You may recall back in 2008 when I was told by my then oncologist that I had maybe a year to live… and it turned out she hadn’t even checked my latest biopsy results! Well, it wasn’t long after that incident that I switched oncs and, thanks to Ricardo, started seeing Dr Ana, who happens to be deputy director of the oncology department at the hospital. Which was certainly a step up, and I felt in much better hands, but I still felt Dr Ana was a bit cold and so I kept our conversations as short as possible and talked to Ricardo about anything that I was really concerned about. Though Ana did ask me after awhile if I was back to work, which is how she came to find out about my tapas tours, but I thought this was just professional interest in my general well-being.

And so imagine my surprise when, during today’s appointment to organise my next PET scan, she turned to the trainee doctor sitting in and said… “You wouldn’t believe how incredible this woman is. First she was out of work after during and after her treatment and desperate about what to do next, but she picked herself up and started her own business, and now look at how successful she is! I am so proud of her!”

Huh? I mean, I was stunned. Guess it just goes to show that you never really know what people think of you. Though it took having a ‘third party’ in the room for Dr Ana to say this, but I got the feeling she was also saying it to me, and I  know that from now on I’m going to feel much more at ease talking to her. Cool, innit?