Being There

When I was at school one of the lessons that I hated was sports. I was bored out of my mind playing football mainly because I was hopeless at it. I could kick a ball anywhere but where I wanted it to go and on top of that, if I had the ball and everyone’s eyes were upon me I just went to pieces and seldom made contact with that piece of leather with a pig’s bladder in it.

I developed a pretence that I was a long distance runner, anything rather than have to go onto that pitch. I wasn’t that good at running either but at least it got me out of the grounds and away from school. I did get to like it a bit but wasn’t going to make it a career.

I had jobs when I left school that were pretty physical so had no great need for sports.

It was when I first went into the army that I began to get interested in keeping fit, if you weren’t prepare to do your bit it wasn’t long before you lagged behind the others in the gymnasium.

I guess I must have looked pretty fit, well at least I was lean. I was waiting to go for an interview with the company sergeant major when the commanding officer of the unit came out of his office and on his return stopped and looked at me. ”you look fit young man” said he, “Yes sir” I replied, “Come into my office I have just the job for you”. Before I knew where I was I had been given the details of the PT Instructors course that I was attending in 4 days time. As the post was for lance corporals only, it meant that I had instant promotion and instant dislike from some of the chaps that I was serving with but everything has it’s price. Read the rest of this entry »

Colombo star Peter Falk, 78 talks in his forthcoming memoirs, One more thing about his glass eye. (He lost his right eye when he was Three.)  An optician asked him to read the chart with his left eye. He then asked him to switch to his right one. Says Falk:’ I said” The right eye is glass.” The guy responded: “Well do the best you can.”

Exert from Daily Mail

I make no apologies for bringing up the subject of Prostate Cancer again. Since it is the biggest killer among men, comparable to Breast Cancer in women, the more we are aware of it and how it can be diagnosed and treated the better we will be at looking out for the signs and getting treatment earlier.

I applaud the way that it is being brought out in the open now after so many years of hearing about it but not knowing what to look for or knowing if there is a chance of survival if you got it.

In an article in the Daily Mail recently a well known male singer talked about the way he had to deal with it and after his operative surgery, how he is now getting on with life again.

The signs are slightly varied in some cases but one of these is difficulty in urinating. Wanting to go to the toilet but not being able to empty the bladder fully and hence wanting to go again after a very short time. Going to the toilet can be uncomfortable and even between visits there can be discomfort..

If this is apparent in your circumstances, it is imperative that you go to your doctor immediately and he will refer you for blood tests. If these results confirm that the PSA levels are raised there may be a chance that you could have Prostate Cancer and then you will be referred for a biopsy. If this proves to be positive you will require surgery and recovery will depend upon the stage at which the cancer is and whether it is contained within the gland.

Treatment options are; Cryosurgery, where the cancer is frozen; Radiotherapy, this is using radiation x-rays; Brachytherapy; using radioactive seeds implanted in the prostate.

There are also two surgical techniques that completely remove the prostate gland, one being traditional surgery or open surgery where an incision is made into the abdomen and then there is a new keyhole surgery where 4, 1cm incisions are made in the abdomen and a camera is introduced through one of these incisions relaying pictures to a monitor that magnifies the images about 200 times. The gland is removed by instruments introduced through the other holes and is placed in a polythene bag whilst still in the abdomen and prior to it being extracted through one of the holes.

The latter of these treatments seems to be the way forward but urologists trained in this method are in short supply at this moment. Advantages are; less chance of infection, patients recover in third of the time compared to open surgery. There is less bleeding, less chance of being incontinent or impotent.

After the operation and when they come to, most patients have an ache similar to having done too many sit-ups. Most patients can drink after 6 hours and eat after 12 hours. They are mostly walking next day and erections return after the nerves have recovered although they are sterile, this is because the prostrate plays such a vital role in the production of semen. After 1 month most patients are back to normal compared with 3 months for open surgery.

After surgery patients will have to have PSA tests every two/three months for a year and then yearly for 5 years.

If you require any further information you can go to www.prostatecancercentre.co.uk or for support for those having had prostate cancer. www.prostate-project.org.uk

I saw an elderly man laughing until he could no longer see through his tear filled eyes.

