Some of you may recognise the title of this post as sharing its name with the new album by British prog band Touchstone. Why is that? you may be thinking. A number of reasons is the answer, allow me to explain.
Finally, this morning, this rather excellent CD arrived on my doorstep with the result it has become my musical backing of the day. I have a soft spot for this band, they are fantastic people. All of them. They are a superb live act and last time I went through cancer and associated evils, well treatment, they gave a damn and a half about somebody they didn't really know. Namely me. Do I have a soft spot for them as a result? You bet I do. And that is in addition to liking what they do. But that isn't the only reason for the title.
When I was thinking about today's blog I drew a blank. What do I write about? Then it came to me. Waiting.
You what, Jym? Waiting? What you talking about you mad man. Well, read on.
You hear the word "cancer" and what is your reaction? Probably to freak out. Oh no, I'm going to die, quick do something. Faster, do something now! Why am I waiting, what is going on?
And then, with any luck, you realise that you are sick and you are not going to die in the next few seconds. Hopefully you'll calm down and get a grip. Maybe you'll make an assessment of your circumstances before the most odd discovery of all. Cancer treatment is boring.
When the new tumour was found in me back on the 2nd of September the decision was made to initially remove it the same day. Had it all gone according to the original plan the tumour would have been removed within a matter of hours of being found and me being told. This is unusual. But, as is always the way, the tumour was removed on the 3rd. And there it is. I spent 24 hours waiting for it to be removed. Waiting. And then I am waiting to recover. Then I am waiting to find out what happens next. If you follow me on Facebook you'll remember that phrase, "waiting to find out what happens next" appeared a lot. Of course I found out, chemotherapy! But chemo will not happen until at least 6 weeks after surgery. That six weeks was today, but now I have to wait another week.
And that is the truth. You wait. You wait for the next step in treatment. And next week, when the chemo starts, that will involve waiting for several hours while I am poisoned. Then months of chemotherapy, with waits in between sessions. Then waiting for tests and scans and recovering from it all. And that's what it really is. Cancer treatment is waiting and that can be so boring.
Ah, Jym, how did you get to all this from a Touchstone album title? Well, it boils down to an observation. We all think we have all the time in the world but when we get ill, the time vanishes. For the next few months, I have time. If all goes well I will have even more time. Lots of it, buckets of it and, dare I say it, oceans. And to get there, it takes time. And I have to wait a week to start killing this vile illness, hopefully once and for all. That's all I've got to say for today. Until tomorrow, peace! Out!
Jym
Oh, and sorry for no pictures. Me camera battery was flat, somehow. I blame Nick Clegg.
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