0 Andy Whitfield and Bearle

As you can see by my previous post, September isn't a good month for me! This was deepened by the fact that two deaths have impacted on me this last week.

The first was my neighbours cat Bearle. Yes, I know he wasn't my cat but he was my friend. He used to always come over to say hello and I would fuss him until he had had enough. In his last weeks he actually made a point of hanging out with me if I was in the garage. He particularly enjoyed to suck the jelly off the cat food I gave him, it gave him alot of pleasure.

In hindsight, following his death on Saturday 10th September, I like to think that this increased affection was his way of saying goodbye.

He passed peacefully at home with his family and died in his sleep. A gentle and kind end to an equally kind gentle soul. RIP Bearle x

The second loss was the Actor Andy Whitfield who played the part of Sparticus in the series.

I was amazed to find out that he was originally from Amlwch in North Wales because when I looked at his face they only way I can describe it is that it was like "coming home". Strange way to describe a persons face but thats how it felt for me. His eyes and bone structure remind me of so many of my family, my Auntie Heather, Nain and my Great Grandparents!

He was just 39 years old and died of leukemia, cancer.

He leaves behind a wife and two young children and my thoughts and prayers are with them and those he loved and loved him in return.

Cancer is such a dreadful disease. The death of Andy Whitfield, so young and fit shows you that its not fussy who it chooses to affect. Age, fitness, sex, stardom - cancer does not care a fig about any of them. Its the only exclusive club which has no queue to join!

I hate cancer.

I will always continue to fund raise because the more money we plough into research then the more chance we have of making cancer a liveable, treatable disease and not a life sentence.

I know I have said this before but I am lucky to have had my cancer now because progress has been made to ensure that I am safer these days of its return. The drug of herceptin has put me on an equal playing field for other forms of breast cancer.

So September sees the loss of two more lovely souls.