From reading my previous posts you may know that I was diagnosed with Essential Thrombocythemia in 2021. This falls under the banner of MPNs which includes other, similar blood disorders/cancers such as polycythaemia vera (PV) and myelofibrosis (MF) For more information on MPNs visit https://www.mpnvoice.org.uk/about-mpns/
Previously, the majority of people diagnosed with an MPN have been predominantly over 60 but more and more younger people are being diagnosed. I joined a group on Facebook for people who are under 40 and have MPNs and last weekend I attended my first in-person social, organised by the lovely Megan.
We started at Tank and Paddle Bishopsgate where we got to know eachother and shared our MPN journeys over pizza and drinks. It was so nice to talk to others who can relate to what I’m going through, hear people’s different experiences and not have to explain certain things because most of the people there are going through something similar. It was a nice, relaxed atmosphere and the pizza was tasty and huge (I still ate it all obvs)
We then headed to Hijingo bingo which was a novel experience! We had a good laugh but unfortunately none of us won anything, although the relief of not having to take part in a dance off on stage to win the prize probably outweighed the disappointment for most of us!
After that we went to Simmons bar in Liverpool Street which always has decent drinks and music. It wasn’t long before my feet started to ache and the tiredness kicked in (the joys of ET) but I had such a great day, met some lovely people and I’m really looking forward to the next meet up.
Chelsey Prentice 