i love this picture of my buddy Rob [who died just over a week ago from cancer] and everything it expresses – carefree, full of life, plus the symbolism of running off into the distance is not lost on me. But i miss him a lot and it’s only been just over a week. Only? Yeah, something like that. And i think words are my processor so this is really for me, but you’re welcome to [...]
Continuing to share some of Aaron's story of his journey with and away from testicular cancer which you can find in full over here, i decided to grab three sections from three longer posts to share some of the insights he gained along the way as well as some of the challenges he faced and encouragements he received along the way. There is something for us all to learn here: = = = = = [...]
Continuing to share some of the stories from the archives of Aaron Fullerton to be found in full on his blog, 'Aaron Laughs With Cancer', and in this one Aaron takes some time during the chemo, to mention some things he is appreciative of during what is a tough and scary journey: THE COOLER SIDE OF CHEMO I’m typing with my left hand because my right is hooked up to an IV that’s pumping me [...]
The first of our Aaron Fullerton journey stories was published two years ago and is reblogged with permission: The original title: Laughing With Cancer, Not At It: When Lance Armstrong fell from grace a few weeks ago, I didn’t really care. I’ve always appreciated him for the icon he is, for the modern miracle of his health and success, but when I think of Lance Armstrong, I think of three things: bracelets, Michelob Ultra, and [...]
This is going to be a little bit of a different one. i 'met' Aaron online, as much as you can 'meet' anyone online [i think you can] and i don't even remember how although it might have been through Hashtag Game tweets or some other comedy moment. And we got chatting, which is a little strange for strangers on Twitter. And especially when it turned out that one of the strangers is a writer [...]
[i wrote this post a week ago because i wanted to get permission from Ray's wife Rhian before posting it, but am glad to be able to share it now] UGH, Cancer. i woke up this morning to the news that an insanely gifted man i had befriended on the Twitterer had succumbed to the brain tumour that had taken him hostage, and died a few days ago. His wife Rhian, had just shared the news [...]
I don’t know about you but growing up I believed that old people and other people got cancer. My gran passed away from cancer when I was in my early teens. So I knew cancer existed. I just didn’t think that cancer would be part of the story of someone young, or of someone I love. I guess that’s the first thing I’ve learnt about cancer. It doesn’t discriminate. It will attack rich or poor, [...]
Let me begin with a disclaimer: What follow is not true of all smokers. In fact, most of the smokers I know are very much not like this. But I strongly suspect we will all know exactly who these particular offenders are. The signs will be your head nodding along as you read this, or your fingers starting to, on their own accord, clench into the angriest of fists if you're actually shouting out loud, "Yes! [...]
The domino moment…Most of you have experienced some sort of 'domino moments' in your life which you will never forget. Some are good, some are bad but that single moment shifted your life and changed it forever. Our moment happened sitting in a hospital room and being told that our 4 year old daughter Zofeya had a brain tumour. The world around you crumbles and although everything has changed in this single moment, you know [...]
Kev and I met in 2000, and started dating shortly afterwards. In 2002 I was diagnosed with a (thankfully non cancerous) tumour on my pituitary gland situated in the centre of the head just below the brain and behind the nose and eyes. Over the next few years Kev was a great support through numerous tests and scans and especially when I had my first brain surgery in 2004. After seeing the doctor a few [...]