Oh dear, I'm sorry if I have stirred up a hornets' nest. For the doctors in the house, it was Wilko, who wanted the world to know his story and the involvement of my good friend, Emmanuel Huguet, and myself. The first publicity in the national dailies and GQ came on the day of his surgery, as he was still being operated on. The next day, we were both asked by Wilko's manager (with Wilko's agreement) to talk to the press.
Since then, other media coverage, including a new documentary by Julien Temple, has all be done with Wilko's full agreement. I didn't know that Wilko was even going to the Q Awards ceremony, until my colleagues heard my name on BBC.
It is a 6 hour round trip for me to visit Wilko, either at home or whilst he was in Cambridge. I haven't taken a penny off him, even though I had left the NHS by the time the penny dropped about his diagnosis. Indeed, I still don't take a penny off NHS staff members, who see me in my private breast cancer clinic with a next day service, as I am rather old fashioned about looking after the 'family'.
As for my user name, it has a satirical twist. When I was a surgical senior registrar in Oxford, my old consultant, a yorkshireman, used to joke that the worried well-educated women from North Oxford only wanted to see a 'top oxford doc", i.e. him. Later I got my PhD in molecular oncology from Oxford University, I also became an Oxford Doc. Hence when I need a new email address 15 years ago, topoxforddoc was satirical dig.
Anyway, whatever other people think, I am just delighted that Wilko is getting better. His first comeback gig will be a benefit gig for Addenbrooke's at the Corn Exchange, Cambridge on a date TBC. So I'll be there with my friend, Emmanuel, and my camera.
