vickygoestravelling

my journey to health and well being via exotic destinations


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A Swiss Sunday stroll turns into a snowy scramble

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Chez Christine sits under the pass to the Dents du Midi

It’s a beautiful morning in the mountains and our Canadian guests are easily dissuaded from leaving until after a gentle stroll. The chosen route is a steep climb up  through the woods to Sous la Dent and then doubling back to Signal de Bonavau and down to Chez Christine’s for lunch. A couple of hours plus lunch should do it, Ross reckons. At first all goes well, gorgeous views down to Champery… Continue reading


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Making the most of the dying days of summer in the Swiss Alps

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The Dents du Midi with a smattering of snow, with the ridge we walked, foreground

With the prospect of a wet Bank Holiday weekend in London I thought it would be a good idea to chase the sun for a few days in Switzerland where the weather has been glorious. Continue reading


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Recovery Road is slow and hard!

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The problem with the NHS is that while hospital procedures are of a good standard, the minute you leave it all goes to pot. There is no home support. Gone are the days of the District Nurse, and when I go to the hospital for my 15 minute ‘physio’ this entails bending my leg in all directions and measuring the angle of movement, and comparing it to the last. Tick the box. Continue reading


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Good and bad news from London

 

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The girls at Two Brydges

Back in London! I wish I could say that this has been a joyous time, full of the excitement of moving back into our recently renovated house, but in truth the last 10 days have been a nightmare, albeit with one or two highs interspersed with what I call the nadir of the pits.

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Coconut crazy – the #healing powers of #coconut

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I have been having a very health conscious couple of weeks – more acupuncture (agony this time) for the shoulder which six months on is still not better. I am also aware that my 18 month check is due, and my bad leg has also been twinging – whether I banged it diving or, as Mrs Ang (Prof’s wife) says as she gaily sticks more needles into it to kick start the system (the old ‘No pain, no gain’ mantra ringing in my ears), my circulation is not good enough, I don’t know. Whatever…

So I decided to look at the healing properties of coconut, which I published first on my http://www.healthylivingwithcancer.co site. My findings have excited me so much that I am sharing them with you all.

healthy living with cancer

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I can see you all rolling your eyes and thinking this is just another crackpot health claim. I thought so too until I read the book, Coconut Cures by Brice Fife, that a kind dinner guest gave me recently. Now I have substituted coconut oil for all others in my cooking (and changed all the recipes on this site accordingly!), am adding 2 tsp to my daily granola and fruit, and dressing my lunchtime salad with it (plus balsamic and lime). Soon I daresay I shall be rubbing it in to my scalp where I have pre-cancerous sun damage which freezing has failed to cure and using it as sun tan oil instead of Nivea or Ambre Solaire.

Yes, dear reader, I am a convert!

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A year of living with cancer: travelling hopefully

The birthday couple!

The birthday couple! November

On Monday 15 December I had my check up with the Prof. I had flown in the day before and had spent the day with Tommy, first at the Bench, with a late birthday tribute to Louise (always in our thoughts),  and then in the pub with some of Louise’s friends watching the football. Consequently felt not only anxious about Monday’s appointment but also rather hung-over! Continue reading


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At last! my new cancer website is public…read on

Gorgeous orchids at the Gardens by the Bay

Gorgeous orchids at the Gardens by the Bay

 

It’s here at last! after months of grafting, cooking, testing, tasting and photographing. Thanks to husband Ross for being so patient in all of these tasks and for being a great webmaster.

http://healthylivingwithcancer.co/

Please follow and, more importantly, spread the word amongst any friends and family you think it might help – it’s all about the power of positive thinking to help you recover from cancer. For foodies there are loads of new recipes, all extremely healthy. There’s even some proper scientific back-up for this holistic approach, with periodic blogs by ‘the doc’.

All comments and suggestions welcome – on the site of course! Continue reading


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Hospital, here we come again!

My little freind

My little friend

I have a sleepless night. I am waiting for confirmation that the cab I have tried to book will come – it is impossible to get a taxi in rush hour, especially if its raining and, it transpires, so is pre-booking one. So at 6 a.m. I am calling them again – nada. The system here is that the cabs responds to a call out if they feel like it and are nearby. Thinking it will take at least 30 mins to track one down using the latest app – Grabtaxi – I press all the buttons and, bingo, one arrives in 3 minutes. Feel I HAVE to take it as I might not be so lucky later…. So there I am, one and half hours early for my appointment with the gynaecologist, sipping green tea with toasted rice in a large shopping centre, finishing Evelyn Waugh’s Sword of Honour. I always take my iPad to medical appointments. Continue reading


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Scan results are in!

Idyllic vista at Wormlsey for teh Garsington Opera

Idyllic vista at Wormlsey for the Garsington Opera

The waiting is over; the MRI and chest x-rays were done on Monday and on Wednesday, after an hour of relaxing yoga to de-stress me,  I am back seeing professor Thomas. The past few days have been almost unendurable with anxiety, punctuated by treats to try and keep an even keel. So on Saturday we went to Garsington opera with Tommy and his girlfriend Olivia, who prepared a most delicious picnic which we ate while sipping champagne by the lake; Sunday we had some dear friends round for a Thai feast in the garden. Both days were glorious and bathed in sunshine. Continue reading


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Of mountains, meditation, yoga, writing…and waiting

Carpets of wild flowers

Carpets of wild flowers

The waiting is the worst. As the time for the scan draws nearer, the complete ‘otherness’ of Champery and the Swiss mountain air is appealing. Ross comes up for the weekend but otherwise I am largely left to my own devices, to meditate, do yoga, work on the book, garden and read. Continue reading