Celebrations!

Great news today! Via the Macmillan PC group I've been keeping in touch with a guy who was recently diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. His PSA was similar to Tom's. I just wanted to give some support, someone to share his fears and doubts as well as offering our example of how it doesn't have to be the end of the World. The waiting has been a horrible time for him but today news came he is suitable for having his prostate removed. This treatment is not usually available when the cancer has spread beyond the gland. Yippeee. The treatment is not without its issues but it is radical, the gland is gone and can do no more damage. Just in case you don't know where this walnut sized potential time bomb is, I'm providing an illustration. It's there at the base of the bladder.

I decided to see if I could contribute in this way because when we were really struggling I found Mark on the (then) Prostate Cancer Forum. I’m sure I have mentioned him before and if I haven’t it was unforgivably remiss. Mark had the ability to say just the right thing. Guiding, reassuring, basically just believing. Sadly, Mark Kenealy died in 2012 aged just 52 but there are many many people who are very grateful he touched their life and hold him fast in their memory.

www.macmillan.org.uk offers forum style groups for all cancers where you can seek help and advice, share the dark hours and also the good stuff from and with others with your form of cancer. It is also a great place for relatives, partners and friends to get an insight into their loved one's feelings and experiences. In addition the site has medically qualified and support staff who can provide guidance in all aspects of living with cancer.

Illness, it is not just about you

Received my copy of Local Life this week, it’s a local booklet for community news in the towns and villages around Ormskirk, Lancashire. Buried on p19 was a piece about a health initiative called “Stay healthy for the ones you love”. It offers a free health check with your local doctor for all men and women aged 40-71 years who have no existing medical conditions. I really welcome this project, Tom went to see his doctor about a dodgy knee and thanks to his doctor urging him to have an overall check up we learned of his Prostate Cancer just in time. It wasn’t until after a series of tests we were told the cancer was still contained within the prostate gland and prospects for his future health were good.

That inital news was pretty overwhelming for Tom but he wasn’t the only one, the whole family was devestated. The impact for us was mainly emotional because our finances didn’t entirely depend on Tom’s income. We’d certainly miss it but we weren’t going to starve or be thrown out of our house. For people diagnosed with a serious illness who have dependents and who are providing a significant part of the household income, these are the practical nightmares to add to the emotional ones.

For yourself but also for your loved ones please do consider getting checked whether you have symptoms or not. There are many diseases which don’t surface until they have already done significant damage. Good luck.

Asmall Lane, Ormskirk

At long last I’ve managed a couple of collections over the weekend resulting in 3 bulging bags of rubbish from High Moor Lane and Asmall Lane, Halsall. The weather in the North West of the UK has been nothing but rain and more rain through most of November. I don’t mind getting wet but the way it has been I’d need a wet suit. Lovely warm sunshine this afternoon made it a pleasure to be out. From the photos you will see that some of the old favourites came up again. What is it with cups and clothes? The book is What the Bible really teaches, a Jehovah’s Witnesses text. I wonder if rubbish was a problem at the time the Bible was written.

You may recall in an earlier post I mentioned I had accepted Prostate Cancer UK’s 10,000 challenge. My target was to collect rubbish over 10,000 yards of road. With the last 3 collections I have covered 7744yds towards my goal. Just in case you missed earlier posts 10,000 men die of Prostate Cancer each year in the UK. PCUK’s intention is I should seek sponsorship but that is not the aim of this project, it is all about raising awareness.

The collection had far more action than I could have anticipated. I do so hope there were no injuries in the crash which occurred at the junction with Cut Lane. The first I was aware was the arrival of the air ambulance, a fire engine and the police also attended. I was at that spot maybe 30 mins earlier. My best wishes to those involved.

Clothes - bin, recycle or donate?

Spent about 20 mins rooting through my wardrobe this morning to uncover this bulging bag of stuff which is now heading for the Cancer Research UK shop. It is the most relevant charity shop in our area for the cause and like many others at the moment they are appealing for donations at the moment.  According to Oxfam almost 10,000 items of clothing go to landfill every 5 minutes in the UK.  The charity shop will make the most of your unwanted clothing whether they sell it or pass it to the “rag man”. I’ve seen rates of £2 for each black bag but I can’t confirm that is accurate.

