Serious

I don't think I realised how seriously ill I was until perhaps last September when my Consultant explained in more detail what I had, why I needed to go back into Hospital again and how near we were to having something even more serious on our hands - like radical surgery. Even then, for me, these things didn't sink in that much. Even now I am still prone to forget to be careful or dismiss it. I often get told that I shouldn't trivialise my condition but I perhaps deal with it in that way to keep my control on things.

I looked at bladder cancer as something like appendicitis, you have it, they whip it out and give you antibiotics, follow up a couple of times and discharge you. Of course it isn't like that at all. Bladder Cancer just comes back and can keep coming back and that is why it is so well followed up and why you go on a rigorous regime.

So today, I pulled out the details from my Insurance Policy:

Cancer - is described and the description given fits what I had to start with a malignant tumour

What has been bringing things home to roost for me are that the policy covers:

• Coronary Artery By-Pass Surgery
• Heart Attack
• Kidney Failure
• Major Organ Transplant
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Permanent total disability
• AIDS/HIV
• Alzheimer's before age of 65
• Angioplasty
• Aorta Graft Surgery
• Aplastic Anaemia
• Bacterial Meningitis
• Benign Brain Tumour
• Blindness
• Coma
• CJD
• Deafness (full)
• Heart Valve Replacement or Repair
• Liver Failure
• Loss of independent Existence
• Loss of Speech
• Motor Neurone Disease
• Paralysis. Paraplegia
• Parkinson's Disease before age 65
• Terminal Illness
• Third Degree Burns
• Permanent Total Disability (Can no longer work)

There are some conditions attached to those but good grief - I wouldn't like to have any of those and yet I am lumped together in the same category - yeeks. Perhaps now I'll respect what I have a bit more?