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Today is the 8th anniversary of my diagnosis with blood cancer. I had been sick for several weeks and therefore the diagnosis was not out of the blue. But what was less expected was that I would constantly struggle with chronic illnesses from then on. I think we often think of even cancer as an acute condition and presume it will either kill you or you will get better.<\/p>\n
For me it hasn\u2019t just been the cancer itself but the knock on effects, almost like a series of dominoes falling over as I add diagnoses and new consultants to the growing list. In fact I am in remission from the blood cancer, although the experts do still expect it to come back and need more treatment at some point. I appeared on Songs of Praise a couple of years back<\/a>, which is a good way to hear a bit about what I have learnt in these last years. I also won\u2019t repeat here some of the things I said last year about learning not to be defined by my list of diagnoses.<\/a><\/p>\n Help When Life Hurts<\/p>\n This article is part of a growing collection, drawing from Adrian Warnock\u2019s medical and psychological expertise, lived experience, and Christian faith.<\/p>\n Click the type of pain you or a loved one are experiencing right now<\/p>\n General suffering & disappointment<\/a> See the full list of over 40 articles In the last year, since I posted on the seventh anniversary<\/a>, I have had three hospital admissions, the last of which was at the end of March this year due to a brand new diagnosis of an aggressive form of diabetes. My HBA1c was 111 and my blood glucose 30 with ketones of 3. \u00a0I was admitted and immediately started on insulin, which is unusual at my age. \u00a0Prior to this, the fatigue that has been caused by several different conditions over the years had got to being the worst I had ever experienced, and I just wanted to sleep all day unless I drank copious amounts of caffeine. I wasn\u2019t aware though that a new problem was brewing.<\/p>\n The lack of energy and hence poor mobility has made losing weight very hard over the years, and so in an indirect way if this is Type 2 diabetes my poor general health may help to explain it. But there is a chance it is actually Type 1 due to the rapid way it came on. This is an auto-immune condition which I am more susceptible to due to my history of a cancer in my immune system. Ironically, because I take donated antibodies weekly the test they usually use to tell the two conditions apart is unreliable as the antibodies they have detected might have come from me or one of the blood donors! Having multiple conditions is complex.<\/p>\n But I am less surprised and frustrated than I used to be when health challenges arise. I kind of expect them. This means I am less shaken by them than I used to be, and much less likely to ask \u201cWhy Me?<\/a>\u201d question, In fact I guess I tend to think \u201cWhy not me?\u201d now! My hope is less for complete healing now<\/a>, and more for the grace to keep going, striving to fix my eyes set on the eternal hope to come. \u00a0I still find overly positive people<\/a> deeply frustrating at times, however!<\/p>\n\n
\nFinancial difficulties<\/a>
\nFeeling disqualified<\/a>
\nChronic illness & disability<\/a>
\nDivorce & family pain<\/a>
\nDepression & mental health<\/a>
\nBereavement & end-of-life<\/a><\/p>\n
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