I looked around but could not see anything to laugh at. He was among a few friends and they too were laughing as much as the man. It became obvious that he was reliving some hilarious moment and sharing it with these people.

I often think back to the times that relations of mine were going through similar experiences and although we children were laughing it wasn’t at the stories so much as seeing the adults laughing in the way that they were.

The funny thing about this is that it was usually at a funeral and many of the stories were about the person whose funeral we were at. What a shame that this person who had gone had been such an interesting person and yet we didn’t know it whilst they were here.

One of my Uncles was the cause of many laughs for the things that he did when he was young. He was a farm labourer and full of energy and devilment. It was other relations that told us what he got up to and strangely enough it was in his presence. He never contradicted or prompted them but he enjoyed the re-telling of his exploits as much as everybody else.

The story of when he was leading a young bull to another farm and the trek took him past his front door. He decided that he would take advantage of the situation and tied the bull to a lamp post whilst he popped in and Gran made him a cup of tea. Just as he was about to leave a knock came at the door and a neighbour told him that the bull had got away and was last seen heading down the street. Uncle went in hot pursuit and eventually came upon the runaway in the side street. Just as he was about to grab the rope that hung from the bulls nose ring, a lady came out of her house and (as they did in those days) shook a tablecloth to get rid of the crumbs. Away went bull with Uncle again in hot pursuit. Visions of Benny Hills end of programme now come to mind because, during the chase more and more people joined in until there were about a dozen pursuers. Uncle was shouting to go around the animal to cut it off but who was going to face this bovine battering ram? Apparently, no-one. As far as I remember the story, the police eventually cornered the runaway with a borrowed tractor. End of sneaked tea breaks for uncle and peace for the neighbourhood.

Sometimes I believe that we only do comical things in our younger life so that we can reminisce when we get older and cheer ourselves up.

I think one of the greatest sounds ever heard is the sound of good honest laughter.

The good old “Belly Laugh”. It’s infectious too. It is almost impossible to stay grim when you are amongst people having such a good laugh. It’s good for you too so they say and I know, I always feel good afterwards.

I often wonder if there are statistics for the degrees of laughter at various ages throughout our lives. They say we get grumpy when we get older but that is a generalisation and we all know generalisations are a lie. I haven’t had a good “Belly Laugh” for a while now but I certainly won’t give in to the Grumpy theory. When I find something funny or if I get talked about for the comical things I did when I was younger, I want to be there to share it, just like good old uncle.

One of the fears of many people, no matter what age, is that their body is functioning well and they rely on the body to tell them well in advance if something is starting to go wrong.

Many of the younger generation will not think to worry about their blood pressure. It will only be a small percentage of young people that suffer and that probably wont be them (Been there, Done that).

As we get older we take more interest about the problems associated with High blood pressure, well if it isn’t bothering us we nearly all know somebody that it is affecting.

The whole problem is that it may be affecting us in some way that we cannot tell at that time.

I have just been reading about health and fitness on the web and come across this site that has gone into the results of High BP and although the statistics are embedded around the American population it could just as well be translated to any other. I am not aware that I have high BP but now I have had my attention brought to these facts, I need not get too complacent and perhaps I will be keeping an eye on things.

High Blood pressure is a Killer of that we can have no doubt but if it has been diagnosed we believe that it can be controlled by taking medication. That’s alright then! But is it? There is a big difference in taking medication to treat the effects compared with treating the cause and eradicating that. I know which of these most people would prefer. Trouble is we do not really have a say in it. Our busy doctors are left to dish out pills and haven’t the time to treat the real offender.

The book that I am interested in is titled “The Silent Killer”, It is in e-format so if you have a computer with internet access you can view the site through the link at the bottom of this. I have to state that I am not qualified as a Doctor and am not authorised to give medical advice but all I can say is that if I was in trouble with high blood pressure, this is the path that I would take. Why not have a look at it and make your own mind up.

My name is Frank Mangano and I’ve discovered a method to lowering your blood pressure in an all-natural way. Using my ‘Mangano’ method, you can lower your high blood pressure…and do it naturally.

