It has been almost exactly one month since the last post. This period of (blog) silence and (blog) inactivity pretty accurately mirrors the last month of the cancer journey actually. Sue has not experienced any obvious new signs or symptoms that the cancer is moving from its current apparently docile state. This has coincided nicely with a period with no planned treatment and no medical appointments - largely because we were travelling interstate for much of the last month. It was only as we experienced a release from the treatments and appointments that had framed and structured our individual and combined lives for the previous 8 months that we began to understand the impact that this had on us.

The three weeks in Victoria and South Australia were a rich blessing and time of celebration and re-creation. We traveled and stayed put; rested and exercised; went out and stayed in; went to bed early and very late; talked and sat in silence; laughed and cried; spoke deeply and chatted frivolously; made good use of time and ‘wasted’ it. We even danced - twice!

Coming home was a bit of a shock as we had to engage again with what ‘normal life’ looks and feels like – at least for the moment. It also became clear that Sue had been running on love and adrenaline whole away – it took her a few days to regather and recuperate. It took me longer than that.

The current reprieve has now ended. It has all started again. Sue has a colonoscopy scheduled for this Thursday, with an appointment with the anesthetist tomorrow. There were blood tests last week and follow up appointments with the surgeon and oncologist next week to make some decisions about next steps. There was even an unexpected visit to Emergency Department of Royal Darwin Hospital last Thursday night, but that is another story.

So it is back onto the roller coaster......

I found the cartoon and erased the text from the speech bubbles. I am offering a prize (as yet undetermined but it will be awesome!) for the best submission of alternative text. It could be Sue talking to me, or me to her, or involve the medical profession or….  Add your creative thoughts to the comments section, or if you are shy, email them to me. I will choose the best, re-post the cartoon with the text included and announce the prize-winner (and the prize I guess!). Come on, have a go!