Hello!!

My name is Jon. I have cancer. Mantle cell lymphoma.

But….. there is a lot more to me than just that. You can read about it below. Then if you still need to know more, well, you’ll just have to ask me.

I’m blessed to be married to the super amazing, beautiful, Danielle.

We have a talented, awesome daughter Kael.

I decided to write a blog to give you an insight into my journey with and through cancer. I’ve no doubt it will have high’s and lows. Hopefully lots of laughter and maybe a few tears. But a journey begins with the first footstep so let’s just see where it takes us.

That’s it in a nutshell. Well it would be if I was writing it in a hazelnut size nutshell, but I’m going for a coco de mer size nutshell so there’s more. Oh and you can look up coco de mer as apparently it’s the worlds largest nut. Just make sure you do that after reading my blog first. Thank you.

Who am I?

I was born in 1966. I’m a Libran and a Fire Horse. I became interested in music, football, nature along with the mysteries of the Earth and the Universe at a young age, whilst living in Birmingham, England.

I loved books like ‘Lord of the Rings’, fell in love with the movie ‘Star Wars’, wanted to be Doctor Who & Johnny Rotten, had a crush on Suzi Quatro, played Dungeons & Dragons and had a great fascination with stone circles. My parents were religious, Christian, in a casual kind of way. I’m not sure how much I was but when you’re little you just go along for the ride. I did become involved with the other English religion called football and, for my crimes, became a Leeds United supporter at a very young age.

I started life as a nomad. Mainly due to my father being a career man and moving constantly for his promotions.

It was during the early nomadic years of my life that I was taken to see a stone circle and the energy and impact of it lodged itself somewhere within me. It is something that has stayed with me ever since and whenever I’m home in England I always take the opportunity to visit at least one stone circle. They fascinate me and so do the earth energies that run under them.

At the age of twelve dad got another promotion and we moved to Worthing on the south coast of England. Moving to Worthing allowed me to explore Cissbury Ring and Chanctonbury Ring on a regular basis. Two prehistoric hill forts that are well worth investigating.

At the age of fourteen my parents got divorced. Mum, my sister and myself moved back to Birmingham.

In my older teen years I started to shut down to my spirituality. Instead I gravitated towards the football terraces. It gave me an outlet for the anger and anguish that comes from parents separating. Half my football life was given to following my beloved Leeds United when they played any of the local teams in and around Birmingham. The other half was going with my Aston Villa supporting mates to watch their team. Either which way there was a flirtation with the football hooliganism of the early 1980’s. Which is nothing to be proud of but it’s important to be honest.

I left school and moved back to Worthing where I acquired a little brother from my dad’s second marriage. I then moved on to Eastbourne where I went to college and formed some amazing lifelong friendships.

I emerged in my early 20’s as a punk rocker and anarchist trying determinedly to change the world for the better through whatever it took. I was forever looking outwards and never inwards in my desire for human and animal welfare.

In the early 1990’s I moved to Australia with all my anarchist punk views. I got married to my first wife, but was separated by the mid 1990’s. I still wanted to change the world and I was still looking outwards and never inwards.

This changed in the late 90’s when my courageous father went through and died of cancer. He was 61. This was one of the saddest moments in my life and was a massive shock to the system. I left Australia and returned to England to help nurse him through the last few months of his life. A heart breaking time for all those involved.

This caused the start of a break down within me and led to overindulgence in drugs and alcohol. I ran away from the emotion and moved to Brisbane, Australia. I met and fell in love with Danielle who I eventually married. Over the next few years we lived and worked in Australia and England, did a lot of traveling and led a fairly hedonistic lifestyle. There is something to be said for life experience if you can learn from it and grow.

With the help of Danielle I broke my drug addiction. I was beginning to realise that to change the world on the outside you need to look inwards and change yourself on the inside.

To grow spiritually as a human being you have to face up to yourself. You have to be honest about all your faults and all your issues. You have to conquer your demons. Then your soul can grow and you can start to change. It’s not easy though. Confronting yourself is bloody hard work but you take the first step and then the next step and you just keep going. I’m still facing up to myself today.

Whilst living in Adelaide, Danielle gave birth to our beautiful daughter. It was the most magical moment in my life to see that precious life form arrive in to the world. On the flip side Danielle may disagree about the moment, as it was a very difficult birth. Us men need to be honest and accept that we will never ever know what that feels like.

We returned to live in England in 2007. First in Spalding, with my mum, before getting our own place in Brighton.

At the end of 2010 we decided to move back to Australia. Where we still live to this day on the Gold Coast. Not long after we got back my mum was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This was the other saddest moment in my life. I never got to see my amazing beautiful mum again. For one reason or another I couldn’t get back to England before she passed away at the start of 2011. I will be forever grateful to my sister who nursed her through the last few months of her life. Many phone calls were made though and I was on the phone with her as she passed away. Mum was 83 and I still miss her.

So here I am on the Gold Coast with Danielle and our daughter. Before cancer came along I was working with Danielle in our crystal shop, and doing quite a bit of energy work. That’s all slowed down now for me as I can’t work in the business in the same way I used too. Still that should change in the future as I plan on recovering.

It amazes me how Danielle runs the business almost single handedly. Although Kael is at an age now where she can work in the shop and does. Not to mention a couple of fantastic friends who’ve helped out in these difficult times.

On another note I might just mention that green tea is wonderful and I try to drink at least five cups a day. It’s very good for you. I’m trying to reduce stress, laugh more and live life. Listening to my favourite types of music gives me great pleasure too. Punk/alternative, the heavier end of reggae and dub, ska and classic 80’s metal. Although I’m open to most with a couple of exceptions.

I’m not sure what twists and turns life is going to take, but that’s what makes it exciting. Thank you for reading this and I hope you stay on the journey with me.

Oh and for the record, in case you were wandering? I still love stone circles and Star Wars. I don’t have a crush on Suzi Quatro anymore. I don’t want to be Johnny Rotten either. But I would still love to be Doctor Who. And I still support Leeds United. God bless ‘em.

Travel safe and be blessed,

Jon