Well in case you have been having sleepless nights about it, I’m happy to tell you that my missing suitcase was delivered in one piece – 76 hours later!
I’m still none the wiser if I’m getting any reimbursement from KLM for the clothes I had to buy, so let’s see how that goes.
Hopefully any of you who had similar delays or travel problems have been refunded and the stress of it all has abated.
Let’s hope the airlines get their act together before it all happens again in the summer holidays.
This week I’ve been working at music festivals in Manchester and the Isle of Wight. Festival season has really begun in earnest now and so far, I thankfully haven’t seen any mud or wellies.
I’ve been meaning to thank so many of you for asking how Gordon is getting on.
For those of you new to this column, my husband Gordon has two different cancers and I’ve talked on here about his diagnosis and treatment several times.
On the whole, cancer is talked about more and more nowadays and this can only serve to help people seek earlier diagnosis and also feel more informed about available treatments.
Although we often see very sad outcomes for people, we also see many good news stories, especially if people catch cancers early.
However, although many high-profile cancer sufferers and survivors are very open with their blogs and online posts about their treatments or what they are going through, we don’t see many partners of people with cancer talking about what it’s like for them to support their loved one while feeling so anxious themselves.
When children are ill, we all feel so sorry for the parents, but watching any loved one dealing with cancer is tough.
Gordon has done very well since his last radiotherapy and chemo in 2020. He is now on to six-monthly checks for one of his cancers and two-monthly checks for the other.
Each time there is any change or new symptom, we have to go through what has become known as “scanxiety”.
The anxious feeling in the pit of your stomach when you are awaiting scan results is horrible for everyone.
You know that a scan result can turn your world upside down by showing a new worrying shadow or lesion.
Of course, I can’t speak for everyone with cancer, but on the whole when things are going well you can live your life almost normally and manage to bat away any negative or anxious feelings that try to overwhelm you.
On scan day however, or especially on scan result day, all the horrible feelings come flooding back as if they have never gone away.
Somehow, though, Gordon is quite blasé about it all. He is very much of the opinion that what will be will be, and although I’m glad he doesn’t spend his life worrying, it actually makes it harder for me because I feel I’m doing all the worrying on my own.
I often wonder if other partners feel overwhelmed with more worry than they would have if they were the ones who were ill themselves.
This week Gordon had an important scan, and as I sat in the waiting room aware of all the other husbands and wives in the same oncology department, I thought of how many people across the country were doing the same.
Indeed, many of you reading this will be living with cancer, whether their own or their partner’s diagnosis, and are trying to make the most of life and not let it affect you any more than it has to.
Many people have said that a cancer diagnosis makes them see how green the grass is or how blue the sky. It’s a crazy thing to say but it’s true.
As I’m writing this I’m in the garden and the birds are singing. Would I have noticed them as much before?
Gordon and I have most certainly lived life to the full over the past few years and I’m not sure we would have lived every day with the same gratitude had we not had the threat of it all being taken away from us.
We don’t have the results of this scan yet, and of course I will let you know, but to all of you who are kind enough to have kept us in your thoughts and prayers – thank you.
And to all of you going through something similar, please get in touch if you want to, and I’m sending you lots of love.
Have a good week everyone,
Try to stop for a moment and listen to those birds.
Yvie x
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