Even though I'm working from home everyday I still make the effort to get out.

As I look out of the window now rain is traveling horizontally and any birds that abandon the precariously waving branches of a tree are blown sideways in a manner that suggests they're not entirely in control of their final destination. Yet in spite of the current inclement weather I take a daily walk along a stretch of the River Thames near my home.

It's a beautiful walk, ever changing with the seasons, thoroughly refreshing for mind and body but even though I go out every day I very rarely interact with people. In the centre of town earlier this week I gazed through the large open entrance of HMV and saw the people inside not as fellow music lovers, buying the latest album from this week's favorite popstrel or trying in vain to find a fifth qualifying disc they actually want to complete the 5 for £25 offer, but as a throng of possible infecters. A seething mass of people potentially carrying all sorts of viruses and infections. I was genuinely concerned and heart pounding chose not to go in. Instead I passed through town, across the market square and got back home. Wherein I ordered an old Willie Mitchell CD online.

When I do go out and meet people invariably they all want to stick needles in me. Most of the time they want to take something out, blood or bone marrow, but today there was a change in the procedure because they wanted to put something in.

My treatment has been delayed due to the possible Swine Flu Epidemic that may or may not come to full blown, apocalyptic fruition. Much like the Millennium Bug there is a lot of fuss but it may not come to much; many may posthumously miss the point in wondering what all the panic was about when nothing actually happened. Failing to realise that the reason it didn't happen was because of all the furore, media attention and hard work by those best placed to stop it.

For Swine Flu the fuss is in the form of a media campaign telling us how to blow our noses properly and how often to wash our hands. Two actions you'd expect civilized society to already be doing. A third assault on the impending epidemic is vaccination. Targeted currently at the elderly, pregnant women, and certain other “at risk” groups.

At the age of 35 I never expected to find myself in an at risk group for anything.

Although relatively untested on humans I have no reservations about having the jab. It is likely that with a very low count of proper white blood cells I won’t build up an immunity to the virus but certainly I see no harm in it; some possible protection is better than none at all. The real key to protecting me from the virus both before and after treatment is to vaccinate those around me. My parents are going to have it, my brother is trying to have it, and my wife has also had it. It is her having it that has been the real quandary in all of this because she is pregnant.

There is an immense national, and possibly international, fear surrounding the subject of vaccines and babies, be they toddling around or still waiting to come out. The foundation for most of this fear is the link to MMR vaccination and autism. A link that is now known to be a complete fabrication by a single, financially motivated, doctor but that was so widely publicised it still causes knee jerk reactions when the subject of child vaccination is raised and continues to fuel web based conspiracy theories ready to be lapped up by those that want to find them.

Putting the MMR “scandal” aside there is a genuine base for concern over giving the flu jab to pregnant women but the only basis for that concern is that it is new and relatively untested. It is uncertainty that is at the forefront here, not proof or rumour of possible damage.

It has been routine in America for some time but pregnant women have only been given the 'normal' flu jab in the UK since 2008. That was started however because studies showed actual benefits to the health of the mother during pregnancy and of the baby following birth. The delivery mechanism for the Swine Flu vaccine is the same for this established, non-controversial jab. The only fractional difference is what is inside; it is a different strain of the virus and therein lies the unknown. To my mind however, the risks are small.

It may be that in five years time it is revealed that all mothers given the vaccine are all starting to shrink to microscopic sizes, or that their children will all turn blue when they reach puberty. Who knows!

It is important in all aspects to have an eye on the future, to plan for what might be or guard against possible threats but in all things we need to focus more on The Now. Life is not perfect - if it were I would not have Leukaemia - life is full of risks and sometimes if you don’t take those risks then a greater gamble lies in the future you are protecting against never actually happening.

Today we have taken a small risk with the future health of our child, a step into the unknown, but we have done so to ensure that we all make it to that future. With one immune system reduced due to pregnancy and one that is about to be wiped out by chemotherapy, Swine Flu is far more likely to kill one or both of us than the vaccine having a detrimental effect to our unborn child. It is a move that was not taken lightly but one that gives a far greater chance to all three of us being their to enjoy her thirteenth birthday. Even if she does turn blue.