The indulgent time of the year.

A Christmas Cancer, and a word of warning for peace and goodwill. The Time of year we can indulge, celebrate and spoil all.

I am not one for writing quickies. That raw emotion that they demand is not in me. By the time I have the laptop open and a new page set, the anger or joy that inspired the thoughts has dissipated. Even the diagnosis of cancer did not force me into the ‘quickie’.

The instinct for order on the page is too strong.

In all my life I have not had those brushes with illness. Taking time off work under the pretence of illness, the skive that we all do from time to time, that has happened frequently. We all do down here on the bottom rung. They expect us to, we are wasters, we have no pride. You get tired, and a tiny virus can take your legs. A week, two tops, and I would return to work refreshed. Stress, plain tiredness, or partying too much – especially if you work for a bad ass that never believes anyone is truly ill, so what would be a recovery day will turn into a week.

Managing to stay healthy, I avoided anything longer. Until 2017, when I was off work for three months. And this year, where I still have not returned to work since the end of October.

There is one word that strikes the fear in all humanity when it comes to illness. You can break a bone, or bones, you can be involved in an RTA, and people will sympathise with you.

The look on their face when you quietly say ‘cancer’ is a mix of fear and a desperate search for an escape. Although it is not contagious, we all know someone that disease has murdered.

Go on social media and people are a little different. The survivors come out, and those that offer to call on their deity, and the apologists. There is nothing wrong with any of them. People just want to help. I suppose it depends on which SM site we are talking about.

Christmas day 2025, and I could be free of it. The initial lump cut away, and the tumour that caused it, gone too. There is talk of radiotherapy, but that will have to wait till I see the oncologist. The extra they cut away from my neck and tumour site were free from cancer cells.

Yes, I could be free.

Life can go back to normal after my body has recovered from two harsh surgeries and a ten day long fast.

Once that nasty word, the only name for death that is a disease, emerging in your life, you do start counting the days. Fuck, I have been doing that all year anyway.

You reach a certain age – different for everybody, when you know you have lived more life than you have left. That tether to the grave is tightening around your neck.

I reached that age.

It is what it is.

The message of every Christmas is something is going to kill you, so indulge in all that is terrible for you.

Booze it up, smoke copious amounts and eat all the food you can stuff down your face.

I joke………Or do I?

This website makes promises to all visitors. We will never allow advertising or product affiliation. If a member wants to write about a useful product, they can, but there will never be a link to said product. Websites cost in time and money. There is a hosting cost, and updating posts and maintenance can take hours. We ask for your support in three ways. You can buy our books, available in all the usual web outlets. You can donate through kofi.com. And the cheapest and easiest way is to support us on social media. Like, share, follow on social media. Getting our name in front of more people.