Gee Sailor, some of us are trying to deal with life threatening illnesses and you think being funny is the thing to to. Well congrastulations. Don't you know anything about the struggles people have to go through to get the right medfication? For some of us it takes years and most of the drugs half kill you anyway, your hair falls out (yes, all of them) and you gets boils and cramps and infections and spots and I even knew someone who started to grow a dorsal fin but the pharmaceutical companies kept feeding him shark cartilagethey just don't care all they want is a buck. And you think this is cause for humour! My God. Maybe I am missing something here... H ... View more

Hi Allicat I know exactly what you mean. It gets up my nose that I am so often labelled and tagged as I move along the health industry conveyor belt. How can I possibly be 'inspiring' when I am only doing that which I have absolutely no choice about whatsoever? It is ridiculous. What is going on inside in another matter altogether. I share that with others who can see it but I do not spend any time at all explaining it to those who can't. Life is too short. I like to read perspectives from within that space. A lot has been written over the years. The narratives help a lot. We chat about this stuff in the Expressive Writing Group. It's a lot of fun and gets you right away from the 'inspiring' space. Goats are really important. H ... View more

It is hard, isn't it. I don't hnow why. Maybe...it is because they are only seeing the things that are within the relevant compartment (the bit that is cancerous and has to be fixed). On the oither hand, you are seeing the whole person that your mum is (and who you are as the carer with a life, too). I find I have to manage the health professionals a bit because I am the only one who has all the information about me. If you said to the GP "Sorry, we can't get to a PALMS, can you give us an order for a more local pathology service?" you might have an easier time. In fact, my understanding is that they are not allowed to limit your choice of service. The GP should have forms for lots of pathology services on his desk. I think you could take that approach. H ... View more

...I would still want oxynorm. ... View more

I think it is a fair point to raise because I have thought about it myself over the past two years. I tend not to respond to requests for physical health information as I know there is a whole professional network supporting us here and I don't find it all that interesting to talk about drugs, diseases and systems. I am more interested in conversation that is personal and involves reflection and attention to writing. I am very comfortable with the site accommodating each of those needs. i just don't feel I need to be involved in both of them. Also, some people just want to blurt and I guess I think they don't really want an answer. It seems to be more important to them to say what they say. Like me, now, perhaps. H ... View more

My physician said it was OK to have a glass of wine with dinner throughout treatment. I had not asked. He had made a point of saying it. That should tell you something. I think wine is an important food in the home. I ended up stopping my intake as I lost the taste for it. It did recover but I have lost the taste again recently. Wine is made to enjoy. H ... View more

are you a dog or a cricketer? is there a difference? I thought Warnie had the hair replacement market sown up. yours is spam, mine isn't...and I'm happy losing my hair as I go along. I don't give a toss about hair replacement. Merry Christmas. H ... View more

It wasn't me. ... View more

I am in the same boat too. (It is a crowded boat, isn't it, and by the way, where are we going?) Reading your thoughts reminded me of that period post treatment when I was very confused and depressed. Don't underestimate the impact of the health system walking away from you and focusing on the next patient who is sicker than you. It is a huge change to deal with. I had a lot of trouble and it took many months to realise that I had been deposited in a new place. (By the way, I don't get the sense that Lance Atmstroang has an angle on that at all. I found other narratives were better for me.) I see myself as 'living with cancer'. Thinking of it like that I don't need to asnwer questions about how long I might have or whatever. They don't matter as I am living with it anyway, doing what anyone would do in the circumstances. H ... View more