What’s a nice guy like me doing with Cancer?
Hi everyone my name is Peter and I have Cancer, to be more specific I have Stage 3/4 Bladder Cancer. 
So why do this? Write a blog about cancer, especially ‘my cancer’ that is a question that many have asked me, why share what is probably going to be really hard to do and maybe at time hard to follow. The straight answer is I’m primarily doing this for me but as you find out more about me as we go on I’m not a completely self-centered moron and I truly hope that some of what I share with helps someone else then that for sure will be a bonus. Some clarification before we proceed, I’m not pissed off about having Cancer anymore, I was but fortunately, some weeks before I started this blog I did all the crying and wall punching (not really!) that I felt was necessary or expected for someone that is given that news. Cancer can be very private, I kept my feeling to myself and suffered for it, it’s bad enough having friggin cancer but not reach out to for help, be it emotional or physical, is just stupid so I don’t do that anymore.
Some rules about how we proceed on this journey,
- I will not lie to you EVER…
- If I am having a crappy day I will tell you – sorry somedays cancer isn’t fun.
- If you don’t like what I write, sorry, go watch YouTube or check out Facebook.
- You can comment on all the articles, I will not edit any comments unless you are being a complete dick
- I live in Toronto Canada but I’m from the UK originally consequently I have a dry sense of humor that borders on sarcasm. If I find humor in things that upset you that is not my intention. Laughing, ‘often at myself’ has gotten me through many prior downtimes.
- I am not a writer – so if the odd period turns up in the wrong place I’m sorry. I edit on the fly.
- There are two amazing women in my life who I will mention one is my partner Divina and my daughter Julie, everyone else will be identified as Jo or St and Ma, just the first 2 letters of there name just to protect their privacy.
So that’s it really, that’s why I started this and hope to continue to the end of this journey wherever it may take us, there will be tears, humor but above all I want this to be an experience that I for one would not want to miss.
The latest article
Where do we go from here?
I realized over the weekend after a few people mentioned that they had been following ‘My Unexpected Journey’ that once I have had the operation to remove the bulk of my cancer that this journey that we have taken together will come to an end. There have been literally thousands (I have the stats) of people who have been following along with you, it can’t end here, it just can’t.
That pesky little lymph node is still there and has to be dealt with and that may be further down the road and I’ve kind of gotten used to sharing my journey with my peeps. All that I have written about, close to 30 articles now, has been about the chemo, my fears, and general emotions about having cancer and ultimately getting rid of it. So the will does continue as I lead up to and deal with the surgery that I was told today will be before the holidays plus the change in lifestyle that I will be faced with.
Let’s be Frank – they are taking out my Bladder, there I said it…
We (Divina is on vacation) went to Sunnybrook to meet the surgeon, actually, we met with his intern who explained everything that is going to happen and how they are going to remove my bladder. The whole thing all sounds rather disconcerting but ‘it is what it is’ and I’m going to be alive so that’s all that counts.
The operation will last approximately 5 hours (finally gets some rest lol) they keep a watchful eye on you for the next 7 days to make sure all the bits and pieces are connected properly and working correctly. The 7 days will be spent in hospital under the watchful eye of Sunnybrooks nurses.
Very little food during that time, the surgeon mentioned I will lose weight while in hospital (no kidding !) then home to recover for 4 to 6 weeks. So how do you pee you may ask, well I have opted for a Urostomy Pouch, there are other new methods but the pouch is the tried and tested way to go. Seems over 130,000 per year resort to having a Urostomy Pouch, seems they are planning on giving me mine before the holiday.
So the journey continues, albeit a different direction, my intent when I started ‘My Unexpected Detour’ was for me to find a way to deal with my cancer. Add some humor if I could and just share the ride, I have achieved so much more than my original intent, I have been truly humbled by the fact that some of you have told me I have been an inspiration to them, not me, them. That’s why the journey must continue, let’s see where it takes, life is full of surprises let’s see how many we find as the journey continues.
Merry Christmas Peter here’s a bag for you – sorry I couldn’t resist that one.
Peter (&mini T)
PS: Edited on the fly as usual, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life so a few more won’t matter that much
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