Positively Maybe

Don't mug yourself, let your doctor do it for you

Big Al — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:58:37 +0000

Welcome to the hidden costs of being sick.

Since I became too ill to work just before Christmas last year, I have been struggling to get by on Incapacity Benefit ...

Those nice people at HSBC

Big Al — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:03:20 +0000

What a nice bank HSBC is.

Not only did they spot that someone was stealing my money via a cash point in Malaysia and warn me so that I stopped ...

You know you're having a shit year when...

Big Al — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:18:34 +0000

You know you're having a shit year when you beat cancer, are recovering from bowel surgery and then some twat in Malaysia robs hundreds of pounds out of your bank ...

Why doctors can't tell you 'you're cured!'

Big Al — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:32:46 +0100

I had the results of my PET and CT scans two days ago and the great news is that the test for cancer was negative.

I started to feel and ...

Pity Poor Alfie

Big Al — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:29:26 +0100

Alfie cat died yesterday after regaining consciousness and perking up at the vet’s for a few hours. He was even purring for a while. At 14 he had lived a ...

Doom and disaster follows me to Brighton

Big Al — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:25:53 +0100

On Thursday some friends drove me down to Hove to stay at their house for a week and have a break from London where I have been mostly housebound since ...

PET scanner at St Thomas hospital

Big Al — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:02:53 +0100

I posted a new photo to Photos.

PET scan 2

Big Al — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:58:20 +0100

Yesterday I had my second PET scan which should have detected whether I still have live cancer cells in my body or if the two sessions of R-ICE chemotherapy I’ve ...

Someone is trying to tell you something

Big Al — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 21:59:28 +0100

When you are diagnosed with a ‘serious’ illness like HIV or cancer, you become a bit preoccupied with the meaning of life and start to see signs everywhere. So recently ...

A chair in the sun

Big Al — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:13:26 +0100

It’s been 5 weeks since my last confession (blogging is the new confessional right?) and not much has changed.

Physically, I’ve now had two sessions of R-ICE chemotherapy and am ...

The chemo hangover lingers on

Big Al — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:21:34 +0100

I haven’t handled the new chemo therapy treatment very well although I am certain something that can make you feel that unwell most be doing the cancer some terrific damage.

...

Another kind of Rice but twice as nice

Big Al — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 13:47:46 +0100

I received a boost today when Flipside, a new dvd from Absinthe Films, arrived in the post. It’s a documentary about the making of their snowboarding film More.
A few ...

Rice

Big Al — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 21:44:51 +0100

I should have known that the moment I cancel all my care workers I would start to feel unwell again but that’s where we’re at. I’m trying to be optimistic ...

Freakday the 13th

Big Al — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 00:05:05 +0100

I should be out celebrating my friend’s birthday in Farringdon tonight but yesterday morning I accidentally kicked a kitchen cupboard so hard that I can barely walk. I think my ...

Going underground

Big Al — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 12:00:32 +0100

Today I’m going to have a PET scan (Positron Emission Tomography) where they will inject me with a radioactive tracer and stick me in a big machine which can detect ...

Bad news

Big Al — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 10:39:02 +0100

Yesterday I received the results of my CT scan and I haven’t been given the all clear as I hoped. There’s still some of the mass remaining from my cancer ...

Tim Armstrong

Big Al — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:01:31 +0100

Who's cheering me up at the moment? I listen online to the Punk Show with Mike Davies (in the old days it was called The Lock Up... I loved that ...

Down and out in the world's 2nd most expensive city

Big Al — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:35:26 +0100

Despite living in one of the eight richest economies in the world and (when I am well enough to work) having a pretty good job, I am trapped by poverty....

The curse of the Notorious Biggy Smalls

Big Al — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:06:48 +0100

I’ve been watching the new series of Rome on BBC 2 and one of the themes in the storyline is how much the ancient Romans believed in their gods and ...

Lest we forget

Big Al — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:10:33 +0100

I’ve been disappointed with my progress lately because it’s easy to forget how far you’ve come.

After I had completed my chemo treatment I think I thought that was it ...

Pointless... well not entirely

Big Al — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:02:14 +0100

Today’s hospital appointment was a breeze. It’s just a shame it was completely pointless.

Since my chemotherapy has ended I have been somewhat confused as to what happens next and ...

I am the Ricky Gervais of the NHS

Big Al — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 21:49:53 +0100

I’d never realised before but being a patient in the NHS is similar to being an Extra. Or maybe even being the lead actor. Hours of waiting around just to ...

Webcam consultancy

Big Al — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:26:57 +0100

Webcam consultancy with your doctor – will someone please invent it! Why is it that Britain is the country with the most CCTV cameras in the world per capita, yet ...

Saved by the care worker

Big Al — Wed, 30 May 2007 09:03:41 +0100

Just when things were going so well, I suffered a set back. Normally when I go for chemo, I also ...

Bloods

Big Al — Fri, 25 May 2007 10:49:26 +0100

Today is my brother’s birthday. I have three. And a sister. I’m the oldest and supposedly smartest. Yesterday, on my ...

A journey begins witha single step

Big Al — Wed, 23 May 2007 23:52:27 +0100

Today I was back in Barts Hospital for what will hopefully be my final Pre-Chemo Assessment appointment. This involves a ...

There is no such thing as bad news

Big Al — Fri, 18 May 2007 08:26:40 +0100

When you are first diagnosed with HIV, you are assigned a councillor to help you cope with the news. One ...

The selflessness of other people

Big Al — Thu, 17 May 2007 10:00:33 +0100

Yesterday, having finally received my first Incapacity Benefit payment, I honoured a promise to donate to Leukaemia Research instead of ...

It's not easy being queasy

Big Al — Thu, 10 May 2007 08:02:46 +0100

The chemo therapy hangover drags on like a mathematical certainty. There seems to be a formula which runs like ...

The Krispy Kreme connection

Big Al — Mon, 07 May 2007 12:14:14 +0100

After every chemotherapy treatment it is common for most patients to feel sick for a few days and I am ...