I'm so feckin annoyed now I have to get this off my chest before I poke someone with a pointy stick.

Why do we insist on giving cancer names that makes it sound invinsible?. Don't get me wrong, cancer is a horrible,horrible insidious disease, that unfortunately kills 11000 people in Ireland every year. But for some reason we Irish have a habit of giving it names such as the "Big C" making it almost mythical and invinsible.

When I was diagnosed with my cancer in Dec 07, I saw at first hand the the effect it had on my family and friends, some were shattered and wept openly other's just kept going. This is as I said a horrible disease, but its not invinsible.

During my journey( and I'm not finished) seeking a cure for this feckin disease, I have had the endure a lot of hospitalisation,injections,blood tests, surgery, radiotherapy on my brain, and gallons of chemotherapy, all willingly, because I want to spend the rest of my life wife my wife and children. It really annoys me when I hear people refer to this disease as invinsible,IT IS'NT.

Cancer is defeatable,numerous people defeat this disease everyday, and they are from all ages and backrounds. They are the brave ones, they are they the one's that decided that this disease was'nt invinsible and that any suffering was worth it, a price that had to be paid.

All of us wish we did'nt have this feckin disease, I wish I was at home now with my wife and children rather than sitting in isolation in a Dublin Hospital but I have chosen to live, and for me to achieve this goal I need to go through this treatment.

I'm no Nuala O Faolain, I d'ont regard any time that chemotherapy gives me as being dirty in anyway, and I'm certainly not weak for deciding to live. I will visit all those places that I want to when I'm better ,not before hand.

Bravery has many facets but I can honestly say that the pure unbridled bravey is all around us when it comes to fighting this disease, patients,nurses,doctors its not a bed of roses but we all "suck up and plough on" together.

Another thing, why do people automatically say " I'm so sorry" when you tell them that you have cancer, I was playing golf two weeks ago and one of the lads I was playing said that. I suppose its difficult for people to know what to say, and I respect that, but there must be a better way.

Perhaps asking them what type of cancer it is, or what kind of treatment are they going through or will be going through, be positive they will appreciate it, I know I do. Christ knows there are enough negatives associated with having this disease, we need as many postives as possible.

Every morning I say the following two things to myself

"Today I need to ensure that positives outweigh the negatives, at least that way I know I'm winning" and

"Success is my only motherfucking option " (Eminem)

So please stop making cancer bigger than it actually is, remember 1 in 3 of us will get this disease at sometime in our lives so we better get used to giving it a funt up the hole.

As I said its curable

Well done, great post. This is your best one yet.

Being a Londoner I wasn't familiar with the Nuala O'Faolain story but I did find her interview with Marian Finucane on the internet. She seemed to have a very different mental attitude.

I'm glad you took the decision to fight!

Hey Blacksheep, I really admire you, and you know I love you. Keep up the fight and that positive mental attitude.

Being from Cork, you probably never went to see that Brendan O'Carroll play where was teaching all the insurance sales people to have PMT - Positive Mental Thoughts - not the other thing. But it always brought a smile to my face and as I think of you with your PMA (attitude) then I still smile because I could see you at that glass giving O'Carroll lackery.

Anyway man keep up the fight, and as you requested I won't say I am sorry for you, I will be positive and look forward to that planned pint in Coffeys with you and a few of the old crew.

Keep in touch

C