Thankfully I am now on the mend and I am vaccinated against flu and 23 strains of pneumococcal infections. I had quite a reaction to one or other or both. The flu jab is annual but the other is a once only vaccination. I continue on my blood pressure tablet journey - no further along, still in a foggy place! 

I have been reading with interest and concern the on going debate about breast screening. There have been many recent newspaper pieces written about breast cancer during October as it is Breast Awareness Month.   The most concerning is the one found here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20121043 It is suggesting that there are  too many women being treated for breast cancer unnecessarily following screening. My concerns are that it could put women off going for screening or even worse refusing treatment for breast cancer. It seems that there are some types of cancers which do not need the aggressive forms of treatment that breast cancer is treated with at the moment. the problem is that the Drs do not yet know which cancers they are. So a women could refuse breast screening which would detect a tumour and go on to develop secondaries and die because she has read this report. Until more is known about which cancers can be left this sort of reporting should not happen. Half information does not empower women it just confuses them. Please encourage women you know to be screened - without the mammogram I would have died - my cancer couldn't be felt and it had already spread to my lymph nodes.  Also please encourage your young girls to be breast aware - to know what is normal for them so that if something changes they will know. Breast cancer treatment is yuck - but it saves lives. 

Tomorrow I am going to London with Joy to see Top Hat - can't wait to see Tom Chambers tap dancing, lovely.