I want to take a moment to briefly talk about Cancer.

Cancer stole my granddad from me when I was a child. Cancer tried to take my Mum.  Cancer is currently brutalising my Godfather and one of his brothers.  I have a friend who's been recently battling cancer when she should be carefree and enjoying her babies first few years of life.  Cancer doesn't discriminate.  It doesn't give a shit.  Basically Cancer is a twat.

Something like 1 in  3 people will experience Cancer.

It's 2014 and it's still wreaking havoc, pain and misery upon us.

Now I could ask you to sponsor me yet I'm not very sponsor worthy.  Most things physical are out.  I can't make anything to sell as i'm craft inept.  Even the, to many, daring task of dying their hair pink is out of bounds for me because I frequently dye my hair a myriad of colours anyway so it wouldn't be impact enough on my life to make it worth of sponsorship.  I feel impotent of being able to do anything to make a difference.

So, I'm going to cut out the middle stuff and just simply ask you to donate direct to charity.  It's not me raising money, it's about all of us raising money, together. I won't beg or plead.  There's no competitive public page listing who donates and how much.  Nobody will know if you donate or not, certainly not me.  I'm not asking you to do this for me, I'm simply asking you to do it for you because the sad facts are, if your life hasn't already been darkened by Cancer, it probably will be in the future be it a relative, neighbour or friend.

Maybe donate the price of a pack of fags if you smoke?  A bottle of wine if you drink? Forgo, just once, your weekly takeaway treat if you have one?  Hell, even if all you can spare is 50p, it helps.  It all adds up.  It will make a difference.

Donate to Cancer Research
Donate to Christies (The wonderful people at Christies were angels for my Mum)

The 'C' word

Last week Thing One asked all about Cancer. Apparently he'd seen a young girl with no hair and was told she had Cancer and thus wanted to know if I've known anyone who had Cancer.

This is where it becomes tricky.  The need to be honest and factual balanced with hope because Thing One is a worry wart and we'd never here the end of his what if's.

So I admitted that yes, I've known people with Cancer.  I told him that my Grandad died of Cancer and so did The Husbands Aunt. I explained that it's a very sad disease that can make people extraordinarily poorly and that some people just get too poorly and can't fight the cancer and sadly die and others manage to beat it.  I explained how it's the treatment as opposed to the disease that can make peoples hair fall out and that not everyone who has Cancer, loses their hair. Like Nanna, my Mum.  She had Ovarian Cancer (The Silent Killer) in 2005? and thankfully after serious surgery and chemotherapy, she kicked it's arse (yet another pro of my extended breastfeeding of The Toddler and before him, Thing Two.  Breastfeeding can reduce the risk of cancer )  Everyday I cross everything that it stays away and never ever comes back.

Thing One's lip started to wobble, his eyes filled up somewhat and his breathing quickened ' I don't know what I'd do if Nanna died, I'd miss her so much.  I'd be so so very sad that I'd probably cry for something like five whole days'