Well I always said I’d try anything once. So I thought I’d see what all the fuss about Covid is. I think I was just about the last person I know around these parts who hadn’t had it. I thought I was the only person who had it but it turns out there’s another wave and people are dropping (out of things) like flies. Apparently I’m not special, geez.

Of course I got it on a week where I had quite a few plans, but an enforced rest never goes astray. Plus, I managed to get it and become non contagious just in time for my clinic appointment. And I needed to go to that appointment. That was the one where I got my MRI results.

It was fine. I had a temperature for a few days, a blocked nose and then a cough (that just loves to keep hanging on even weeks later) but I felt fine otherwise. Maybe a bit more tired. Thank goodness for vaccines. Though, as a ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ person, and one who just had chemo (the jury is still out on whether chemo strips you of your previous vaccines’ protections or not), I’m meant to have 4 Covid vaccines – i.e. 3 full ones and a booster. I had to wait until I’d recovered from chemo to have my booster. But then I got Covid. Ha. So it’ll be another 28 days wait until I can get the booster (which isn’t long now).

Just taking a moment to be grateful I didn’t get it during chemo, as I would have had to stop my treatments because of it. But then again, I was intentionally avoiding most public situations and people (save for a few visits and a few bus rides). I was being extra careful then. Since then I’ve relaxed a bit. I’m also glad I didn’t get it while my parents were visiting because that would have been a bore. Yes all things considered, my timing was perfect. In case you were wondering, I didn’t pick it up at hospital appointments, or getting my groceries delivered, etc. I got it from a rave where I danced for 5 hours straight. Worth it.

What else, what else.

I was more relieved than I thought I would be after that last Oncologist appointment where he said it seems stable (they don’t really know much from MRIs, they can only see if it’s got worse). I had been expecting it (though there are never any guarantees at all) – it would have been pretty dire if after 4 months of pretty intense chemo, the cancer had grown within a month of finishing. But that absolutely can (and does) happen, it was a definite possibility. But sitting in the waiting room for them to call me in, no matter how sure I’ve been that I shouldn’t be getting bad news (which is never really very sure but I like to hope), it’s always then that I realise I’m waiting for the moment where they could tell me things are going rapidly downhill. But not this time. This time I got ‘things don’t appear to be worse’.

I cried on the bus home from that appointment. I listened to my favourite music, made my way through London and I cried for how relieved I was, and I happy I was that I get to have another summer. I mean… I love the buses, they’re my happy place, as is London, as you all know (have I mentioned?). So I tend to get quite emotional when I’m either walking or bussing around. But it really hit me on my way home. I guess I’d been holding a breath I didn’t realise I was holding until I let it out.

My best mate from Sydney, my soulmate, my darling Katie who I’ve known since I was 15, is coming to visit me in a few weeks. She asked if she should wait until I got those results to book her flights. I said nah, I’m sure there will be ‘no new bad news’ from that appointment so it should be fine. But when I actually got that news, I realised how easily the opposite could have been true. That instead of looking forward to a fun few weeks with her, I could be rushing back in for appointments, discussions to see if there’s more treatment I could have, potentially more treatments, more hospital stays… And just realising that I get this summer to enjoy my time with her and see other friends and flit around London (amongst lots of rest days of course) is just everything I could ask for right now.

So here’s to the summer. I have my PET Scan while she’s here – on the 25th of July. I don’t need a hand hold for that one so she’s off ’emotional support human’ duties. Just ‘meet me int he pub after for a pint’ duties. Very important responsibility. The PET scan is just a long faffy thing where I have to fast for 6 hours then get injected then wait for an hour without moving, reading or ‘thinking too much’, and have a scan. Then the clinic appointment to discuss that is on August 1st, after she leaves.

In other amusing news, I got sunburned the other day (I’m allergic to suncream) after a swim and an impromptu pub crawl with my dear friend Sean, and he pointed out my new issue – eye patch strap tan lines. We had a good chuckle at that. I’m still amusingly pointing it out to people. Gotta laugh, gotta laugh.

Anyway, I GET ANOTHER SUMMER! So I’m off to enjoy that! Will update as things happen but don’t worry, you’ll always hear when things happen. It’s only when I have nothing new to write about that’s cancer related that I try to give myself a break. It’s important to compartmentalise and to have days, preferably weeks, where I can try thinking about cancer less. I’m making the most of those breaks in between while I still can. There’s life left in me yet, I’m determined to live as much of it as I can (with aforementioned rests).