Alphabet Part 2

E is for... Equality
Racial, sexual and gender equality are things I feel strongly about, it always makes me happy when I see things changing in favour of equality.

F is for... Fundraising

After having benefited from some amazing charities, I started fundraising, and I absolutely love it. There's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment which comes with raising a great amount of money for a worthy cause. 

G is for... Gothic 
I've already said my favourite book is Rebecca, another one of my favourites is The Picture of Dorian Gray, and one of my favourite films is Black Swan. I'm a big fan of the Gothic genre as a whole. It's not just scary or horrific, it's creepy, which is something which takes a lot more work to achieve. 

H is for... Horror Films 

In the same vein as the Gothic, I love horror films, and could easily waste away a day watching them. My favourite subgenre being supernatural, although anything with a clever, gripping storyline is good. 

What Is ALL?

In May 2013, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. The ins and outs of it can be hard to understand, and equally as hard to explain to other people, so I thought I'd explain exactly what it is, as simply as I can... 

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) is a cancer of the white blood cells. Here, the term "acute" means that the condition progresses rapidly and aggressively and requires immediate treatment.

ALL is caused by a DNA mutation in the stem cells, causing too many white blood cells to be produced. The bonemarrow (where blood is made) releases these white blood cells before they have been allowed to develop properly, making them "faulty".

As the number of faulty cells increases, the number of healthy blood cells and platelets fall, which cause many of the symptoms of leukaemia, such as fatigue, weakness, bleeding and bruising.

Because leukaemia is cancer of the blood, it is not localised to a specific area of the body. This means that treatment can differ greatly from other forms of cancer which form solid, localised tumours.

Around 650 people a year are diagnosed with ALL in the UK, making it an uncommon cancer. Despite this, it is the most common cancer to affect children, with 85% of ALL patients being under the age of 15.

I hope that's been informative! If you want any more information, the best place to check out would be the NHS website.

Pete

Alphabet Part 1

Okay, so I thought I'd make a start on this blog by going through some of the things I really love. I know it's pretty cheesy, but I thought a good way to do this would be to go through the alphabet, so here is part 1!

A is for... American Horror Story

I started watching this at the beginning of 2014, and was hooked from episode 1. Whilst staying in Bristol, I became obsessed with horror, and this show is basically a 10 hour disturbing postmodern horror film.

B is for... Boots
Never shoes, always boots!

C is for... Coffee 

Every great day begins and ends in good coffee, with a few cups in between. My order's usually a double shot flat white.

D is for... Daphne Du Maurier

Rebecca is my favourite book, and I'm now working through her rest. In literature, I find a great storyline and being well-written are usually mutually exclusive, but DuMaurier has the great ability to encapsulate both in her novels. 

New Blog!

Hello!

So I've decided to set up a blog...

Basically, I have a lot to say, in regards to all of my medical updates, random musings, cultural observations, reviews and general ramblings. I don't want to force these down people's throats by putting them all on Facebook, so I thought I would dedicate this space to it all, so that people can read it if they wish.

At the moment my blog looks a little bleak and not too appealing, but I hope to make it look better soon! May even change my blog's name as this is what I settled with after hours of thinking. Guess it's just a matter of feeling my feet with it all at the moment.

Pete