Thursday 20 November 2014

For goodness sake - avoid buses!

The odds of being hit (and killed by a bus) are 13 million to one. This is interesting since people seem to be convinced that this is going to happen to them. When faced with my prognosis, which is around a one in two (worst case) to one in five (best case) chance of not being around in five years, people think I will be reassured by the thought that they may get hit by a bus. Unless the people I know are particularly poor at road safety, it's scant consolation. Conversely, the odds of winning the lottery are one in 14 million, so that's slightly more consoling (although winning the lottery and then being hit by a bus would be most unfortunate). It's so tricky for people to face their mortality, and indeed, that of the people they love, so this helps them to rationalise what is really a horrible prospect to have to think about. When you're faced with these kinds of odds, there are masses of positives - you truly learn to appreciate the people you love, waste less time on silly worries and grasp opportunities you may not have otherwise taken. With cancer, you also get to hear how people truly feel about you, which is wonderful, uplifting and incredibly humbling. So I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth. What I would recommend is telling people that you remain positive about your future, but that it's something you need to come to terms with and deal with in your own way. And perhaps suggest that they look both ways before crossing the road!

Amanda

Getting hit by a bus outside the Cancer Centre - a statistical nightmare

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