Author: John Frank Trent

I am living with Stage 4 lung cancer that has spread to my brain. These are my thoughts. It is a combination of serious articles and more light hearted stuff (like my ridiculous poems). Early articles are a bit heavy, but hopefully it becomes a little more light hearted! This is not a self help site there will be no advice on cancer related matters just my thoughts. Just for the record my name is Iain Trent, I am using the Blog name of John Frank because they are the names of my Grandads. I did not want this blog to jump up to anyone who searched for me so it is a way of providing some limited anonymity hopefully without being a catfish.

The New Normal

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“The New Normal”.

It seems there is nothing normal about Cancer. Making this, in retrospect, a silly name for the blog!

On the 19th May 2017 I was diagnosed with Non Small Cell Lung Cancer. Initially the diagnosis was Stage 4, it was then downgraded to Stage 3b, and recently upgraded again to metastatic Stage 4, including the brain.

Eight years on from the initial diagnosis I was given the ‘all clear’, very quickly followed by a further diagnosis of Stage 4 lung cancer with brain metastasis. I have transferred to palliative care and this is an attempt to record some of what I have, and still am, experiencing.

The blogs start with the posts I wrote back in 2017/18 when I was initially diagnosed. They pause as I begin to get better and start again with the Stage 4 brain diagnosis towards the end of 2024.

The later blogs are more digestible as they are mainly what I call “ditties”. Meaning they are silly sounding rhymes, albeit with a serious subject mater.