We have the day off today. There just wasn’t any work available and so we thought we would get some chores out of the way and otherwise relax. Little did we know our day would be turned into a Three-Ringed Circus.
Actually it started yesterday with a call from Bowel Cancer Australia. In case you don’t know, my husband, Pete, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in April of 2009. After two surgeries and 30 weeks of chemotherapy, he is fine and there is no trace of the cancer. However he also has Type 2 Diabetes and it has recently been discovered that there seems to be a link between Type 2 Diabetes and Bowel Cancer in men.
Pete was asked if he would agree to do a recorded interview which will then be played at an upcoming Seminar. Then the phone seemed to ring incessantly for the rest of the day and even for part of the morning today.
There was a phone interview, and then we were told that an ABC news crew would be visiting the house to do a filmed interview. Later we were informed that the Courier Mail would be sending a photographer to snap some shots of Pete and he was emailed a copy of the Press Release that will be used.
Today we’ve had calls from both the news crew and the photographer as they are all running late and have had to reschedule the visit to later in the day. There was a call from the interviewer to advise Pete on the procedure, and to make sure he understood that there was no pressure; there was plenty of tape so the crew could splice and edit and he doesn’t have to worry about making mistakes. Then there was a call from Ethical Strategies to make sure Pete had been given all the necessary information.
Usually when the phone rings I answer. Right now I don’t bother because it will definitely be for Pete. He is really the ‘man-of-the-moment’.
Initially he registered with the Bowel Cancer Society because he wanted to be able to help other men diagnosed with the disease. He wanted to be able to convey the importance of maintaining a positive attitude throughout the course of the treatment. He was quite disappointed when the opportunities to do something like this never seemed to happen.
But now it has. It hasn’t happened as he expected but that’s irrelevant really. The important thing is that he is finally able to contribute to the ongoing research into this deadly disease.
©Lyn Murphy 2011
1 comment:
What a brave man. My uncle has suffered and recovered from bowel cancer. It is a very unpleasant disease and it leaves its mark. My uncle is doing fine now (although has other problems as a result).
I have a lot of respect for folk who take the experience of their personal tragedies and help others in need.
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