The Service is Resumed

Writing a blog is hard work. Not just the time spent on writing, but also the mental drain of having to think, and trying to generate coherant chunks of clear prose from vague, nebulous thoughts. For the few readers I seemed to have, mostly family, it hardly seemed worth the effort, so the blog ceased for this long while, until I recieved an unexpected email from an unknown reader who describes herself as "a passionate advocate for cancer awareness and support".

She has asked me to promote a site for cancer support: Resources for Cancer Survivors. This led me to revisit the blog, and I suddenly found a good number of comments (mostly positive!) which for some reason the site had not forwarded to me, and I have now added them manually to the various articles. So appologies, if you, dear reader, had contributed a comment and been ignored! It was not intentional. One reader, for instance, commented: "Its been awhile since you last posted, Jhon. Is everything alright? I love reading your blog and although I have been just a silent viewer for much time I cannot help but feel the need to check in right now. Best wishes." I did not realise I still had an audience; yet last month, even with no new posts, I seem to have had 688 visitors, and over time nearly 60,000 reads of my blogs. I am encoaraged therefore to try and write a little more.

The unknown person who asked me to promote  Resources for Cancer Survivors made me think about support generally for people who suffer. With my usual suspicions about unexpected emails asking me to click on a site, I naturally checked it through very carefully before clicking blindly, but the site is genuine, though situated on the website of Mystic Meg. I suspect she must get many questions from people affected by cancer as much as by problems in their love life, though for the young the problems of love can be every bit as painful. 

Nobody in this life has a pain-free existence, whether physical or mental - we all experience suffering in some form, and at some time. The question then is, where do people turn for support? For some, no doubt, it may be Mystic Meg, or the Tarot, or other suppliers of words of universal or vague comfort. For many, it may be family or friends, and if you have such support (as I do), be very grateful, and don't forget that they in turn will need your support: be not slow to provide it. Some may turn to vengeance, seeking to alleviate their pain by transferring it to those they believe were its cause. Others turn to religion, seeking balm from silent prayer or mesmerising clapping or chanting. That is good, and should not be despised by empty agnosticism that may offer no solace. Whatever one's belief in the reality or otherwise of faith, I do believe that there would be fewer suicides of these desperate, lonely, people could join some group offering support, be it of prayer or simple words of comfort.

For myself, I seem to be in remission at the moment. At the last scan, the melanoma had stopped spreading and even seemed to have regressed a little. I do have good family support, for which I thank them. I also know a lot of people were praying for me in their various homes and churches, and I thank them too. But I was also started on a new treatment for atopic dermatitis a year ago, and I suspect this may have had unexpected beneficial effects too. I have therefore written a paper on this drug, and enlisted the support of my dermatologist who has agreed to add his name to it. We hope to get it published next year, possibly in the British Journal of Dermatology, in the hope that it may mark a new option in the management of metastatic melanoma. I will keep the blog posted about any progress with this.

Andre and Edwin in the choir

On a more cheerful note, we trogged north through the snow at the beginning of the month to visit family members. I try to make it in daylight now as I don't like driving at night, but it's good to still be able to make the journey. Then on Sunday, we went to a carol service at the Methodist church in Bury-St-Edmunds, where Andre is choirmaster and Edwin sang a tenor role. Afterwards, they treated us to a welcome, warming Indian meal.