Ordinarily I would be in work on a Wednesday but due to a phone appointment this morning I'd taken the day off...well I say 'off' but I actually got quite a bit of work done.
So over the day I managed to complete a vital piece of work, a cash-flow forecast! We are approaching the last full term of the academic year and in April we see changes to the National Living Wage which means that we need a review of all our salaries to ensure that we fall inline with government guidelines as well as being able to reward our staff accordingly.
I needed therefore to be able to have an idea of how our finances pan out between now and July and how that will in turn impact our return in September. We always need to work between 3 to 6 months ahead of ourselves so that we can ensure the correct funding is received and apply it successfully.
The main reason for being at home today though was that I had a phone consultation with a nurse from the Breast Clinic at my local hospital. It is now two years since I received my diagnosis of breast cancer and although it was caught at an extremely early stage it still meant surgery and radiotherapy. Today's phone call was to check-in with me and make sure I was doing okay and aware of the plan going forward.
Since my surgery and radiotherapy I have had one more mammogram that came back completely fine. I will now have a mammogram annually for the next four years before I get 'signed off' from the clinic. I still get odd twinges and pain in my left boob and the nurse explained today that the pain is a result of the radiotherapy, whereas I'd presumed it was to do with the surgery. Apparently during radiotherapy the angle of the treatment means that the bones get affected and the 'pain' that I am feeling is actually in my bones and can be noticed when perhaps stretching, or lying differently, or getting a hug. Good to know that what I'm experiencing is completely normal and thankfully it is nothing overtly painful to deal with, just more annoying.
I am still surprised by how the experience has affected me, not only the twinges and discomfort, but more the psychological effect. The diagnosis stays with you and even when you think you've got a handle on it it can enter your brain and mess with your head when you least expect it. I think I have a tendency to try and dismiss it because 'it was caught so early' but I have to remind myself that being told you have cancer is not something you can be prepared for. Because I don't want to feel that I'm ever 'playing on it' or 'making a fuss' it can lead to me not dealing with it as perhaps as well as I should, and not recognising that yes I have cancer, yes I had surgery and yes I had 15 rounds of radiotherapy. I need to do a better job of embracing that, accepting it and knowing that it's okay to remember what I've been through and that is now just a part of who I am.
Before lunch we had a chap arrive to do a survey of our windows as we are moving forward with replacing all our wooden windows with fancy new uPVC ones. So today was getting all the final measurements in place, double checking finishes, handles, window openings and spotting any potential 'tricky areas'. Now we just need to wait for a date when all the work can be done.
As Simon finished for his lunch we spent a few minutes showing off his R2D2 build to the 'window man'. As R2 sits in our hallway it often becomes a talking point when we have visitors and Simon is very proud (and quite rightly so) to show it off!
Despite the grey clouds and drizzle we embarked on a quick walk out though the village to simply get some fresh air; a quick 1.7 miles in 30 minutes and a little wet by the time we got back home.
And the other news of today is that I have a hair appointment...well it's booked...for 13th May! So here in England we are hopefully, all fingers and toes crossed, due to see hairdressers, tattoists and shops re-opening on April 12th...if nothing untoward happens! So my hairdresser has done the fairest thing and worked through her appointments in order to re-arrange them. I should have been going blonde again mid-February so it will now be happening mid-May instead and I can't wait to change colour and go extra-short again!
Well the day was rounded out with a trip to the 'gym' for Simon but as I was feeling a bit cold, and quite frankly not in the mood for exercise, I turned my attention to writing this blog instead.
Wherever you are, whatever you are doing take care.
xx
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