Done a bit of research and the textile recyclers handle the textiles in different ways but one of the most significant, to some controversial, is exporting our unwanted clothes to Eastern Europe and developing countries. I read somewhere that companies may sort the charity shop rejects into 30 different categories from clothing which is too damaged or dirty to use (so ends up shreaded for a variety of purposes) to those which can be traded. So already those rejects are providing employment. The controversy of exporting to developing contries lies in a consequential impact on local textile industries.  

 A more positive point of view is that clothes are being reused instead of being dumped and are also creating jobs for people in the country of destination. They may be involved in transporting shipments, unloading and processing deliveries or actually selling the clothes in local markets. According to the latest available UN figures, the UK is the second largest used clothing exporter after the US. It exported more than £380m ($600m), or 351,000 tonnes, worth of our discarded fashion overseas in 2013. Top destinations were included Ghana, Pakistan and Ukraine.

Can’t help but feel this is a far better outcome than adding to the 350,000 tonnes of used clothing which already goes directly to landfill in the UK. Among those in 2015 were the random variety I picked up from the verges. I’ve included a few photos to remind you. I leave it to you to decide what to do with your unwanted clothes but easily the most effective approach is to cut back on how many you buy.

Seasons

What a relief to get out again this afternoon after the terrible weather we have been having in the North West of England over recent days. To be quite honest it wasn’t the best collection I’ve made, all those lovely autumn leaves have been blown off the trees and who knows what rubbish is concealled beneath them. The rain meant that wonderful rustling leaf kicking experience was a complete non starter. I still do it when I can and always feel that giddy excitement of childhood.

So it was out on Northway for just a single bag with the usual collection of plastic bottles, crisp packets and cans. More noticeable was the bashed up football and the plant in the large pot which just may have been thrown over a rather high garden fence judging from its location. That caused a bit of a dilemma, there was no way I could carry pot, plant and soil any distance let alone continue collecting rubbish. Umm, in the end I emptied the pot and managed to get it into the bag leaving the plant and soil to decompose in the hedge bottom. Obviously this represented the easiest way for the owner to dispose of it but the thought process which led to the decision is bizarre, to say the least. Apart from the risk of serious back injury, why not just tip it out in the garden and put the pot in the bin? 

Autumn brings leaves, changeable weather and seasonal festivities. Harvest is in, Halloween is over and last week it was Bonfire Night. The date is marked in events across the country and the tradition  of setting fireworks is supposed to represent the gunpowder Guy Fawkes and his associates set but which he was unable to explode. Again, going back to my childhood, looking for the burned out shells the next day was part of the fun. Some of them would still be warm. The one which found its way into my bag this afternoon was long cold. No idea where this rocket started the journey which brought it on to the grass verge by Northway but I hope it brought  enough pleasure to justify littering the countryside with the remains. 

Back to business

Glad to get back to business today after the spell of appalling weather. It was blustery but warm out on High Moor Lane, Halsall. I didn’t have high expectations of distributing many leaflets but ended handed out 4 which was great. I chose this method of raising awareness of Prostate Cancer because I felt it would give me the opportunity to talk to people who may not otherwise come across quality information about the disease. Mr Grimshaw didn’t need the facts because he has already been diagnosed and is already being treated with hormones but as we chatted he mentioned a number of his friends who are currently receiving treatment. He was fully supportive of any move to raise awareness and was happy to take a leaflet to pass on to someone who was less knowledgeable.

Mr Grimshaw is a farmer and like so many other self employed people a serious illness can have significant impact on the basic business of maintaining an income as well as dealing with the illness. Farmers have to work the crops, may have animals to look after, have contracts to fulfill and just keep things going day after day after day. They may work alone or have employees but you have to be a pretty wealthy farmer not to have to get out there and do the work. Many other tradesmen and business owners will have the same burden of responsibility adding to the stress of dealing with illness. The same applies to the many contract workers created in the last number of years as employers make economies by cutting back on the extra financial commitments of permanent employment. Chronic illness can be crippling in more than a physical sense.

