My husband and I bought a house and retired here 18 months ago, almost on a whim.  We just happened to be on holiday and literally saw the perfect house being pinned up in the agents window and in 24 hours bought it and within three months we moved to Uzes in the Gard, knowing no one.  Our family and friends thought us mad but we have five grandchildren and more on the way and the house is ideal, I remember saying we were only in our fifties and in good health so why not?  My husband had been complaining of a mild sore throat and earache for months and eventually after five weeks we went and introduced ourselves to the local woman doctor.  She didn't touch Chris (my husband), just looked down his throat and not knowing us at all said she thought he had a malignant tumour and that afternoon we were at the ENT specialist who said the same thing.  Within ten days he was being treated for throat cancer.

 

Firstly isn't it amazing to tell two strangers such awful news without knowing if they mentally, emotionally etc. could handle this sort of thing.  I am, of course, immensely grateful to her for her quick actions and she has been a brick ever since.  The oncologists and nurses didn't speak a word of English (why should they) and our '0' level French quickly improved.  The treatment is now over and he is 'in remission'.  The treatment was barbaric.  How true the cliché is - the treatment is worse than the disease.   He is left with all sorts of problems resulting from this.  i.e. almost no saliva glands, swallowing is a problem and again another cliché - every headache is a tumour.

 

 I can answer, now, so many questions people might have. I just happen to be in touch with a schoolfriend I have not seen for thirty years who lives in Canada and amazingly her husband also has throat cancer.  We write to each other about three times a week comparing the different treatment and swapping recipes that are easy to swallow.  I don't suppose we will ever meet but chat happily away and we both know exactly what the other is going through.

                                                            Sally