Last Updated on June 3, 2023 by Tom Kane
Metabolism – the chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.
The fact that you are reading this piece on my website, dear reader, indicates you’re either young, or, if you’re getting long in the tooth like me, then you have a good metabolism.
Also, it points to the fact the author, that’s me, also has a good metabolism. How do I know? My doctor told me.
You see a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer, Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma to be more accurate. What followed was a nine-month regime of chemotherapy. I lost 32 kilograms in weight and having beaten the dreaded Big C I’m now trying to build myself back up, which is proving hard, in some ways harder than enduring the chemotherapy.
But, at the end of it all, I did it. I beat my cancer. At least, it’s dormant. It may come back, but equally it may not. Now I must go for a treatment ‘top-up’ every two months, for a protein infusion. This is a new treatment that uses proteins to find and bind themselves to cancerous cells, either killing them of rendering them dormant.
What’s all this got to do with my metabolism. My Oncologist put it very bluntly. “You should consider yourself lucky. At your age, many would have succumbed to the cancer. But your body has fought it off very well.”
Those few words have had a chance to sink in since I got the good news last week that I had beaten cancer. My age is sixty-eight and if not for my brilliant metabolism, I may not have been around to write this piece and you would never have had the chance to read it.
Life is full of sobering moments. This one, has topped the lot for me. Not only am I thankful to be alive, but I’m also lucky to be alive. All because of my metabolism and my sheer bloody-minded refusal to give in to cancer.
Look after your body, dear reader, it’s the only one you’re going to get.
Copyright © Tom Kane 2023