full time job

It turns out that the sisterhood thing in cancer , breast cancer especially , is very strong . I really feel for any man who'd be unlucky enough to be one of those few percent that get breast cancer...it is such female domain , with deep emotional sharing and frank heart felt stories . I'm not very good at being open with all that stuff , with strangers , but the few people I've met "in the same boat" who have clicked with me have been very special . It's a universal truth that there's a unique insight you get only by travelling that particular road yourself . However , I have a darling friend  Leyla . She's one of those rare people who wants so wants to understand how her friend feels , that she doesn't need to have actually walked the road...she just gets it because she cares about me and wants to get it . Pure gold . 

She bought me my whacky cancer manual , entitled " Crazy Sexy Cancer" . It is crammed full of non cheesy , non "smug cancer survivor" , cheeky , honest and seriously helpful advice . Like , where to find wigs , how to wash during radiotherapy , how to organise your medical file and insurance claims , how to be honest with your kids without freaking them out , and how not to play the cancer oneupmanship " oh but I'm a stage 3 and you're only a stage 1 , pfft , walk in the park ". To that approach , the book retorts  " Cancer is cancer . Its ALL awful . Be nice ". Sounds like most things in life , if you ask me . Loads of lovely chapters on real life things you face , during and after cancer treatment.

Anyway , back to that jolly insurance claim thing . Hmmm . Living where we do , I luckily didn't have a tough decision between having treatment here or "there" . No decision at all. Chemo patients in Uganda DO have weight loss . A LOT . They have no radiotherapy because the only machine in the country has been broken for two years . They form the left hand side of the bell curve in survival rates . It's definitely sobering to consider that , as much as I dread chemo , and am not looking forward to radiotherapy , I'm LUCKY to have them . In my community , people who have regular mammograms and access to needle biopsies of low grade tumours in time to treat them with any realistic hope, are unheard of . I'm not going to be cheesy about privilege or good fortune , but just know that it isn't lost on me . 

As a family we have disaster health insurance cover . Which means it covers us for evacuation to Nairobi/ Joburg , and treatment of disastrous things . In numbers , that means it only kicks in after we have paid the first substantial excess . That also means that my foggy chemo brain and I have to keep track of every charge for every blood test/scan/prescription/doctor consult/treatment and remember to send it on to the lovely lady in the Uk . Most people in South Africa wouldn't dream of carrying cash , so when I turn up to the accounts department with my bundles of R100's most of them have to call a supervisor to process the payment . 

In between , I have to book , pay for ( without credit cards...that weirdo cash thing again) and catch flights to and from here and Durban . Make sure I book a taxi driver to take me to the 148 km to the airport because its 2.5 hours each way in the middle of the night , and anything up to 6 hours each way at other times ( Kampala traffic cannot be described) So Jon definitely doesn't take me to the airport . 

Luckily , I can have my interim blood tests done here in Jinja . there is an awesome lab that sends even my tumour markers to Joburg , and gives me 1st world results . Saves me staying in SA for months on end . 

I make sure I walk my dogs almost every day , have a rest most days , eat well every day, and spend gorgeous time with my friends , kids and husband . 

After that's all done , the day's over . How do people hold down a job during chemo? Iv'e got huge respect . Just HAVING chemo is a full time job for me . 

P.s. Any of you reading this who HAVEN'T visited us in the 14 years I've been here ,  and can't picture what I'm describing , just be warned that I am going to MILK this to make sure you feel guilty enough that you have to come and visit us ! xx