Onwards and Upwards No. 24
Hello my healing team,
I hope this update finds you well.
It’s been a while so I thought I would update you on my recent results. A couple of weeks ago I had another Bone Marrow Biopsy and my results indicate that the cancer is progressing. It has gone from 1.5 to 3.5% in my bone marrow in my pelvis. Whilst I would much prefer to see it going down, the fact that it is progressing slowly is a bit of a win. What’s even better is that I feel healthy and well. Sure I have fatigue to manage, but I don’t have many aches and pains!! Also, given the slow progression, I don’t have to go back onto the hard core chemotherapy for a while. This will be reassessed after Christmas following my next bone marrow biopsy. Bring on a (relatively) drug free Christmas and let’s hope the cancer numbers stay stable.
Whilst I have been busy with home life and work, I have made time for a few other things that I am passionate about. I have continued to support several charities (Australian Bone Marrow Donation Registry, Lymphoma Australia and Myeloma Australia) by either fundraising, raising awareness or by providing support. This has been very fulfilling. I have also taken the opportunity to speak about my recent experiences and learnings by delivering several presentations. I have spoken of how to become empowered in times of adversity, the value of giving back to charities, and the importance of acting now to live deliberately by setting and striving towards your goals. I have shared my experiences in the hope that others hear my messages and become inspired to implement change towards an improved life.
When living with a terminal disease, time becomes important. Whilst I believe I will live until I am 80, I have decided that I will live as though I only have 5 years left. It has been suggested to me that nobody knows when we will die, and that any of us can go at any time. On this basis, we should all live as though we only have 5 years left. So what have I done?? I have written out a bucket list for the next 5 years. I want to make the next 5 years fruitful. Then in five years time, when I have completed my current bucket list, I will write another bucket list and achieve more. I encourage you to do the same.
Time is of the essence. My fab kineasiologist, Nanette Abbott, recently introduced me to this quote taken from a book by Lisa Messenger; If you want to know the value of one year, ask a student who failed a course; If you want to know the value of one month, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby; If you want to know the value of one hour, ask the lovers waiting to meet; If you want to know the value of one minute, ask the person who just missed the bus; If you want to know the value of one second, ask the person who escaped a car accident; If you want to know the value of one-hundredth of a second, ask the athlete who won a silver medal at the Olympics; and then it was added If you want to know what an hour is worth, just ask a wife who can’t make it to a car crash in time to say goodbye to her husband.
I feel fortunate that I have time to create and fulfil my bucket list. Act now.
Take care
Geoff
