Today I will be mostly thinking ....

..... of all the people living with cancer.

The day before our recent trip to Switzerland, we received news of the husband of the couple who shared our trip to Switzerland in June. He's been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which has already spread. He knew there was a problem before we went away, but said nothing so as not to spoil the holiday.

The day after I came back from the second holiday, I received news of another long-standing friend. She'd survived breast cancer nine years ago, but now it's back, in a much more aggressive form, in the other breast.

When I was a child in the 1950s, cancer was so feared that its name was never even spoken. People would talk of someone having " a wasting disease ". It wasn't until the broadcaster Richard Dimbleby admitted publicly to having the cancer that killed him in 1965 that it became acceptable to talk openly about it.
Today, I went with my friend to The Olive Tree cancer support facility at our local hospital, where I took the photo. There are all kinds of activities, information. and lots of people to talk to so that she can make the right choices about her treatment. It's a pleasant place to be, furnished in lovely pastel colours with a pretty garden. I'm glad it's there for her.