Thank you all for your many prayers, thoughts and messages! Meryl and I are so blessed and grateful for your encouragement, support and TLC.

The surgery went well and I was discharged by about 2 p.m., feeling a bit woozy but OK. Slept for a couple of hours this afternoon. My nose and chin are both a bit sore but not bad enough for any medication at the moment. I follow up with the doc in a week (not yet booked).

Apparently both the nose and chin spots were cancerous. The nose was basal and he reckons he got it all without need for a skin graft from my shoulder, so that was good. The chin was squamous and didn’t need a graft either. He thinks the one on my calf was not cancerous at all, more dry skin. Squamous can be more dangerous and faster spreading than basal, but both are potentially life threatening if untreated. As always it is better to get treated earlier rather than later.

The lesions seem to be a function of my light colouring and skin. Clearly, serving in the infantry for nearly 30 years makes me more susceptible to skin cancers. We were often in the sun – as well as much rain and some unforgettable frozen weather! Such is life’s rich pageant! And, apparently, because of the transplant 3 years ago, some of the immuno-suppressant drugs I’ve been on also put me more at risk.