Monarch

The festive season has for the past four years been cause for real celebration for me. Yesterday I went to the Marsden, had my chest x-ray and a good chat with the consultant who confirmed that my chest remains clear. We’re getting close to that ‘small party’ at five years when my chances go down to 50/50…so every year is a milestone.

Tooth-billed tanager

This was also the year when I turned 60. With that comes all the other cancer tests. In the past month or so I have had a mammogram, tests for all the gynaecological cancers, plus the rather nasty 3-smear poo tests for bowl cancer. So now I can say with all honestly I am cancer free!

2017 has been a bit mixed on the health front, though, with the hip replacement and more limited mobility since July. It didn’t stop us going to Nicaragua and Costa Rica in October/November but I have been staggering round London with a psychedelic pink stick – mainly to brandish on the tube to get a seat (with my free travel pass!).

I am sticking to my own rules (on the whole – still think that a little sinning is good for you!) and feel confident that my survival is largely due to that, together with a strong shot of positivity. I am doing yoga and Pilates once a week, along with a physio session, part of it on a reformer. After the op I also had a long course of acupuncture. Annoyingly I still have a haemotoma on the femur which is taking ages to dissipate. Keeping fingers crossed for skiing this Christmas. And next June we are going diving with whale sharks…so back to normal!

Fighting over food! Passerini’s tanager on the left

So this is my recipe for life: I am not drinking 2-3 days a week, and stick to the no dairy, and to a mainly plant-based diet with minimal meat consumption (don’t cook it at home unless entertaining). I am taking Vitamins B & D, magnesium and about to return to the ling zhi or reishi mushrooms (ganoderma lucidium). But the main ingredient is to keep the dark thoughts at bay and to have things to look forward to.

Carnivorous Capuchin monkey – no thanks!

Wishing all my followers a happy Christmas and healthy 2018. The photos are from our trip to Central America – thanks Ross!

Monarch butterfly