A BUCKET LIST and F-CANCER

Hello again everyone,

Yes it is still raining over here, extremely heavy today, but then again it is the UK! I think all the best authors must write their best whilst the weather is poor as it makes sense then to be glued to your typewriter or Pc and not out wandering the beautiful countryside getting wet!

Hope you are all well and finally managing to overcome the indulgences of the festive period. I know some of you will frown at my excesses over the holidays especially given my diagnosis but my view is simple - shiny shoes are happy shoes and happiness is definitely medicinal so if I upset anyone you have my upmost apologies and I appreciate we all deal with our situations in our own way and this is the only way I know. Talking of apologies I would like to post one on the back of my first article on your fabulous site where I mentioned the eating of 'mice pies' at Christmas and after it was brought to my attention I would like to say it is purely a spelling mistake and not a English past time. Mince pies are actually a festive treat made of fruit that are eaten en-mass in the UK.

My desire to write to you all again so soon comes on the back of an experience I had at the hospital last week and following on from my regular visit to the Oncologist for a review of my progress. I was extremely pleased to hear that my body is reacting well to the current rounds of treatment and my PSA (relating to prostate cancer) levels had fallen from a whopping 455 (under 4 is the norm) to a more suitable 21.5 and then lately to a lowly 4.2 so as you can imagine I was very happy to hear this. This euphoria however was short lived when I was reminded that after all they cannot cure my problem and that it was purely a situation of containment and that the average time scale of reversal lasts around 18 months! Right I thought, time to pull ones socks up, regain the smile and get stuck in, there is a life to live!

I had never heard of the phrase 'BUCKET LiST' until watching Susan being interviewed on Canadian television and mention of such a list and it was almost freaky that following on from my hospital visit that the film of the same name 'THE BUCKET LIST' (starring - Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) was showing on a regional channel. Given the news I had just received maybe it wasn't the best choice to watch this movie but forever the fool I went ahead and did so. Although not the most realistic movie, as most of us won't have the funds Jack's character has in the film and we wouldn't have the opportunity to take things to such an extreme, it did make me realise how important having fun is during our predicaments and hence I decided on my own 'BUCKET LIST'.

On the back of my experience I have now booked to visit friends in Brussels Belgium for a long weekend at the start of February followed by a trip to Switzerland at the end of that month to visit members of my family who live near Zurich and then the big one, I have booked my flights for a trip over to your neck of the woods and at the start of July I am visiting my very dear friends in Sqaumish BC for a couple of weeks. I am so excited to be travelling back to the Vancouver area as it is so long since i was last in Canada and all I have is great memories of your beautiful country. Holidays aside, I also managed to go to a gig with my 17 year old daughter Charlie the other night to watch 'Enter Shikari" a fantastic English 'Dub, Hardcore, Rock' band and although I was surrounded by people of her age, some who spent the whole evening crowd surfing it was one of the best evenings I have experienced for ages and was a great example of using a 'BUCKET LIST'.

Of course I discussed my ides with my consultant and doctor and given my current healthy state they had no problem whatsoever in sanctioning my travel plans as long as they didn't coincide with any treatments planned. I do appreciate I am fortunate at the moment to have the ability to travel and my heart goes out to you fellow cancer sufferers that can't enjoy such luxury but all I would say is that please stay strong for not only yourselves but also for everyone around you and think about your own 'BUCKET LIST".

Love to you all and F-CANCER

John x

Ps I fly to Vancouver on the 30th June if anyone would like say hello and share a smile with a mad Englishman!