Just thought I’d add some musings about side effects. The Zejula tablets are working beautifully, confirmed by a recent blood test. But they do come with side effects. I’m not grizzling about this (much) because they’re very good at what they do. But for the sake of public information (and maybe a bit of grizzling) I think they’re worth enumerating.

This pic shows the box of Zejula tablets surrounded by a whole lot of other substances that I have used against their side effects: Movicol for constipation, lozenges for an on-and-off sore throat, antacid for indigestion, a lipid-based spray for dry eyes, paracetamol for headaches and mouth wash for dry mouth. There are other side effects too, that I haven’t tried to visualise here: brain fog, yellowish skin, a touch of anaemia, random moments of sudden-onset tiredness. But if you set these aside the far greater danger of not taking the tablets, these are pretty inconsequential. I’m up for it, and so glad these tablets exist.

Anyway, I feel pretty good today. Today, the side effects are way in the background. In the foreground I’m enjoying this beautiful day and the ever-blooming portulacas that self-seeded into a bit of dirt between the pavers just outside the back door. And doing a spot of sewing and craft and thinking about writing if not actually writing. (Yes, this is writing, but not writing-writing.)

This morning, despite feeling great, I found myself thinking about side effects. All of life on earth is just one big side effect. Evolution (giving us flowers and dolphins) and cancer (giving us trouble) are both “side effects” of genetic mutation. The death of old shells gives hermit crabs somewhere to live. The colonisation of Australia that began on January 26, 1788, was done in the name of crown and glory and somewhere to put convicts. The side effects of this adventure included the dispossession of the locals (rationalised through terra nullius, the idea that this land belonged to “nobody”), and, later, Peter Dutton’s call to boycott Woollies for not stocking Australia Day merch. While some side effects might be “worth it”, others have been dubious from the outset. One side effect of of discovering how to split the atom – equations written in chalk on blackboards – was the creation of weapons that could obliterate our own species. In some ways we are quite good at thinking through the potential side effects of a given course of action. It’s core business for the insurance industry and teachers who take primary school students on excursions. In other ways, though, we suck. See climate change and stockpiled nuclear weapons and over-fishing. On issues like these, our species is still in pre-school, running around with our hands over our ears, yelling la-la-la over voices urging caution.

Side effects both make us and unmake us. It’s all terrible and glorious. It’s a job-lot.