Sympathy Project.

The Sympathy Project is a new website aiming to help open up and modernise communication around illness and death. The site is in the developmental stages and is looking to include artwork and writing from a wide range of people. You can find more information on this interesting project on the Sympathy Project website:

Modern Sympathy Cards - Sympathy Project

www.sympathyproject.com

And welcome to the Sympathy Project 1.0 – the first step in the development of an online service tailored specifically for the communication around illness and death. Through a modern collection of personalized cards, announcements and invitations – sent directly to family and friends by email or po...

Love Rose x



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I'm Still Here!

Apologies that I seem to rarely be around at the moment. I'm keeping well and busy and am currently proofreading the first of two books about fishing - a subject I know very little about but I'm learning as I go along. My most recent set of blood tests were 'really very good', to quote my GP, so all in all I'm a happy bunny.

Love Rose x


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An Ordinary Woman.

When cancer struck I was inspired to be stoic,
I parried any claims that I'm heroic,
I'm an ordinary woman who happened to fall ill,
And tried my utmost to thwart cancer's will.


© RamblingRose@PeachPonderings. All rights reserved.

Clinical Study Still Looking For Womb Cancer Volunteers.

The following clinical study has been extended again and will now run to the end of July instead of to the end of this month:

'We are interested in how the possible effects of pelvic surgery and / or radiotherapy on women’s sexual lives are assessed by the clinical staff providing your care. Whilst this is a private and sensitive topic it is important to ensure that adequate information and support about this aspect of women’s lives is provided both during and following cancer treatment. 

Women and healthcare professionals who took part in stage 1 of this study have designed a questionnaire about women’s sexual recovery. Stage 2 of the study runs until 31st July 2013 and we would like at least 200 women to complete this new questionnaire so that we can test its suitability for use in oncology follow-up clinics.

If you have completed surgery and / or radiotherapy for womb (endometrial, uterus) cancer between three months and 5 years previously, and are aged over 18 years, we would like to talk to you about the study in person or on the telephone. 

• You will be sent study information and the new questionnaire by mail to your address

• The questionnaire should take about 20-30 minutes to complete

• We will provide a freepost envelope for you to return the questionnaire 

• All the information collected about you during the study will be kept strictly confidential

• Your cancer care will not be affected in any way

Your participation will help women and health professionals to improve the discussion and management of treatment effects on sexual recovery.

If you are interested in taking part or have any questions about the study, please get in touch with the lead researcher at King’s College by contacting:

 Isabel White on 020 7848 3038 or via email: isabella.white@kcl.ac.uk

Chief Investigator: Dr. Isabel White.'

If you've had surgery and/or radiotherapy for womb cancer and would like to take part in this study, please contact Dr White direct. Many thanks on behalf of Dr White and her research team, especially to those women who have already taken part in this second phase of the study. Phase 3 is due to begin in May. 

Love Rose x

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Social Research Project.

Womb Cancer Support UK (WCSUK) has recently been asked to take part in a study about womb cancer. If you are a woman who currently has/who has been through womb cancer, there is a short survey to complete, followed by the purely voluntary option to participate in a one-to-one interview with Jane Dennehy PhD, the researcher running the survey. The second part of the research is either via email or by 'phone according to your personal preference.

The first survey is quick and you can choose to remain anonymous; you do not have to give any personal details unless you would like to be contacted further.

If you are in the UK the survey can be found here:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2ZLQ2RM 

Family and friends of women with/who have been through womb cancer are also welcome to take part in this study.

The WCSUK blog about the study can be found here:

http://wombcanceruk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/your-help-required-please.html

Many thanks to all those willing to take part.

Love Rose x


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Never Say Never.

I was told I'd be radiated,
Once I'd been butchered like a pig.
I was told they wanted me going through chemo,
It meant I'd likely end up in a wig.
When the op day came I felt nervous,
I knew the surgery would take my youth.
The doctors tried to reassure me,
I was told they'd do the best they could.
It was my second general anaesthetic
In the space of six short weeks,
I felt I had only just recovered
Simply to be put straight back to sleep.
I worried that perhaps I wouldn't wake up,
Until I realised I wouldn't care.
Realistically, if I didn't wake up,
It wouldn't matter to me; I'd not be there.
My mother was totally devastated,
Emotionally she found it so hard to cope,
But I found that staying positive and smiling
Helped me give my daughter hope.
I was told the op was successful,
I was told all the cancer was out,
But the surgeon adding, "Never say never,"
Sowed a lingering seed of doubt.


© RamblingRose@PeachPonderings. All rights reserved.

Those Were The Days.

Once upon a time I had good hearing,
Good brain power and good eyesight too,
I'd while away the night hours mostly reading
And studying, it's what I liked to do.

Before I knew it I was turning fifty,
Womb cancer reared its ugly head,
Now instead of mostly reading,
I've become a right daft old bat instead!

Those were the days my friends,
I thought they wouldn't end,
I stayed so young, but only in my head,
So now I squint and ask,
"Pardon me?" because
I'm going deaf and have two brain cells left!! 


© RamblingRose@PeachPonderings. All rights reserved.

The Woman I Am Today.

When I reflect on having had cancer
I think it's fair to say,
Without everything I went through then
I wouldn't be the woman I am today.
Yes, it's been a struggle since
To keep my outlook bright.
Yes, there have been so many times
I've barely slept at night.
I know it's changed my state of mind
Both for better and for worse.
I've found having had cancer to be
Both a blessing and a curse.
It's left me with poor memory,
Poor recall, poor retrieval,
I often lose my train of thought,
All sense of time, all focus.
I'm told it's akin to PTSD -
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -
At times it's hard to concentrate
Or I think on what I oughtn't,
But I've learnt to just get on with it,
To laugh, not make a fuss.
People ask me would I change my life
But I wouldn't, of course, because
I've made so many new friends
And have new purpose in my life,
I feel the final outcomes
Justify the strife.


© RamblingRose@PeachPonderings. All rights reserved.

Happy St David's Day!

Happy St David's Day to all the Welsh readers of this blog!

Love Rose x


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