Standing up to cancer?

I am not completely stupid. I know celebrity culture is here to stay. As my children frequently remind me, ‘It … 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

A Tuesday, appropriately. (Tuesday being the day I was formally diagnosed.) Poetic, it strikes me now. But at the time, … More

After they left, the house went very quiet. No one really knew about the quietness but me. I played a … More

Yesterday was the sixth anniversary of my diagnosis with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL), an aggressive cancer of the lymphatic system. I … More

Tracks 2 am: moonlight. The train has stopped out in the middle of the plain. Far away, points of … More

We walked into the brunt light, towards the hospital. The air was dry, February-cold. Traffic was going about its business. … More

The way I found out, just as with my diagnosis, was via a segment of a conversation about other things. … More

On certain afternoons I am certain it has come back. A twinge in my right side, where the pain … More

We walked into the brunt light, towards the hospital. The air was dry, February-cold. Traffic was going about its business. … More

‘I am so, so sorry.’ ‘You’re going to be fine.’ ‘Fight it, you know you’re a fighter.’ ‘Are we going … More

This is a momentous week. It marks the tenth anniversary of the day I was told I had cancer. To … More

The thing about having cancer was that it was pretty obvious what was going on. I had been feeling fairly … More

The Soho Hospital for Woman (IV) I am out in the supermarket choosing – this very afternoon, this day … More

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

What I want is to – to be present. That’s what I’ve learned. I want to strive for presence, now, … More

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More