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One of my new BC friends, the lovely Sarah, writes a great cancer blog. She is much braver than me and has been sharing it as she goes along – you can find her at http://hbocuninformed.blogspot.co.uk/.

Anyhow, Sarah has started posting on 100 reasons she is grateful for her BC diagnosis. This started me thinking. I’m not sure I can come up with 100 reasons but I can certainly think of at least 10. And I can also think of the 10 things I hate most about cancer. And the 10 people who have helped me the most. And the 10 words I have hated the most. So that’s at least 4 lots of top tens. I might even get to ten top tens. Ten times ten is 100, so I will kind of get to Sarah’s total! Here we go.

10 reasons to be grateful for my diagnosis

1. I’m getting to spend a lot more time with my hub. Admittedly it’s generally in hospitals, which is somewhat less than romantic, but still.
2. I’ve faced up to the fact of my own mortality. Aged 38, death isn’t one of the things I often think about and when I do I usually panic and immediately try to think of something else. I’ve had to change my attitude. I’m not scared any more. I just want to live to see my kids grow up and my husband grow old.
3. I’ve been pushed to do things I always wanted but never got around to. This is most definitely NOT a bucket list but rather a realisation that life is short so you need to get on with it. So I’ve learnt to ride a bike and I’m learning to ice skate with Tali. Next spring we will learn to horse ride. And then skiing. Simple things.
4. Life is now at a slower pace. Not my ideal, but probably good for me, at least for a while.
5. I know who my friends are. Those who care. And also those who haven’t been in touch. For whatever reason.
6. Objectively, it’s been interesting. I’ve learnt a bit about a type of medicine and treatment. And I like learning new things.
7. It could be a lot worse. There are no signs that it’s spread. I don’t carry the BRCA genes. I found the lump early.
8. I changed my hair style – at last! I’m not going to keep the bald look but I am aiming to grow it back in the shorter style I cut it to over the summer. Cutting the long style was seriously overdue.
9. I’m hoping to use my flabby tummy to make a new pair of boobs. So I get a boob job and tummy tuck at the same time. Genius.
10. My wonderful new friends. All met online and some in person. In no particular order: Tamara, Kate W, Jodi, Rachel A, Jo F, Cinzia, Lyndsey, Hayley, Andrea, Sarah P, Rebecca S, Clover, Christine H, Joanna C, Jojo G, Rosie, Hilary, Juliette T, Laura Jayne, Caroline F, all of the other lovely lovely ladies of YBCN and all of the super amazing mums on Frank Mums.

Tune in next time folks for my top ten hates!