She's Got It Good.

All this depression and silliness on my part has distracted me from updating my army of readers about my dear wife. Most of you will know that just over a year ago my wife Annie was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. At the time, we were all pretty scared, and I must admit that I was more frightened by the thought of losing my wife to cancer than she was herself!

Last August, Annie went into the Sarawak General Hospital here in Kuching to have a left-breast mastectomy, a small but brutal price to pay for your life, I suppose. After that, my wife went through four painful and sickening doses of chemotherapy which caused her hair to fall out, and finished back in December last year. And to add incident to injury, just as the hair started to appear again like a faint tattoo on her scalp, there were 25 blasts of radiotherapy, spread out over five weeks from February to March this year.

All of this made Annie as sick as a parrot, yet like the little fighter that she is, she got through it with prayer, fortitude and a few hugs and kisses from yours truly.

In April she had an ultrasound and chest X-ray to see if all the cutting, poisoning and zapping had been successful. And you know what? No evidence of cancer tumours or any metastasis (spreading) so far. Just a rather fatty liver!

Now, in August 2008, more than one year after the first treatment began, Annie is doing great. Her hair is now a bushy, curly black mass on her head, and she is back at work teaching on light duty at her school. She still gets very tired, and her system is not completely free of the effects of the chemo - these can persist for years afterwards.

But we are hopeful, and thankful to God, and to all the dedicated hospital staff at the SGH, to Dr. Beena and her magnificent crew in the oncology and radiology department. You are all heroes. Thank you so much for letting me keep my dear wife...

Here is a picture of Annie taken in the garden of my parents' place in Spain, back in June this year:

Not bad for a cancer patient, eh? Remember, breast cancer is not the death sentence it used to be. You can get through it with a positive attitude, good diet and above all the love and support of others. I even know of the sister of a colleague who had stage 4 breast cancer, just about the worst it could possibly be, and I heard that she also responded well to the treatment.

So take heart, folks!