Relapse

"Relapse". This is the word every single cancer patient dreads. So I have some bad news. On Tuesday 14th August 2018 I was unfortunately told that dreaded word. I sat down with my oncologist who showed me a MRI scan of my head which confirmed my cancer has returned in the bone above my left eye. Close to the area of the original metastasis in my skull from the first time I had cancer. After two and half years of freedom and getting my life back on track, loving my life, going back to work, spending time with my friends & family...and just being me again! Then my cancer decides to come back. I felt broken.

I have decided to reopen my blog to public to invite you all to join my journey on this fight. I feel a little ashamed to say I did hide it for a long while. The reason why I closed it was because it brought back too many tough memories from the first time round. I also felt at the time the best way to "move on" was to lock it all away and hide it. I even felt nervous telling my story to new people I'd meet as I didn't want them to view me as vulnerable or weak. How naive was I. Looking back and reading through the posts did bring a few tears and sadness but also a sense of hope and determination. I am so so proud of what I overcame before. I am strong. If I can do this once I will do this again.

The past few weeks I'll admit have involved a lot of tears, anger & frustration. Whilst everything is still uncertain at this point, there is the one thing I am certain of and that is I will not go down without a fight. My oncologist has been very straight with me. He confirmed the harsh reality of this cancer. Having a recurrence and the chance of being successfully treated and getting rid of this cancer for good is low. HOWEVER. Even "statistically" if my chances of a cure might be low, I see this as they are still possible. And that is my goal. To beat the cancer again. For good this time.

Now moving on from all the doom and gloom! On a more positive note my oncologist confirmed I have few things in my favour  - this is what I will focus on:
1. This is a "Solitary" area of disease. (No evidence of disease elsewhere in my body. - I was over the moon when I received the scan results for this!)
2. It has been 3 years since my last treatment. (Which means my body responded well to the last treatment - kind of.)
3. There are treatment options to "explore" (Surgery / Radiotherapy / Bone Marrow Transplant etc.) all of which will be decided once we see how my body responds to the new chemotherapy.

I would like this blog to bring a sense of hope and community to those who are also fighting and to raise awareness to those who are watching. 

So let's fight this awful disease together, once and for all. 

Imogen x

This is one of my most recent photos with my amazing friends. I absolutely loved this moment. I want this to be a reminder of what I achieved before. I will set this as my goal. This is what I am fighting for. X

After completing 1 round of Chemotherapy I decided to take a little control and chop the hair off! X