I feel a little bit like a fraud here because, well, I don't have cancer. But there was a possibility (through the bowel cancer screening programme) which came out all right, though worrying for a time. And, as I suppose most people have, I've had friends who have been diagnosed. Some still with us and a couple very sadly not. In truth I only joined to give my perspective on having a colonoscopy where if I can encourage one person not to be frightened of it then I'll se that as a job well done. But of course anybody is going to be frightened of it, perhaps I should have said not to be so frightened that you refuse it!
Last thing I can say to you is my eldest daughter was a nurse, now a senior midwife, but at one time she had a flatmate who was a specialist oncology nurse. I asked her once if she didn't find her job depressing and she was horrified..Not at all, she said, there are SO many new treatments coming all the time, so much more we can do I find it really uplifting.
That's worth remembering!
Oh, forgot. I'm 68, male, married and own and run my own garage with absolutely ZERO intentions of ever retiring!