Make it clear to your Doc that you are a blood clot risk, and ask him that you have priority for the Pfizer vaccine. Sorry to get off topic here, but Scott Morrison and his Liberal stoogies want to save face after purchasing the cheapest, most dodgy vaccine (short of the Chinese one) in massive quantities. The elderly and frail should be given Pfizer priority, as it is less risky than Astra. By all means, take Astra if there is a serious outbreak nearby, it would be better than the virus, but see your GP or oncologist, etc., for permission to go for Pfizer as a special case.  The government says Astra is "Well Safe" after strenuous testing, but that is a load of crap. All medicines require at least five to ten years of testing before being released to the public; these vaccines are emergency issues, with no testing whatsoever- the current test subjects are "live" (us poor citizens), but the Pfizer is a hell of a lot safer than Astra, especially for the elderly. Banning people over 60 from having that vaccine is nothing short of criminal. ... View more

My father died in our house in '89 when I was 21, and that crushed me; one of my friends died from ovarian cancer in 1988, and things started to fall down on me; I had by then been on antidepressants since 1993, and had come close many times to killing myself. My mother helped me greatly, as did (strangely) watching "Star trek: The Next generation", Anime,  and "Red Dwarf". Come 2005 and my sister in England committed suicide, and my brother recently out of prison used to assault and belittle me and my mother. He has since died from pancreatic cancer, you think it would be a relief, but I am sadly empty. For the last half decade I am my sole carer for my mother now that she has Parkinsons' disease, and I am mostly run off my feet trying to hold down a job and care for her as well.  And of course, they just confirmed that I have CLL... But I still have a purpose, and that is to look after my mother as long as she lives, as she took care of me in my darkest depression.   Find something outside yourself to strive for and  look forward to, even if it is to just live for others; this is what keeps me going.  ... View more

No offence, but your ex-partner, from what you say, sounds like a jerk!  I have learned in life that some people are afraid of facing their partners' illnesses, and the only way they can cope is by running away;  but some are just plain CANCERS themselves; the fact that he wants to take your house sounds like he is a cold sociopath.  You are better without him, take comfort that his sickness is now gone, so you can start anew. It sounds harsh, but you are going to have a better chance at healing without someone who is going to keep you down.    -Your house is only a rental, let that bastard keep it... so he can rot in it forever!   Take Care Of Yourself, as long as you can, for your kids  🙂 ... View more

Hi Lindy-Lou,   I can't imagine the worry you have , with children to look after as well (I've lucked out on things like a family due to depression, with the exception of a lovely girl German Shepherd doggo called Alita). The thing to remember here is that you have done NOTHING wrong to cause this. As a tradie working on a building site said to me when I blew my stack at him for accidentally cutting through our main water pipe, "These things happen".  I have CLL, and the irony is that it was not caused by my past smoking / drinking / drug use; lung cancer was my main worry, but then fate decided to give me a completely non-related cancer.  Damn you fate !   My stress will probably be the death of me, but I have no choice in the matter; things will be hard, but remember to take care of yourself, and find what is stressing you (besides this cancer) and start making changes to GET RID of that stress where you can, for your immune system and your life.  Keep strong for your kids as long as you can  🙂   ... View more

Hi Peter, Whatever happens, this life here on this ball of rock is not the end; please believe me when I say that there is MORE after this... I'm not a new-age hippy, I used to think that when we die, we just turn to blackness, but several years ago, when my sister committed suicide, certain things happened that shocked my beliefs and changed my mind.   I don't know how long I've got, I guess nobody does, having a terminal illness just makes things all the more horrible. But I believe there is more than this...   ... View more

I appreciate your words, I used to be happy years ago, loved doing cartoons and other artwork, but now I am a miserable bastard. I guess the antidepressants have a hard time keeping up with my brain's poor defeatist attitude, so I truly envy your optimism; if I had some of that I could stop feeling sorry for myself, and perk up my immune system to keep this CLL at bay for a while longer.     It was REALLY depressing (when I went to the cancer block at the hospital for my first diagnosis) seeing all the other folks in the waiting area in various stages of decline. ... View more

Thanks Saraii, I'm well older at 52, so I shouldn't be surprised something like this has happened to me, what with the near constant stress and all.  I'm on 3 monthly blood tests for now, but I am dreading chemo and hospitalization  (if I decide to go down that course in future); I used to work in the health department 20 years back, and it was one of the WORST employment experiences of my life  😞  ... View more