Today I receive the the proofs of my memoir , Fifty/50 so I can go through it and make any last minute changes. It is exciting to at last see how it will look in print. I am not disappointed. The dust jacket gives a flavour of the book:
In the summer of 2007, Lin Sheffrin was diagnosed with a cancer which quickly invaded her liver.
This is her brave story.
Oh, Grandma. Where are you now when I need you the most...?The doctors draw a curtain round the bed. Mr E's voice is solemn. We took out fifteen lymph nodes, six of which were cancerous".
It is hard to absorb the news...I don't know how this will affect me. I am scared...a month ago I was apparently fit and happy, working full time, swimming in the sea, cycling, and living life to the full. My world has been transformed. I have lost more than a stone in weight. I am confused, very sick, and totally powerless.
What is a proud mother and grandmother, epathtic counsellor, hard-working teacher and keen cyclist to do when she suffers a debilitating pain which is swiftly diagnosed as colon cancer...? She fights, with all her heart and soul. Giving up is never an option for Lin. After all, she's encountered other difficultties in life - loss, divorce, bereavement, humiliating situations at primary school, the unwelcome attention of an older male cousin - and she's survived them all.
Brimming with delightful period detail - treadle sewing machines, roll-up cigarettes and 'pea souper' fogs.
A social history of the East End of London in the 1950s and 1960s. Tragic, but ultimately heart-warming and full of hope.
I ring the hospital co-ordinator to find out when I am expected back. There are a few days reprieve and I am to go back next Thursday, for a procedure on Friday. They are going to remove the T Tube and decide from there what else to do. I wish I had more confidence in their ability to sort this out, but after so many failed attempts on their part I am feeling quite low. I long to be proved wrong. My skin itches really badly and it is difficult to keep it at bay. The only thing that seems to work is calamine lotion but that is messy and doesn’t last for more than a few minutes. The drain site is also leaking chronically which doesn’t help the itching. I call out the the district nurse yet again. She will come round this morning and take another look.
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