Dear Cancer It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Fifteen years, to be precise. To the day. Amazing to realise it … More
Tag: Love for Now
Open letter to Arthur Frank (on reading At the Will of the Body)
Dear Arthur Frank I’m writing to say thank you for your extraordinary book At the Will of the Body. It is … More
Cured
A Tuesday, appropriately. (Tuesday being the day I was formally diagnosed.) Poetic, it strikes me now. But at the time, … More
On not having cancer
On certain afternoons I am certain it has come back. A twinge in my right side, where the pain … More
Walking into the light
We walked into the brunt light, towards the hospital. The air was dry, February-cold. Traffic was going about its business. … More
Things people said when I had cancer
‘I am so, so sorry.’ ‘You’re going to be fine.’ ‘Fight it, you know you’re a fighter.’ ‘Are we going … More
Ten years today
This is a momentous week. It marks the tenth anniversary of the day I was told I had cancer. To … More
What I have learned about remission
I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More
What is a lifesaving poem?
Tomorrow I will be taking part at the Wenlock Poetry Festival in an event with Roz Goddard. We will be … More
Ghost chemo
It’s hard to describe. One day your are fine, not quite the same (age will do this to you), then … More
Nine years ago today
Nine years ago today I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the white blood cells. Even though I have … More
On writing and illness
Reading Arthur W. Frank’s astonishing At the Will of the Body recently has given me pause to reflect on the relationship … More
Open letter to Arthur Frank (on reading At the Will of the Body)
Dear Arthur Frank I’m writing to say thank you for your extraordinary book At the Will of the Body. It is … More
On not relapsing
A year ago I had a relapse of my cancer. Except I didn’t. For a week or so I knew … More
Influences: Jörn Cann’s art
This is Jörn Cann. He was my ward doctor at the haematology unit where I was treated for non-Hodgkin’s … More
Then this
I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More
This is the day
I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More
To my cancer
I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More
Lifesaving Poems 