I found a lump...

Three weeks ago I discovered a lump on my neck and straight away I shall tell you that it's all fine, nothing to worry about. However, I didn't know that at the time and am afraid that my initial reaction (probably a common one, I'd say) was to immediately worry it might be cancer. I was seen by two different doctors locally and they agreed that it needed to be investigated quickly, putting me on the two week cancer pathway. Those two weeks were the longest of my life. One of them I spent in isolation as we had Covid on the island and I needed to provide a negative test in order to see the consultant on the day. I passed a lot of the time researching lumps and swellings of the throat and thyroid, as one would, and became quite informed about goitres, cysts and cancers, of which the survival rates vary from 100% down to 20% depending on the types and aggressive nature of the tumour. 

My appointment finally came round on Thursday last week. Steve flew across to the mainland with me as support, hanging around while I was in the hospital for 3 hours having tests and waiting, waiting, waiting. The lump was diagnosed as a benign cyst on the left lobe of the thyroid and for the moment needs no treatment. Our little family see this as cause for celebration. We had braced ourselves for the worst and of course hoped for the best. The moral of the tale is - please check yourself out for lumps or bumps regularly. I somehow had failed to see this growth despite taking endless photos for my blog and editing them to showcase necklaces and necklines of outfits. I also apply neck cream every night and can feel this lump now whereas it wasn't so prominent until recently. 

Anyway, as you would expect in a small island community, the news travelled fast and on my return from hospital I was greeted with warmth and affection. I've been touched by the kindness and genuine concern of co-workers and islanders in a way that I didn't expect. Life is all the sweeter.

And so, on to yesterday's work outfit. The trouser suit is a gorgeous coral shade of corduroy by Adidas which I bought quite some time ago. I've paired it with a new pale aqua shirt from TK Maxx - it won't come as any surprise that on getting the good news, I insisted on celebrating in the only way I know, to go shopping! I'd found an unused gift card at home with £200 credit on it and this seemed like the perfect time to spend it!

The two colours together are very spring-like and just right for the spell of fine weather we're experiencing at the moment. I do love a trouser suit for work as it's such a sharp business look and yet in this colourway it's so very feminine too. I did get a few compliments along the way.

However, we also encountered a few photo-bombers while Rachel and I were trying to do our photo shoot early in the morning...

Why, you'd think we were actually standing on the main road trying to take photos in the middle of the morning rush hour!

Ah, see that bright shiny orb in the sky...

I brought out this ornate (pre-loved) handbag from River Island to go with my brocade boots just to add another dimension to the look. As ever it's always more is more with me!

My necklace, rings and leather belt are all charity shop finds and my sunglasses are from Radley London.

It's great to be back to work and open to the public again for another year. We're all looking forward to a busy 6 months here on Tresco, welcoming our guests back to the island and functioning more and more as we did in those pre-Covid19 times. Please do pop in to say hi if you're in the vicinity!

                                                                            Anna x