Two little ducks

Last minute marathon preparations done (including but not limited to: a trip to Morrisons, sausages cooked for breakfast and an emergency sock wash hung out to dry), I slump into bed. We chat as I check his feet for the drug induced cracks that can painfully appear on the soles of his feet. Marathon number 22 is hardly even comprehensible. I remember saying once “this was supposed to be 6 in 6 months!” That isn’t to say I want him to stop, just that we never ever expected such an achievement.

A gentle voice wakes me at 6:??am. I am surprised he hasn’t woken me earlier. He has l
earned better what is needed to pack, prepare and get through a marathon day but still enjoys my company (I hope) and someone to double check things that might have been forgotten while he’s in the shower. It is, of course, my job to take the ‘off we go’ pictures. I am grateful for the part I have to play. This morning it is bitterly cold and there’s a thick frost. I stand a little too long after the car has gone, breathing in the clear sky until I start to shiver. I crawl back up the stairs to my expectant warm bed only to be welcomed by a cheeky smile. “Is it morning?” As she wraps her arms round my neck and we snuggle under the duvet, my beautiful girl’s sleepy eyes and bed hair bring the promise of a great day.

The media frenzy

I’m sat on a train feeling slightly overwhelmed. Today we appeared on Good Morning Britain. We were invited to speak about the Cancer Drugs Fund, how it has helped us and how the reform leaves the cancer community all feeling a little unclear about how people like Ben will be helped in the future.

Last week we had been involved in a video for Beating Bowel Cancer, done a catch up with North West tonight for a ‘Happy Easter’ story, and Ben had been on the Radio twice. “Do we need to learn to say no?” I ask, feeling like we hadn’t had a normal day all week. Then comes the invitation to head to London and sit on the sofa!  

Signs and Symptoms (an overview)

When Ben was diagnosed with Bowel Cancer in March 2012, I was 3 months pregnant and our cancer adventure began.

He had been having a number of, what we now know to be, bowel cancer symptoms. He had rapidly lost weight, his stools were loose and changeable and he had begun to have abdominal pain. He put some of this down to his running, as he had been training hard for the Great North Run 2012, the usual stresses of life and possibly a case of IBS.