Thanks for your help so far - you may be interested in my retirement speech
which I will be giving tomorrow



Love and Healing



Ian



DRAFT



Hi



It is a real pleasure to be here today, some 30 months after being given a
prognosis of only 3 months of quality time.



I wish just to say a few words on the following



Cancer - and how come this fit-looking chap with terminal skin cancer and a
healthy tan is still around



My working life



My future







Cancer:

One in three people will get cancer - that is one third of you in this room,
or, being more personal - if you and your partner have just one child, or if
you have three grandchildren - the probabilities mean one of the three will
get cancer at some time.



Maybe you reckon that with no smoking, low alcohol, lots of fresh fruits and
vegetables, moderation in sunshine and all other things - YOU personally
will beat that prediction. So why did I get skin cancer when I was always
moderate with sunshine? Of the billions of cell replications each of us have
each year some go wrong and we get unlucky. But anecdotally I repeatedly
hear of people's immune systems overcoming cancers, sometimes terminal
cancers. I also hear of studies such as one announced recently relating to
the effects of the immune system on cancer occurrence - apparently
night-time lighting increases the chances of breast cancer by nearly a third
- because the lack of prolonged darkness suppresses melatonin release during
sleep and this in turn suppresses an immune system boost.



I have taken the chemotherapy and the immunology and against overpowering
odds and I am around today. I believe that this is largely as a result of
taking care of my immune system - a strategy of no smoking, low alcohol,
lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, moderation in sunshine and all other
things. But, I am lucky, extra-ordinarily lucky to be here. I see the way
forward in cancer immunisation and a holistic approach to supporting the
body's battle against the horrible disease.. And when I hear, as I did this
last week, of little Shannon aged 5 dying from cancer, I know that becoming
a friend of, and contributing to cancer research can give us hugely more joy
than physical presents. I am therefore encouraging you to become a friend of
the Cancer Vaccine Institute http://www.cancervaccine.org.uk/













My working life



I am hugely proud of the energy industries. They find oil and gas, extract
raw materials in the most difficult of conditions, process highly flammable
and explosive chemicals and deliver fuels and plastics and brake fluids, etc
safely to billions of customers every day. The science and the technology
involved is truly breathtaking. The efficiency with which those products are
found, extracted and processed is impressive. I often ponder 'if only
governments were able to reap the same efficiency improvements as the major
oil companies have achieved, then our basic tax rate would be halved.



Throughout my working life I have had the pleasure of working with people
who have the highest technical and scientific qualifications, the highest
ethical and moral standards and people who care. When announcing my cancer,
I was deeply touched by messages ranging from practical advice through to a
statement of people's prayers, and I greatly enjoyed the efforts of some of
you with juicing.



I toast your future in continuing to maintain the standards that I have
encountered, and to find the new fuels essential to the daily lives of all.





My future



As compared to the usual course of this disease, I am still incredibly lucky
and doing profoundly better than the scarce few that have reached my
longevity. I live in hope, for my family and for myself. Should my health
be maintained into the Autumn, then I will be looking for some part-time
consultancy opportunities to keep me busy and help financially with the
burden of three delightful daughters.



For now, most of my time is now with my family and in particular with my
three daughters all of whom are at university. The last 30 months have been
a wonderful gift allowing me space and time to meaningfully talk with and
help my children, attend to the problems of my aging parents and to fight in
my battle against cancer. My current condition is described as stable, but
in reality has worsened marginally in the last six months. I regard this as
a 'wobble' as I walk along this thin tightrope of life - and I very much
hope to regain my balance and be around for many more months to come.



Thankyou for coming today and for your wishes. I wish you well.



Ian





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