So today the rubbish haul was fairly ordinary except for the bag of rubble which had been fly tipped, various car parts and a section of orange plastic “fencing”. I had parked by the canal and was horrified to discover a large piece of machinery which has been dumped. I have a feeling it will take some heavy duty lifting gear to get rid of it. I wasn’t sure which agency was responsible for dealing with this kind of thing in this location so I’ve sent a message to the local council and requested them to pass it on to the relevant authority. 

Prostatitis or Prostate Cancer?

So what is prostatitis? I met David Blackburn this evening in Morrison’s Supermarket he was seeking long term donations to Smiletrain. This was a charity close to the heart of Tom’s sister, Joan. Donations following her death were in support of Smiletrain so I went across to say hell. I explained to David that, regettably, I was unable to make a long term commitment to the charity because of my Clean up Prostate Cancer project. David knew all about Prostate health, he has been diagnosed with Prostatitis symptoms which often mirror Prostate Cancer consequently his condition is monitored including PSA tests.

The Know your Prostate leaflet  describes the disease and is available for download from Men United. Basically, prostatitis is an infection or inflammation of the prostate which can cause urinary problems, pain in the groin, lower back or lower stomach area as well as classic infection symptoms like fever. There are 2 distinct types of the disease, acute and chronic. David told me his PSA had been as high as 13 before the prostatitis was controlled so it is understandable that sufferers may think they have cancer as David did, initially.  This image shows the urinary bladder and at the bottom you can see the prostate gland and understand why one of the primary symptoms of an issue is difficulty going to the toilet. 

If you experience any symptoms go to your medical practitioner or GP, until they have done the relevant tests you won’t know what is causing the problem(s). Don’t hesitate, these are indicators which cannot be ignored.

I'd just like to take a moment to introduce you to Smiletrain. It is an international charity with one aim, to provide access to cleft lip/palate surgery for those  who cannot afford to pay for it. These physical problems can cause difficulty eating and speaking which is bad enough but in some societies those children born with a cleft feature are ostracised, they are excluded from school and work. The Smiletrain website gives an insight to their experiences and explains how the charity has helped to improve the lives of  1,000,000 children/people with a simple operation visit www.smiletrain.org.uk.

October Accounts

A couple of days late, for which I apologise but Clean up Prostate Cancer has had another great month, largely due to John Appleton and my picking up the Prostate Cancer UK 10,000 challenge

23 bags of rubbish collected  (inc 1 from Conor and 3 fly tipped)

6 leaflets

£10.56 collected for Prostate Cancer UK

8 sessions

Onward and upward, looking forward to November, hope the weather and masses of leaves don't complicate things too much.  Watch this space

Southport Cycle Club gets the message

Way back in July I surprised 4 members from Southport Cycle Club when they took a break by suddenly appearing out of thin air to give them my Know your Prostate Cancer leaflet. If you recall, Mike suggested I get in touch with the Club to arrange a visit to their Monday night Forum. Not one to pass up on the opportunity to spread the message I contacted Allan who managed to find a gap in their busy schedule and tonight I received a very warm welcome from the members who were gathered. I spoke very briefly explaining what I did and why then passed around a box of Know your Prostate leaflets. I was delighted that 26 copies were taken and Colin (President), accepted a poster to display. I hope none of them ever need the information but at least they’ve got it.

Like so many clubs and societies this one has not escaped the impact of the disease having lost a dear friend. Delighted to meet Chris who was inspired to complete the EndtoEnd ride in 2013 in aid of Prostate Cancer UK. That’s 1100 miles John O Groats to Lands End, the long way round. Superb effort. Prostate Cancer can sneak up on any man, if we let it. It’s so good to find people with a special talent or interest adding their weight to the campaign helping to put a halt to men losing their lives and families having to live on with the most painful memories.

Thanks to all, however, I need to give special thanks to Allan who set up the visit, squeezing it into the Club’s very busy schedule. Hope the auction went well.

I felt so welcome I’m sure you would too so if you are interested in finding out more and possibly joining follow the link southportcyclingclub.co.uk.