Pre-event announcements

Friday 13th November

1) So after Amanda's health hiccup on Tuesday/Wednesday, she's back on form, back to usual, thanks for your concern. We've agreed that she stays on steroids daily. There's a long term issue with remaining on them, but in our world, there is no "long term" so this pretty much negates that argument.

2) So, the excitement is building for Sunday. It's amazing that in just over 2 days, an extra £800+ has gone towards some pretty special charities close to Amanda's heart. We've been doing our best to send everyone messages on Facebook thanking you all for your donations but if we have missed sending you a message, please accept this as our thanks smile emoticon We set a tentative target of £3,000 - if we beat that, don't stop donating - the more we can raise, the better we can make things for ALL these charities. If you can't make it along this coming Sunday, you can still donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/amandamcdonald 
If you ARE attending, there is limited on street parking around The Church and neighbouring snooker hall on Town Road too.

3) There are some slots to see Amanda next week (Tuesday 17th afternoon , Wednesday 18th late afternoon, Thursday 19th late afternoon, Friday 20th mid afternoon if anyone would like to visit. Message me if you'd like to call in.

4) ** SPECIAL REQUEST NUMBER 1**
To Amanda's friends - we're respectfully requesting that NO Christmas cards are sent through to us please - have you ever noticed that Amanda doesn't send any back? smile emoticon Joking aside, instead of sending cards and the cost of a stamp, please consider a donation instead to one of the charities we've been banging on about for the past couple of weeks here: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/amandamcdonald (Price of card & stamp = £1+ so make that a nice donation to Douglas Macmillan Hospice, Meningitis Now or The Migraine Trust instead please).

5) **SPECIAL REQUEST NUMBER 2**
To Amanda's friends - obviously this is going to be a different Christmas to usual. Amanda would like her friends to give experiences that you can enjoy together rather than presents. (e.g. spa visits, afternoon teas, cinema visits, comedy clubs, theatre visits etc etc). She'd love to spend time with her friends rather than have presents. Contact Dean for diary availability. While we'll be governed by Amanda's condition on this, it's best to assume these should be booked sooner rather than later.
Thanks all - here's a completely different time and place a couple of years ago B.C. (Before Cancer).

Half a world away

Bittersweet Symphony

Wednesday 11 November 2015
Wow - crashed through the £2,000 barrier raised this evening - and thanks so much for everyone (friends, colleagues and complete strangers) who have donated to three charities very close to Amanda's heart. Don't forget, you can donate to Douglas Macmillan Hospice, The Migraine Trust and Meningitis Now here: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/amandamcdonald

Even if you're not attending our special event this coming Sunday, you are very welcome to forward a brief story, a memory of a time you’ve spent with Amanda or any photographs through to David Patrick david.patrick@yesagency.co.uk.

Right, remember last night's post where i mentioned about Amanda's battles with migraines and that the only time she's been without migraines in her adult life was cruelly through chemotherapy and whilst on steroids most recently? (Remind yourself here: https://goo.gl/NHIUfx ), well, Amanda has been gradually reducing the steroids to reduce the swelling on her brain to the point that yesterday was her first day off steroids for a few weeks. Well, guess what? She had a migraine yesterday afternoon. And today too. It was so bad today that she was very sick earlier too - it's been her worst day for a few weeks. She's fine, just resting now, and focussing on being well enough for this coming Sunday, but it's a harsh reminder that nothing can ever be taken for granted right now.

"Life is not fair... why does it rain the hardest on those who deserve the sun the most."

Dean

Why The Migraine Trust?

Tuesday 10th November 2015

One of the charities that Amanda is raising money for is The Migraine Trust.

Many of you who don't know Amanda would, quite understandably, ask the question "Why the Migraine Trust?' After all, it's not as sexy as the other charities, is it?

After Amanda's sister died 20+ years ago, Amanda started to get chronic migraines. They were awful. She'd have to pull the car over by the side of the road on the way to work to be sick such was the severity of them before she came across effective (expensive) medication to finally help relieve the symptoms many years later. Some very enlightening stats about migraines here: http://www.migrainetrust.org/key-statistics.

Get this as the ultimate irony. The only time Amanda has been relatively migraine-free during the last 20 years was when she was on chemotherapy for 4 months back in 2014 and now that she is on dexamethasone to control the swelling in her brain this past few months. Bittersweet, hey?

And guess what's happened today? We're in the process of reducing Amanda's steroid consumption to the point that today was her first day without dexamethasone for a few weeks. A little after 5 hours after the time she would have normally taken her steroid - she's only gone and got a (chronic) migraine.

Anyway, if you've got a few pounds or pence to spare, please head over to our donations page and we'd love for you to think about topping up The Migraine Trust fundraising pot please. AS you can see in the photo below, we've got some fundraising bits and pieces which will be on display this coming Sunday at the event.

