Firstly, if you haven't read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, this is my one literary and life recommendation. It goes a long way to explaining my choice of title for this site.
DON’T PANIC was written on the cover of a travel guide by the same name as the book. Crucially, the words were written 'in large, friendly letters on the cover' to keep intergalactic travellers from panicking upon embarking on the possibly scary nature of travelling across the enormity of space. A bonus is that this phrase was considered by Arthur C Clarke the best advice that could be given to humanity.
Where does glioblastoma multiforme come into all of this? A bit like the idea of travelling across the infinity of our universe, living with this itsy-bitsy tumour can at times generate a bit of PANIC... and DON'T PANIC is surely a great bit of common sense, even if it requires a bit of doublethink to truly work. Then there is an almost comic element to this condition. You can remain fit and otherwise healthy for months, years, even decades... especially by 'staying hopeful' (as the doctors often remind me to do straight after sharing some grim news), but you just don’t know if and when the tumour will come back and what advances medicine will come up with next to counteract it. Finally, the medical sector is also key here. As with the Guide: it's one of my allies but has also proven insanely complex to navigate. But we’re learning how to do this and are not going to PANIC!
I’d like to think I'm in a scene from the book that goes something like this:
“So this is it," said Arthur, "We are going to die."
"Yes," said Ford, "except... no! Wait a minute!" He suddenly lunged across the chamber at something behind Arthur's line of vision. "What's this switch?" he cried.
"What? Where?" cried Arthur, twisting round.
"No, I was only fooling," said Ford, "we are going to die after all.”
(WARNING: PLOT SPOILER) Arthur and Ford survive this incident, but you’ll have to read the book to learn how.
In this blog I’m going to offer regular updates on how my health is progressing, just in case you’re interested. I plan to keep it anonymous and focus mainly on the medical angle. Hopefully we can talk about life and other stuff over one small glass of red wine, possibly overstepping these parameters if you don't tell my nutritionist! It starts on 27 January 2015, the day on which both my first phase of treatment finishes and on which I turn 33!
Ps the photo above is not Hanibal Lecter or anyone from the Guide. It is me in the mask I wore thirty times while having a little corner of my brain zapped during radiotherapy.
DON’T PANIC was written on the cover of a travel guide by the same name as the book. Crucially, the words were written 'in large, friendly letters on the cover' to keep intergalactic travellers from panicking upon embarking on the possibly scary nature of travelling across the enormity of space. A bonus is that this phrase was considered by Arthur C Clarke the best advice that could be given to humanity.
Where does glioblastoma multiforme come into all of this? A bit like the idea of travelling across the infinity of our universe, living with this itsy-bitsy tumour can at times generate a bit of PANIC... and DON'T PANIC is surely a great bit of common sense, even if it requires a bit of doublethink to truly work. Then there is an almost comic element to this condition. You can remain fit and otherwise healthy for months, years, even decades... especially by 'staying hopeful' (as the doctors often remind me to do straight after sharing some grim news), but you just don’t know if and when the tumour will come back and what advances medicine will come up with next to counteract it. Finally, the medical sector is also key here. As with the Guide: it's one of my allies but has also proven insanely complex to navigate. But we’re learning how to do this and are not going to PANIC!
I’d like to think I'm in a scene from the book that goes something like this:
“So this is it," said Arthur, "We are going to die."
"Yes," said Ford, "except... no! Wait a minute!" He suddenly lunged across the chamber at something behind Arthur's line of vision. "What's this switch?" he cried.
"What? Where?" cried Arthur, twisting round.
"No, I was only fooling," said Ford, "we are going to die after all.”
(WARNING: PLOT SPOILER) Arthur and Ford survive this incident, but you’ll have to read the book to learn how.
In this blog I’m going to offer regular updates on how my health is progressing, just in case you’re interested. I plan to keep it anonymous and focus mainly on the medical angle. Hopefully we can talk about life and other stuff over one small glass of red wine, possibly overstepping these parameters if you don't tell my nutritionist! It starts on 27 January 2015, the day on which both my first phase of treatment finishes and on which I turn 33!
Ps the photo above is not Hanibal Lecter or anyone from the Guide. It is me in the mask I wore thirty times while having a little corner of my brain zapped during radiotherapy.
