The adjournment

There will now follow a brief adjournment.  The last twenty four weeks seem to have flown by.  When looked at as an entity, it has sped past.  Recalling each phase of the journey, the sometimes gruelling terrain is recalled.  Six months ago I came face to face with one of my biggest personal challenges - getting my head around the fact that my closest friend had been diagnosed with the dreaded 'C'.  Healthiness personified, oozing energy and zest for life, appearances had deceived us all.  Treatment commenced rapidly, and it has been a bit of a whirlwind ever since.  Adverse weather conditions are, I have come to understand, best addressed head on, one day at a time...

So, eight rounds of chemo now complete, there is a short interlude before surgery.  Options have been outlined, guidance given in abundance and decisions arrived at.  The best way to approach any decision about one's body looks just like the way one would approach any other decision - to weigh up all the different possibilities, and decide what feels best, for now.  The prospect of major surgery is a daunting one.  There is no good option, for that would be not having to go under the knife at all.  But there are best options.  Placing one's trust in the surgical team is probably a good starting point.  The leaps of faith that this journey has already entailed are akin to negotiating slippery stepping stones, unevenly spaced requiring one's longest stride, wearing a blindfold and high heels.   

Life changing doesn't really cover it.  Fighting cancer is a full time occupation but deserves not a moment longer than it actually requires.  Identity is suddenly a far more fluid concept than one's so called self can usually bear, and yet there is no other option.  Cancer undoubtedly changes its target, but need not consume them.  And so I am reminded each and every time I see or speak to my dear, brave friend.  The human pin cushion whose veins are protesting and whose hair gave up some time ago has lost not an ounce of her fighting spirit and is treating this as she might a sportive.  This is a significant milestone, but the challenge continues...