'My Lovely Lady Lumps'*

Last year a friend and I used to cook dinner once a week for a friend who had cancer and his family. After he died we continued the tradition, making food and watching DVDs every Monday night with his wife and the boys. Lately, being too concerned with my own traumas, I haven't been going very much. Yesterday I got an email from my friend asking when I was coming along again, and as I had the evening free I went along last night. After the general catch-up (the Mardi Gras report, the talk of work, questions re PhD etc) there was a moment when my friend looked at me and said 'I need to tell you my news, and its not good news". She has breast cancer, and has already undertaken her first round of chemotherapy. Another couple of rounds, hopefully the tumour will shrink, and then she'll have a lumpectomy. More chemo, some radiotherapy. Ouch. Its not spread to any other parts of her body, but its still pretty scary. Today she texted me to tell me that a quarter of her hair had fallen out in the shower. It was only then that it really hit me and I wanted to cry.

* Heck, if you can't fix it you might as well sing about it. And she is a Black Eyed Peas fan.