Thank you to those of you who have commented or sent me messages after I put this blog on hiatus in April due to illness. I thought I would post a brief update. I was hesitant to post details previously, because I didn’t/don’t intend to turn this site into a personal blog about my health.
For those of you wondering… I was diagnosed with cancer in April 2023. I decided to stop my weekly posts to the blog for a year at the time, as I knew I could not commit to new posts reliably while I underwent treatment, and that has turned out to be the case.
I have spent about seven weeks in hospital since my diagnosis. Back in May/June I underwent 27 sessions of radiotherapy, combined with oral chemotherapy, which often resulted in me needing to nap for a few hours in the afternoon. I was in no state back then to e.g. research posts, though it would have been a welcome distraction.
I’m scheduled to have my twelfth and (for now) final cycle of intravenous chemotherapy just after Christmas. I have coped much better than I thought I would with my treatments (i.e. there has been no nausea/vomiting, mental fog or general feeling of being unwell), though have had some setbacks along the way; the worst of which has been a fracture in my spine (an unforeseen complication of radiotherapy).
Scans have revealed that I am responding well to treatment, although I still have some way to go, including further surgery.
I am not going to pretend that the last eight months have been easy, but they could have been much worse. I intend to resume my 1992 and 1983 chart recaps in April 2024, when - hopefully - I will be in a better position health-wise.
When I return, I have a stack of newly-uncovered singles that peaked outside the ARIA top 100 from 1989-1992 to add to my earlier posts. See you then!
All the best with your health. Really interesting blog idea. Hope you can return to it. Cheers
ReplyDeleteThinking of you at this difficult time. In my family we have experienced some challenging times with cancer in 2023. Stay strong and we look forward to your return in 2024.
ReplyDeleteApologies if all is quiet on my end. I of course was aware of some of the things you discuss but a lot i was not and it's nice to see there is potentially some light at the end of the tunnel. Spine fracture sounds nasty and hopefully you can recover from that without too much complication. Take what time off that you need and get yourself back to good health
ReplyDeleteI have just stumbled onto your chart blogs and it's an amazing piece of work with the depth of knowledge that comes across definitely makes it an interesting and enjoyable read. I just read your last update about your health and having cancer.
ReplyDeleteTake time to get yourself back to full health
Hi Nathan, I’m Marco from Sydney the Eurodancer ! I’m really shocked about your cancer diagnosis but thankfully your responding well to treatment and I can’t wait until your back again
ReplyDeleteYour in my prayers and hope you all the best,
Cheers
Thanks all for your well wishes.
ReplyDelete