DONATE HERE: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/amandamcdonald

Thanks so much.

Now I'm off to put Amanda's "Petr Cech" Migra-Cap on her head for her: http://www.migracap.co.uk/

Dean

Life lessons - pay attention in class

Monday 9th November

I don't want to get all preachy but why change the habit of a lifetime? Here are some life lessons I thought I would share before my brain turns to mush:

1. People are INCREDIBLE. Seriously incredible. They are generous, kind, outlandishly thoughtful and constantly surprise and delight. When you're having a bad day/road rage incident/*insert as appropriate, don't forget this.

2. There is nothing greater in this world (and the next) than love. Don't miss an opportunity to tell your friends and family how important they are to you, even if you are as rubbish at emotional expression as me.

3. If someone is seriously ill, don't feel that you have to pussy-foot round them. They are still the same person, albeit in a different outer shell (in my case grotesquely bald and bloated). They can still laugh at the same jokes and talk about 'normal' things.

4. Do not waste time. Time is ludicrously precious and none of us know how long we have left (although I am statistically highly unlikely to be hit by the mythical bus before the cancer sneaks in). Don't put off the good stuff for the mundane.

5. Laugh every day; take every opportunity you can. Laughter is the best medicine (although I would also recommend following the advice of medical professionals.)

6. Relish the little stuff. A good book. A chat with a friend. A cuddle. A shared joke. This is the glorious glue that binds us all together.

7. Ignore the little stuff. And this is hard. But trust me it really isn't worth worrying about.

8. Take a second to count your blessings. Life can be tough but it's also full of joy and laughter. Mine has been brilliant in lots of ways. Even now there's lots to be thankful for.

9. Be kind to yourself and others. You deserve it. There really is no need to give yourself a hard time.

10. Be yourself in all your glorious, flawed perfection. You are loved and cherished for who you are and what could be better than that?

Amanda 

Couldn't have put it better myself

Moddershall Oaks

We visited our local country spa retreat, Moddershall Oaks, earlier this week.

For those of you who know Amanda, you'll know that there's nothing more that she enjoys than a nice leisurely pampering session and we've been very fortunate to visit this particular spa over the course of the past few years as it is so close to home.

We'd arranged a simple visit to make use of their rather amazing 25sq metre heated spa pool and fantastically snug lounge with toasty log fire, just the thing for a foggy November evening but we were blown away at the reception we had. We enjoyed smoothies, a rather delicious sharing platter and the staff were so attentive and friendly, especially Simon in the spa dining area, who was first class.

If you're undergoing treatment for cancer and wanted to visit, it's always best to check with the team treating you if there's any treatments at any spa location that you should avoid, but we can highly recommend a visit to Moddershall Oaks to wash away all tensions in the blink of an eye.

A special thanks go to Penny at Moddershall Oaks for arranging such a wonderful time.

Dean (Amanda's husband)

Fantastic sharing platter to kick start the visit

If it's too cold outside for you (hardly going to happen in the heated spa pool), chill out in the lounge area.

Nobody does it better - Amanda enjoying the heated spa pool. 

Taking advantage of the quieter midweek evening period. Spa pool to ourselves.

The rather splendid lounge area behind the pool area. Toasty and warm, oversized and very comfortable settees, plenty of magazines to while away a lazy day with.

Blogger's fear

Although it would not take a genius to discern that my prognosis is not good, I still thought it is worth doing a reminder that:

1. survival rates increase significantly the earlier you identify breast cancer. It's imperative that you check your breasts regularly and act swiftly. My lump was stage 2c and even then, was successfully removed and treated.
2. The survival rates for triple negative breast cancer are actually, despite my own situation, incredibly high as this article from Healthline.com explains. In fact, even at an advanced stage, 72% of women diagnosed with this aggressive form of cancer will still be around in five years' time. 

I cannot impress upon the people reading this blog enough to check their breasts regularly and not to get too panicked if you find a lump. Treatment is excellent these days and the vast majority of women will get through this. So as I've mentioned many times, even if you check your breasts with the dread of finding an unexploded missile, it is one of the most important things you will ever do.

So not to put too fine a point on it, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK AGAIN. Do it regularly and move fast if you spot anything unusual. Get an appointment with the GP. ASAP.

It's bananas but it's true

Wednesday 4th November

One of the treatments for secondary breast cancer on the brain is steroids. I've had a love hate relationship with steroids. Mostly hate.

One of the things I really detested was agonising shooting pains which kept me awake at night and also caused me to call out the emergency doctor on many an occasion. During one of my frequent visits to see the neurologist back in September 2015, she recommended eating a banana before bed every night as it sounded like I needed an intake of potassium. Et voila, problem solved, I've never had the pain again.

This is a great top tip if you're experiencing similar issues.

Amanda (typed by Dean)