DEC 24 — It’s Christmas Eve as you’re reading this and I’ve decided to try something new.

A bit of a throwback, but instead of writing this at my computer, I decided to see if I could dictate it.

Thanks to the wonders of technology and iOS18 (though now it’s iOS26), Voice Memos now comes with transcription.

That means I can just record myself talking, my words automatically converted to text, and then just copy over the transcribed text to Word document.

It’s tools like these that make things easier for the disabled.

Last week, when I was at a media lunch, as I was cutting up a turkey leg, I lost feeling in one of my hands.

Both my hands were, without warning, suddenly weak, and I could barely hold onto my cutlery.

And I was, frankly, quite terrified.

I put down my cutlery, massaged my left hand, rested for a while, and they felt normal again.

As I’m writing this, my right index finger is slightly painful, and I’m not sure why. That comes with the territory, I guess.

With cancer, your body just isn’t as responsive as you’d like it to be.

Every little change, every sudden pain can feel somewhat daunting.

Still, as 2026 creeps nearer, and I look back on old social media posts, I think that I will just do my best — to not worry too much about the future and live day-to-day.

Looking at a picture of me last year, right after my PET scan, the balding spot near my hair parting, which vexed me at the time, is now gone.

Who knew having cancer will lead to thinning hair?

Now my hair is thick and dark, with only a few sprinklings of gray hair.

My sideburns now curl, not a hint of grey, sticking out oddly in a way that makes me look as though I’ve been running in a storm.

Which I find rather amusing. I find many things amusing.

Laughing at things is better than raging at them, I guess.

I have also found that when it comes to looking back at everything that has happened in the last year, I’m glad that I took the time to document it all.

My one regret is perhaps not taking more pictures but forgive me if I was too tired to think much about taking photos or video for that matter.

I have just three more immunotherapy cycles to go and I’m looking forward to living a life that doesn’t revolve around my hospital visits.

Takeout is getting too expensive and little-by-little I’m finding the energy to cook again.

Tomorrow for breakfast I’ll be making steak bites with mash and mushrooms, with some Christmas fruitcake from the cake outfit just around the corner (they specialise in boozy cakes, though that’s not the only thing they make).

Usually, I’d go out with friends on the day, find some nice café, look up Christmas menus, but this year I’m going to enjoy a little peace and quiet, and revel in the simple joy of being able to feel my fingers again, and stand longer than 10 minutes.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.