Twenty five years ago this month I was diagnosed with cancer. First of all I just want to say, look at me, still here. I'm pretty happy about that.

But twenty five years ago, for a year my and my family's life revolved around surgery, chemo and radiation. And then the best part of a decade of medications with with their 'tolerated' side effects. And still the sneaky little blighter tried to stage a comeback a few years in, but we evicted it.

Twenty five years is a while, so my medical experiences are not current but there are a few things I learnt in that year and the ones after and I'd like to say them out loud -

Cancer did not make me a better person. It did not make me re-evaluate my life and see the world in a new perspective. It might for some people, but it just made me tired and grumpy. And intolerant of people's bullshit.

It was not a blessing in disguise. Having people tell me there had to be a silver lining or that everything happens for a reason was not helpful.

Everyone has their own approach. Mine was evidenced based western medicine. Random strangers (no friends, I'm glad to say), telling me I was poisoning myself was not helpful. I was poisoning *it*, the side effects on me were necessary collateral damage

The most important thing my friends did for me was to be normal. Doing stuff we usually did - grabbing a coffee, going out for a meal, seeing a movie. I was thinking about cancer every waking minute, respite from that was what I needed

The other day someone reminded me I told them this - One of the women in my support group talked about how hard it was not to cry in front of her kids. The facilitator asked, what message are you sending to your kids if, when something this bad happens, it's not okay to cry? This is one of the most important things I've ever learnt. Hiding your feeling doesn't let people in and it's not a viable strategy for longer than half a second. 1/2

#cancer #science #luck #ReflectionOnLife #HappyToBeHere

Jon Casey is back with HAPPY TO BE HERE, a six-track EP that reimagines the future of trap music.
https://retroworldnews.com/jon-casey-unleashes-bold-new-ep-happy-to-be-here/

#JonCasey #HappyToBeHere #NewMusicRelease #EPLaunch #MusicIndustry #BoldSounds #ArtistSpotlight #MusicInnovation #ListenNow #MusicLovers #IndieArtist #CreativeJourney #SoundtrackOfLife #MusicCommunity #VibrantTunes #FreshBeats #MusicalExpression #InspiringArtists #TuneIn #CelebrateMusic #music

Hello, Merveilles!

I'm Greg. I'm a designer but also like to think of myself as an aspiring artist, amateur photographer, environmentalist, family man, etc.

I worked at Valve (the game/Steam company) for 28 years, from 1996-2024, and a few other places before that mostly in software/tech/games. AMA.

Currently find myself working on (producing) a musical (!), with my wife, Erin. What a world.

Very happy and very honored to be included in Merveilles, a town I've admired for so long. Thank you especially to @aleph, @wryl, @somnius, and @neauoire for being so welcoming. Looking forward to connecting and meeting people here, maybe collaborating on projects, and generally just contributing to the creative space and good community.

(I'm migrating here from @gregcoomer where my avatar was a rabbit/hare - so if you followed me there you might not recognize the new me just yet.)

#introduction #hello #happytobehere

Huh. I also joined Mastodon 2 years ago yesterday.

Busy week in 2022!

#HappyToBeHere

New here!! 🫶🏽

#newhere #lgbtq #cuteboygirl #punk #punkmusic #happytobehere