My Journey With Cancer - Part 1

I have always liked traveling, but usually I had some idea of my destination. This journey was to be very different from the rest, with more twists, turns and elements of the unexpected then any of the others. So, to pick a beginning, I will start in January 2002.

I was then Assistant Supervisor in the Vitamin section of a busy Pharmacy (Drug Store). I had been promoted to this position after 12 months as a casual employee. It seemed to be taking a while to adjust to this new role, earlier starts, staying to close the store, the commuting back and forth. I kept reaffirming myself "I'll get used to it!"

Even when I heard a comment from the pharmacy manager via a colleague "is Alfred all right? He's lost a lot of weight."

"Yes I'm all right! Just getting used to it, another couple of weeks..."

The weeks went by, I was still losing weight, feeling tired, appetite was either absent or there was something specific that I just had to have!

One evening on the bus going home I started to cough, and cough and I felt nauseous. I got home, ran up the stairs, and just managed to get to the bathroom, where I vomited heavily. During the night I was sweating profusely, waking up completely drenched. Nevertheless I kept going: Catching a bus to the city in the morning, hurrying to the railway station, and then a train for the rest of the trip. So it went on, five days a week.

One weekend, I could hardly get out of bed. I did nothing that weekend, but then returned to work on the Monday.

The thing is, I enjoyed my work; I was good at it. I enjoyed the interaction with customers, I liked helping them and meeting their needs. I liked my work colleagues, the business owners, everything! So I kept going.

Then one day my girlfriend confronted me with it. She was worried about my loss of weight. She knew I didn't particularly like orthodox medicine, but she urged me to go and see a doctor. I refused, but I was coughing more, sweating more at nights, and feeling weaker. Eventually I relented.

Next week: Part 2. A Visit to the Doctor.

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