A bit of an explanation

I see I haven’t updated my website for 8 months now, that includes blogs.

Unfortunately I have had a significant health issue which is my reason.

In May I came back from Bologna with a groin pain, checked out by my GP who thought it was a hernia. Put on a waiting list for a NHS consultation, but looking at the timeline Fiona (wife) and I decided to spend money and go private. A bit of examination and CT and ultrasound scan determined I didn’t have a hernia but there was an ‘anomaly’ in my bowel and liver.

Fast forward a week and I was having a colonoscopy and there was the anomaly, snip snip for samples and await the results. That was actually on my 72nd birthday. Three weeks later I was told I had bowel cancer!

The liver required a MRI scan however having a pacemaker means it’s not straight forward. It took 8 weeks for the local hospital to get a cardiologist to switch the pacemaker into MRI mode and be there while I am scanned and the switch me back to everyday mode. An appalling delay!

One week later I am with an oncologist who confirmed the bowel cancer had spread to my liver and I was classed as Terminally ill with 12 to 18 months to live if left alone.

You can imagine how devastating that was for Fiona and I, with lots of tears shed. Then having to tell our 4 kids, kids – they are all around 30.

I took time to reevaluate my priorities, out went a lot of hobbies and commitments, if it wasn’t something we could do together it really wasn’t a priority.

The only one I kept was photography. Fiona recognised it gave me immense pleasure and could do with her and alone.

Since then, September/October I have been having chemotherapy. Infusions for three days every fortnight and tablets daily. The week I have infusions my head is on the planet Janet, so I do nothing really. The second week I try to catch up with life and squeeze in photography.

Chemotherapy seems to be doing ok, a CT scan in December showed my bowel tumour has shrink and the tumour count in my blood has dropped significantly.

2026 has brought a further three months of chemo, but also a change for us. On our good week we are now going to try and get away for a couple of days. Not far, I cannot get travel insurance! But as we live in the most beautiful part of the earth, Scotland, we are going to explore the borders and highlands. Photography will be an important part of these trips so keep your eye out on my blog.

Wish me well, and I will blog more from now on.