Marxist. Trade Unionist. Socialist-feminist. Author. Poet. Speaker. Tutor. RMT ex-Exec. Workers' Liberty. Autie. Bi. PUFC fan.
Making the breast of a bad situation …
On 4 October 2016, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. This blog charts my progress through treatment, and continued enjoyment of life, love and friendship.
Btw, that picture is not me.
Wednesday was the anniversary of my breast cancer surgery, and to celebrate, I had an appointment with the surgeon. Or, as it turned out, with the surgeon’s fellow surgeon, a little less senior. Shame: I would have liked to have … Read More
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has approved two new drugs which will help women with advanced breast cancer. Ribociclib and palbociclib have been welcomed as ‘breakthrough’ meds which can prolong life and give women up to … Read More
I have just come back from hospital having had my mammaries grammed. Yes, it is nearly a year since my surgery, and to comammarate this anniversary, my boobs must be squeezed and scanned again. A trip down mammary lane. Enough … Read More
Yesterday was my first day without painkillers since my hysterectomy twelve days before. Whoop. Not my first day without pain, note, but my first day without pain that had to be killed. Moreover, the previous day saw my wound dressings … Read More
This morning, I ventured out of the house for the first time since my hysterectomy last Thursday. It wasn’t the most exciting outing, but it feels like something of an achievement. I left hospital on Friday with instructions to go … Read More
The alarm sounded at five o’clock, I drank the two bottles of pre-op somethng-or-other the hospital had given me, reset the alarm for six fifteen and went back to sleep. I’d only been in bed since midnight, after a delayed … Read More
This morning, I was at Homerton Hospital preparing for surgery next month. So, what’s occurring? Back in January, the medics discovered something dodgy on my cervix. It turned out to be a cervical ectropion – nothing too serious, but it would need … Read More
I haven’t blogged for some time, I suspect because I have been trying to see myself as Woman Without Cancer, ex-cancer patient, person with a past problem. Then when that delusion blew up in my face (well, down my side, … Read More
The Disaffected Middle-Aged Women are having a spell in hospital … A ward where women fight cirrhosis Cysts or endometriosis Battling germs with hourly doses We’re Disinfected Middle-Aged Women Sutures, dressings and a clip Special socks so we don’t slip … Read More
Today’s headline is that the Cancer Drugs Fund, which was announced by the Tories in 2010 and ran until 2016, was a ‘huge waste of money’. The Annals of Oncology journal has published a study led by Professor Richard Sullivan … Read More
Today I was back at Bart’s for my radiotherapy follow-up appointment, to check how I coped with the treatment and any problems I have had since. The appointment can be summarised thus: Hi. How are you? Show us your boob. … Read More
… or ‘The Lumpen Proletariat’ … Over recent decades, UK cancer death rates have fallen significantly. They began falling in the late 1980s, and by 2006 had fallen by 17%. More people than ever before are surviving cancer, with 78% … Read More
Since resuming my membership of the sports centre five days ago, I have visited every day – and no, not just to check the timetable or use the vending machine. Two days ago, I reached untold heights of pleasure by swimming … Read More
Back in the pool today After six months away Cut, cooked skin no longer broken There is surely scope For a breast stroke joke
Six months after I ‘froze’ my sports centre membership when I was too biopsied to work out, today was the day that I felt thawed enough to unfreeze it. Yes, I returned to the gym. And oh yes, it was … Read More
Last night, I returned to duty in my proper job, as a London Underground ‘Night Tube’ station supervisor. These days, the official title is ‘Customer Service Supervisor’, but I prefer it if you have some idea of what I actually do … Read More
After visiting the hospital yesterday to get my oedema looked at, I sat for a while in the small church of St. Bartholomew-the-Less, conveniently located on the way out of the hospital on the way to the bus stop. I … Read More
A retrospective blog post today, looking back at when I noticed that something was wrong. I didn’t write about this at the time because I didn’t want to alarm anyone without reason. The blogging only started once the diagnosis was … Read More
Yesterday evening, something rather alarming happened. There I was, minding my own business, watching telly, when my T-shirt suddenly became soaking wet, in a patch from above the nipple downwards. I remember something similar on the occasions when I had … Read More
Janine’s proposing speech at RMT Women’s Conference 2017 … This motion on women’s cancers and work speaks for itself. Look at those shocking figures. 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer at some stage of their life. That is 1 in … Read More