same details and answer the same questions must get pretty wearying and depressing.

Hope the next week goes well as an opportunity to spend time with people rather than being too miserable.

[mudskipper]

Good to hear. Did you already tell the family, extended family and freinds or are you still figuring out how to do so? Apart from anything else, having to explain all the same details and answer the same questions must get pretty wearying and depressing.

Just point them at CUK.

[d000hg]

Just point them at CUK.

I'd be tempted, after telling close family, to just stick it on FaceBook and trust the rumour mill to spread it around.

It was awkward enough telling friends my father had died!

[doodab]

Good to hear. Did you already tell the family, extended family and freinds or are you still figuring out how to do so? Apart from anything else, having to explain all the same details and answer the same questions must get pretty wearying and depressing.

Hope the next week goes well as an opportunity to spend time with people rather than being too miserable.

Have told my immediate family, they will inform the rest. Friends I have told, a couple I need to have a catch up with but I have planned a meal for the week after next to see most of them before the chemo starts, as I need to be a bit paranoid about germs once that gets going and obviously with a lot of people having kids and it being cold / flu season etc....

I'm not miserable at all I'm really not, I have a clarity of purpose and ability to see what is (and isn't) important now that I wish I'd had my whole life, and a sort of inner peace that I can't really describe. It's clearly much harder for the people around me. Sounds weird I know, but the only thought that upsets me is that of not seeing my kids grow up.

The hardest thing has been that most people, myself included, know someone who had cancer and either recovered or went on living for years and years, so I've had a lot of "be strong you can beat it" messages and ended up having to explain the difference between say breast cancer or lymphoma where if it's diagnosed early you have 80% or better chance of living another 5 years or more or even of a complete cure, and "bad" cancers like pancreas, oesophagus, lung, stomach, brain etc where they don't normally find them until late in the day and survival rates are very different. Doing that without upsetting a well meaning friend who's mum had breast cancer and had to go through all the tulip involved in that to get well can be a challenge.

I've found the cancer research stats fascinating, particularly stuff like the trends in survival rates.

Cancer survival statistics for common cancers : Cancer Research UK

[doodab]

I'd be tempted, after telling close family, to just stick it on FaceBook and trust the rumour mill to spread it around.

It was awkward enough telling friends my father had died!

I thought about that but I don't really want to put a downer on too many people's christmas, plus TBH I don't want to be spending hours replying to well wishers explaining the stuff outlined above.

I might wait till the new year and mention I'm starting chemo then.

[d000hg]

I'm not miserable at all I'm really not

I meant miserable for everyone else!

[NotAllThere]

Good to hear. Did you already tell the family, extended family and friends or are you still figuring out how to do so? Apart from anything else, having to explain all the same details and answer the same questions must get pretty wearying and depressing.

Get a T-shirt made?

[doodab]

I meant miserable for everyone else!

Ah.

[d000hg]

Get a T-shirt made?

"I'm the one with Cancer, stop being so bloody miserable"?

[mudskipper]

Have told my immediate family, they will inform the rest. Friends I have told, a couple I need to have a catch up with but I have planned a meal for the week after next to see most of them before the chemo starts, as I need to be a bit paranoid about germs once that gets going and obviously with a lot of people having kids and it being cold / flu season etc....

I'm not miserable at all I'm really not, I have a clarity of purpose and ability to see what is (and isn't) important now that I wish I'd had my whole life, and a sort of inner peace that I can't really describe. It's clearly much harder for the people around me. Sounds weird I know, but the only thought that upsets me is that of not seeing my kids grow up.

The hardest thing has been that most people, myself included, know someone who had cancer and either recovered or went on living for years and years, so I've had a lot of "be strong you can beat it" messages and ended up having to explain the difference between say breast cancer or lymphoma where if it's diagnosed early you have 80% or better chance of living another 5 years or more or even of a complete cure, and "bad" cancers like pancreas, oesophagus, lung, stomach, brain etc where they don't normally find them until late in the day and survival rates are very different. Doing that without upsetting a well meaning friend who's mum had breast cancer and had to go through all the tulip involved in that to get well can be a challenge.

I've found the cancer research stats fascinating, particularly stuff like the trends in survival rates.

Cancer survival statistics for common cancers : Cancer Research UK

I think I get that. The idea of dying doesn't bother me (the obvious difference being that I'm not dying, and reserve the right to feel very different if I was!) It's worry for those left behind that's probably the worst part. Kids are very resilient though - a boy in my son's primary class lost his mum and was back at footie training the next day!