#BloodyCancer (see what I did there?!)

Hi, I'm Angela and I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia weeks after my 50th birthday. 'Chronic' means my blood cancer would progress slowly and, for this type of leukaemia, no treatment is the best treatment, so I've spent 8 years on what's known as 'Watch and Wait' (although the blood cancer community have re-named it 'Wait and Worry'!). During this time I have had 3-monthly blood tests and appointments with my Haematology Consultant and, of course, as my cancer progressed, the results of each test were worse than the one before, which was also accompanied with more symptoms and a decline in my health.

However, in July 2022, my blood results showed a very significant deterioration, and I reached the stage where chemotherapy was a necessity. This blog is a way to create a record of my treatment journey (which will be 12 months), both to share with others the ups and downs, but also to provide me with a way to have some catharsis. CLL is incurable and the treatment I am undergoing will (hopefully) give me some respite from the impact of the cancer, but it will not disappear and, sadly, after a short period, will likely come back with a vengeance.

I will be very open and honest (I've always been an open book, actually!) as I hope it may help others who find themselves in a similar situation. No one wants to themselves or a loved one to face the 2 big C's - Cancer and Chemotherapy, but when you do encounter them, information and the experiences of others can provide great support. I hope those who read this blog find it informative, optimistic and, knowing my style of handling adversity, funny at times too!

I want this blog to be characterised by the 3 H’s: Honesty, Hope and Humour and I hope to stay true to these, so please give me feedback – what works well, what could I do differently and what can you share to add value for others to this blog?