Happy Birthday Dear Blog

I have to say a big Thank you to my friend KP – thanks K for getting me to do this blog – it has been helpful in so many ways and it has been therapeutic. Listen up readers, that is the sort of help your friends give you that is invaluable and practical and you can leave the sympathy in one corner and deliver me that sort of support anytime.

So big breath....

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Blo – og
Happy Birthday to you

I reckon that we ought to have a series of highlights like they do on TV of the best moments from the blog (my best moments that is). You can always use the comment field to vote for your favourite if you are that way inclined.


Scar Wars – Where it all started really

The Prequel – Not named Scar Wars I for some reason and published after Scar Wars II & III
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2006/11/first-operation-or-before-i-had.html

The recovery
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2006/11/recovery-from-operation-1.html

Scar Wars II – Revenge of the NHS
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2006/10/scr-wars-episode-ii-revenge-of-nhs.html

The recovery II
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2006/11/recovery-operation-2.html

Scar Wars III - The Sting in the Tale (or Tail)
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2006/10/scar-wars-episode-iii-sting-in-tale-or.html

Scar Wars IV - Delayed
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2007/03/scar-wars-iv-scrape-in-time-delayed.html

Scar Wars IV – A Scrape in Time
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2007/04/scar-wars-iv-scrape-in-time.html

Scar Wars V – the one without a sub title
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2007/10/scar-wars-v.html


Some of the funnier stuff

Kicking the Bucket and squeezing your balls
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2007/06/kick-bucket-and-other-gems-from.html

or the Flying Catheter
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2006/11/flying-catheter.html

At least the Hospital knows the difference
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2007/02/laugh.html

Book or blog titles
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2006/11/book-or-blog-titles.html

Bladder Farts
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2006/11/bladder-farts.html

My Favourite and one dedicated to KP who takes credit for getting me up to write the blog – He wasn’t sure what you needed bleach for when you were being treated His line of questioning made an assumption that you used bleach on your todger. To KP I dedicate this answer!
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2006/11/what-you-do-with-bleach.html

And Finally with the Olympics in mind I leave you with
http://my-bladder-cancer-journey.blogspot.com/2006/11/peeing-for-england-or-team-gb.html Peeing for England


The events of the past 15 months have altered the way I feel about myself and all those around me, how I interact with my world and how I express myself. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to share my experiences and I’ll continue the blog as long as it serves the dual purpose of healing me and bring help and I hope some enjoyment to others.

Here is a little test for you to do

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm

I am an INTJ personality type. Earlier in the week, given that I took this test 3 years ago, my friend and I decided that we felt that we had changed our personalities because of having lived through cancer Well – spookily enough I haven’t.

That really surprised me as I would have said my attitude had changed incredibly but that’s my attitude not the way I think and act. So how about you?

Finally, in the past year I have learnt to understand my condition and to roll with the shots. Even now, when I think I have climbed the next hill and gotten off the Roller Coaster, something else comes along and challenges that. It really isn’t something that you had yesterday and is gone today. Cancer isn’t the frightening and scary word it used to be – not nice but it isn’t as you expect it to be.

I am impressed with how much I have moved on and with how well I am compared to just a year ago. Then I was just about to start BCG treatment for CIS, I was warned to expect things to be quite shocking and I ended up working from home most of the time. Now, the CIS has gone, the precancerous areas have gone and it looks as if the next stages will be to make sure that it never comes back again. I hope so, I hope life changes to become less of a daily think about bladder cancer, how it affects me and what it does to me and more about living, getting on with life and building on the blessings I’ve had thus far.

A friend questioned whether I actually thought I would die. The answer is that yes I did early on, then I found out more and realised that I could survive this and I was expecting to have radical stuff done to make that happen and gradually I came back from that brink over the period of the treatments and those dangers are receding.

A thought passed through my head driving this week that as I passed through the lovely countryside with its autumns colours, the thought questioned how many Autumns I would see. The number 15 popped into my head. A year ago I would have settled for that, now I would be severely disappointed it that were the case. However it did make me think that I should appreciate everything that much more as I have probably seen more Autumns than I am going to.

On that sober note. I leave wishing you happy 1 year’s reading and let's do it again this coming year.