Cornish - your story has really moved me and I want to encourage you all I can to stay positive about the right outcome for you even when you are having a dark moment. I haven't experienced cancer but I have just returned home after a third bout of surgery in just over a year. In the space of a month at the start of 2010 I went from being apparently healthy and fit to being literally within days of death. I have had to have a large part of my bowel removed and spent weeks unable to get out of bed because of a large open wound down my stomach. The parts of my bowel that were removed were replaced by replacable bags that I had to stick onto my stomach and attach to the remaining bowel - I honestly thought my life as a husband, father, employee and all the other things that are important to me was over. I couldn't comprehend taking my lad to see the Albion again as I was barely able to get beyond my own bathroom. But the body and mind have incredible healing powers. I got back to work in the summer on a part time basis at least, I was there at Withdean for the Rochdale game, we took a week abroad in the autumn. I discovered that even with a body that was a complete mess of temporary kit and surgical appliances there was always hope, always an opportunity to look forward and always a good day to offset the dark ones. I had further surgery in November to begin to reconstruct what has been cut from my body but the side effects of this were really poor and kept me off work, off the Albion and pretty much everything else for another long and difficult few months. On Friday I came home from operation number three. My insides are now back on my insides thanks to the brilliance of my consultant. I still have a long way to go to recover fully and my "normal" will never be the same as most peoples. But I can see real light at the end of this dark tunnel and I truly hope that you will be able to see the same. It was never, ever my intention to say so much about my own medical challenges on a board like this but I have learnt over these last few months that sharing positive stories can be a massive encourgement to those going through tough times. My thoughts and prayers are with you - up the Albion!
Blimey - what a journey! If it wasn't cancer - what the dickens causes something like that?
I'm in awe of what you've been through. Medical science is amazing but people have to live through the treatments to make them amazing!!