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

Days Each one is a gift, no doubt, mysteriously placed in your waking hand or set upon your forehead moments … More

Reading Arthur W. Frank’s astonishing At the Will of the Body recently has given me pause to reflect on the relationship … More

Dear Arthur Frank I’m writing to say thank you for your extraordinary book At the Will of the Body. It is … More

A year ago I had a relapse of my cancer. Except I didn’t. For a week or so I knew … More

Seven years ago I published The Year of Drinking Water, a pamphlet of poems, about my experience of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (Exeter … More

A scan, with different initials. The train journey to it, biting nails; the one back pretending not to be radioactive. … More

Don’t forget, this is inside us every day -Stephen Berg This is not happening. It happened. Past tense. One … More

An old friend of mine wrote to me the other day, out of the blue, to tell me about … More

This is the recording of my reading ‘Life Begins With Cancer’, recorded at the Greenbelt Festival on Sunday 25th August, … More

Today is the seventh anniversary of the day I was told I was officially in remission from cancer. The popular … More

Thank you to Julia McGuinness for posting this interview with me on her Creative Connections blog. In it I discuss … More

A year ago I went to hear Clare Best read from her extraordinary book Excisions (Waterloo Press, 2011). Clare … More

This is What I Wanted to Sign Off With You know what I’m like when I`m sick: I’d sooner curse … More

In September 2006 my treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma came to an end. I was not told I was officially in … More

When I began to recover from my treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2006 this lovely article about Nick Drake’s Northern … More

Let Evening Come Let the light of late afternoon shine through chinks in the barn, moving up the bales as … More