I've written before about my cousin Jonathan and his lovely blog - link in the sidebar. Technically of course he's my dad's cousin (Jonathan's father is my grandmothers' brother) but because he's closer in age to me than to my dad I just tend to think of him as being my cousin. Jonathan, like myself is a cancer survivor, indeed his blog started during his cancer treatment and he recently passed his five year mark - something that all cancer patients recognise as a huge milestone. If you've never read his blog, then I can highly recommend it. Jonathan's parents, uncle Bill and aunty Janet, used to live in Three Crosses when I was growing up in Dunvant (next village along) so we saw quite a bit of them and Janet and my mum played badminton together for many years in the village hall in Dunvant.

Ten years ago, aunty Janet had cancer just as her daughter Sally passed away - a horrendous time. I'm very sorry to write that the cancer appears to be back - more scans are happening shortly but the oncologist sounds pretty certain. It's just another wallop that this year has brought - I can't believe the awful toll of illnesses and death there's been. In some ways, having had cancer before is both a curse and a blessing - you know more about what's happening and I know Jonathan will be immensely supportive too, but that knowledge is not a comfortable gift. Our thoughts and prayers are with her, and there will be detailed updates on Jonathan's blog, but I'll keep posting as I know more.