Pete Bate
Crumble and cracked tyres
I thought I'd take advantage of the steroids again and get another post up while feeling relatively alert (despite the usual three hours...
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Pete's Progress
Pete Bate
Sep 12, 20232 min read
Hair today...
In the wake of my last long, pretty intense post, I thought I'd share a brief update about the bizarre resilience of the human body. In...
412 views2 comments
Pete Bate
Sep 5, 20238 min read
The business end of life (on steroids)
Caution: I'm writing this post while on steroids. I scribbled the bulk of it on my phone between 11pm and 1am last night as said steroids...
789 views14 comments
Pete Bate
Aug 21, 20235 min read
Return to Paradiso
We've started belatedly binge-ing the American box set Atlanta. A comedy loosely based on the hip-hop scene, it's pretty surreal at times...
330 views2 comments
Pete Bate
Aug 12, 20234 min read
Good news week
I can't believe it's been almost three weeks since my last post. The truth is after the initial new-ness of my diagnosis, treatment and...
993 views8 comments
Pete Bate
Jul 24, 20234 min read
Don't should yourself...
I've always been prone to 'shoulding' myself. The term was apparently coined by pyschologist Clayton Barbeau. It means to put pressure on...
512 views6 comments
Pete Bate
Jul 10, 20234 min read
Cool runnings
I've just got back from my first run since May. It was a gruelling 1.25 mile affair around the local football fields. My heart rate,...
450 views3 comments
Pete Bate
Jun 27, 20236 min read
Normal Pete, meet Cancer Pete
There's been a slightly longer gap than usual between posts but, don't worry, I'm still here and, to again quote man-of-the-moment Elton...
508 views2 comments
Pete Bate
Jun 16, 20235 min read
Ashes, cats and dogs
There are some advantages to being diagnosed with a disease which requires treatment and rest through the summer months. The fact my...
438 views3 comments
Pete Bate
Jun 11, 20237 min read
You can't hurry... hope
Today's title is a mash-up of the famous Supremes' (and later Phil Collins') hit and a TS Eliot poem, which I recently heard paraphrased...
947 views6 comments
Pete Bate
Jun 2, 20237 min read
Something for the weekend?
There was a brief period at the turn of the century when I entertained the idea of becoming a full-time music journalist. At that point,...
481 views7 comments
Pete Bate
May 25, 20234 min read
Count to ten
As I approach the end of my first fortnightly cycle of chemotherapy, it also feels like the end of chapter one of my cancer journey. It...
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Pete Bate
May 17, 20236 min read
Holy chemo, Bat(e)man!
Trigger warning: this post talks more explicitly about God, church and faith than previous ones so feel free to skip if these are not...
525 views5 comments
Pete Bate
May 13, 20235 min read
Grammar's cool
Forget the cancer, a miracle of grammatic proportions has taken place at Burton Hospital in recent days. You may remember the waiting...
613 views5 comments
Pete Bate
May 6, 20236 min read
The week that was...
I'm sat alone in the house (a rarity at the weekend!) with the drizzle falling outside, the TV coronation coverage on mute, and the...
528 views0 comments
Pete Bate
Apr 30, 20233 min read
Reasons to be cheerful, pt 1
A couple of people have told me recently, as I get used to having cancer, that I'm a positive person. I've never really seen that - I...
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Pete Bate
Apr 25, 20234 min read
The Gospel According to Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks is the kind of Hollywood legend I would enjoy sharing a pint and some peanuts with. A few years ago he was interviewed on one...
514 views1 comment
Pete Bate
Apr 21, 20236 min read
Tunnel of love
Well, in the words of the well-known physician Ron Burgundy, that escalated quickly! My first reaction to the phone call from Burton...
694 views3 comments
Pete Bate
Apr 13, 20235 min read
The journey begins
It’s been just over a week since I emerged from Burton Hospital, shell-shocked, with Lisa by my side. Maundy Thursday 2023. That’s a day...
917 views6 comments
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