Dear All,
Jill and I have thought hard about this decision and that's why you're reading this now. I hate fuss; you all know that so this would seem the best way to break the news to everybody. I don't want the revelation to change anything at all. I'll still be the same Gordon and I'll still arrive at work in the mornings and leave at night, just some days you will notice a certain absence.
I've got cancer; bowel cancer to be precise. The symptoms have been there for a while but like any typical man I decided to ignore them. Incredibly foolish of me, but thankfully we've caught it early enough to expect a full recovery. I expect it will be at this point that Mr. Rose will be rolling his eyes and cursing under his breath, it was extremely selfish on my part.
I'll undergo surgery in the coming weeks to remove as much of the cancer as possible, and following on from that will be a round of chemotherapy. I don't expect any of it to be easy but I know there will be one person who will need your support now, more than ever; Jill. She won't admit it but she's extremely vulnerable thanks to the news.
My home and work life rarely mix. As always my number one priority is our children. My main concern in to maintain a sense of normality for them; the less they know the better! On that note I must finish this letter prematurely to go and put Jonathon to bed.
I hope you can all understand why I chose this way to break the news.
Gordon Ormerod