Thank you, Thank you, Thank you 

Last week I celebrated a very significant milestone on my cancer journey.

Over the past eighteen months, as I struggled with the side effects of chemotherapy, post-surgery complications and a compromised immune system, I have celebrated with others as they rang the bell on the wall of my local cancer centre which signals the end of their treatment.

It’s a moment pregnant with meaning for everyone involved; the celebrant, those who have cared for them, and fellow patients who enthusiastically applaud other lucky patients as they depart the centre for hopefully the last time.

I must admit that, at times on this journey, I began to wonder if I would ever make this moment and I’m profoundly grateful to God and to the wonderful medics of the NHS for bringing me this far.

But my time finally came to go through this highly symbolic ritual to mark the last cycle of Herceptin, I was found I was overwhelmed by a complex mix of emotions. I was almost lightheaded with relief at being officially in remission granted yet another lease of life. I was also filled with love for those who had cared for, and walked with, me, on this journey but as I looked around the chemotherapy ward, I also felt a deep sorrow for those who cancer had already claimed and those who I suspect will never get their chance to ring ‘the bell’.

Back at the beginning of this journey, I met a young woman who was suffering from terminal cervical cancer. She was one of those who tragically would never get to ring the bell yet, when another had their moment, her face lit up with joy at the thought of another’s freedom from cancer. And it’s a testament our common humanity that, as I rang the bell, my fellow patients once again applauded and joined with me in my joy.

It's still going to take some time for my immune system to recover and I am due to have one more round of surgery to help prevent the cancer returning for a third time. But I will no longer be returning to the cancer centre for three weekly mono-clonal antibody treatments.

So my fervent prayer now is that as many of my fellow travellers as possible will also reach this milestone but also that all know the peace of and presence of God no matter where their journeys take them.

Kate Nicholas is a preacher, Christian author, broadcaster and consultant. Her best-selling memoir Sea Changed is an account of her unconventional journey of faith and previous healing from advanced cancer.

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