Not the best start to 2018

@Afraser and @LucyE I was following links from another recommended article and came across the breast cancer risk calculator.  I had a play around with it (pretending I hadn't been diagnosed) and the one thing that brought me out of the moderate risk to high risk was my sister having had BC (she's the only one in my family who has ever had it).  I was really surprised about that.  Interestingly, it doesn't ask how many siblings you have and how many have had BC - it appears to be that 1 is enough.  I know it's a very simple tool but was still interesting to do.

@TripleTea so happy for you to have finished all your treatment. Like I told you there’s champagne waiting at the top of the shit covered mountain you have just climbed well done love xx

Like you, @LucyE, I love her writing, having read a number of her articles. I think she's in Melbourne, for anyone there

@Afraser, true :)

I am not for a moment suggesting a particular thing causes cancer! I am pretty sure it may not, otherwise my pipe smoking grandfather wouldn't have lived to 94. My mother also smoked, liked a drink and nearly made 94 too! But having a lot of avoidable health issues is something we can take control of. And not be put off by the myriad things we can't control : ) 

I agree @Afraser, if you look at the comments, I reflected on being overweight and getting cancer. Wow, the sense of judgement from some people was overwhelming! Cancer is still a bad luck to some degree. It raises some interesting issues though. 

Just had a read of that article too. Only problem is that that kind of sense and rationality doesn't necessarily get people to act. A colleague of mine drank heavily (I mean a lot!), smoked heavily, was overweight and had had a heart attack but the cancer diagnosis still came as shock to him and his family. So many people pin their faith on the magic cure (kale!!) or the one true cause. Cancer is sometimes a cumulative reaction as many health problems are. Even if your cancer is pure bad luck (ie something we don't know about yet and may not be able to avoid) as current research indicates, not also being overweight, heart and lung challenged or otherwise unfit will help in dealing with treatment and recovery. Just as long as we realise that keeping healthy isn't the perfect armour either!! But you'll feel better! 

Have you read her other articles @Afraser? I love her writing in the Guardian. She wrote a great one recently about the potential causes of cancer. 

It doesn’t take much to be nice. A radiographer the other day had to put a cannula in my arm twice as it didn’t go in right, which was upsetting for her and painful for me, but I was polite and it made it easier for both of us. I was thinking the other day, it’s much easier to focus on the negative things that happen, rather than all of the work that nurses and other health professionals put in that make things go smoothly. I’m a bit reflective today. 

That's a very good article! The last one is worth remembering. We can get caught up in our own dilemmas but anyone who has seen the grateful look on a harried nurse's face when you assure her you're fine, not in a rush and can wait, will realise it does not take a lot to be nice, at least at times!

@JoB Here are some useful tips for starting cancer treatment from oncologist Ranjana Srivastava who writes for The Guardian. Here's the link:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/12/five-things-to-remember-after-getting-the-dreaded-cancer-diagnosis?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other ;