High blood pressure is often called the “silent killer” because most people don’t even know they have it and they can die without warning. This is as serious of a health concern as you can possibly have.

Look at the grim statistics the American Heart Association provides on High Blood Pressure:

• High blood pressure (hypertension) killed 46,765 Americans in 2001. It was listed as a primary or contributing cause of death in about 251,000 U.S. deaths in 2000.
• As many as 50 million Americans age 6 and older have high blood pressure.
• One in five Americans (and one in four adults) has high blood pressure.
• Of those people with high blood pressure, 30 percent don’t know they have it.
• Of all people with high blood pressure, 11 percent aren’t on therapy (special diet or drugs), 25 percent are on inadequate therapy, and 34 percent are on adequate therapy.
• The cause of 90–95 percent of the cases of high blood pressure isn’t known; however, high blood pressure is easily detected and usually controllable.
• High blood pressure affects more than 40 percent of African Americans.

Here’s more of what the American Heart Association says about what a grave concern high blood pressure is: “High blood pressure is the No. 1 modifiable risk factor for stroke. It also contributes to heart attacks, heart failure, kidney failure and atherosclerosis (fatty buildups in arteries). In some cases, it can cause blindness.”

“Medical Researcher Reveals The Astonishing But True Method of How Almost Anyone Can Drop Their Blood Pressure Through The Floor Using An All-Natural Secret Alternative To Harmful Drugs… Almost Overnight…Guaranteed Or He’ll Reimburse Your Very Small Investment!”

“This Amazing But True Discovery Is Destined To Humiliate The Big Drug Companies As Millions Of Consumers Abandon High-Priced Drugs With Harmful Side Effects In Favor Of This Shocking, All Natural Method To Lower Blood Pressure!”

“Here’s The ‘Underground’ Guide To Lowering High Blood Pressure That’s Rocking The Medical Community!”

www.thesilentkillerexposed.com

OLDER PEOPLE STRATEGY

If you want to build a house to live in do you trust the builder to design and build one without asking you what kind of house would suit you and what layout would be best for you. I wonder how close that house would be to your liking and to your needs.

Chances are that you would get some things that you agree with and many that you would not.

I remember working in a Chemical factory and seeing all the alterations that were being planned by the team of experts. I am not decrying the expertise of the team nor the dedication to make improvements.

A lot of time and discussion went into the planning and a lot of input from a wide range of trades and specialists helped to cover all the aspects such as building and safety. Production was the prime criteria because this was the part that made profits.

Read the rest of this entry »

Cancer is one of the major killers in today’s society. It is not the feared condition that it used to be and big strides have been made in the treatment and cure of the disease. Cancer has no respect for age or gender nor is it aware of class or lifestyle. In the treatment of today much effort is given in educating people about the attitude of positivity and there is a growing belief that this is a great support for any treatment.

It is becoming widely believed that positive thought is a great help in avoiding as well as treating many forms of illness.

It is an interesting to think that we are able to control the quality of our lives by the way that we conduct our thoughts, we know that there are many things that we can or cannot do because of the way we think. If we convince ourselves that we cannot do something it is expected that we will not do it, on the other hand if we are confident and believe that we are capable of doing something we will most probably succeed.

Healthy thinking as well as healthy living and avoiding stress can contribute to a good approach to Senior citizenship.

Exercise of the mind is as important as that exercise of the body and in healthy proportions both contribute to a life of energy and interest.

Stress, whether it is real or imaginary, is one of today’s biggest problems and is known to be a killer if not checked. All forms of relaxation are essential if we are likely to live through a time of stress and at this time one of the benefits comes from activities like yoga and meditation. This is the time that imagination becomes a key point. Imagination can work for us or against us and with the disciplines that accompany most relaxation activities, we take charge of the mind and direct it in the way that we know it will work for us. Visualisation is essential for this and the better we can visualise the results that we want the better they will manifest. Care should be taken to ensure that we only visualise what we want and not what we don’t want.

No amount of thinking can stop the years rolling by but, with the right kind of thinking, we can motor through it with as little stress as possible.

Of course, not even stress need be a burdena. Stress in control can be utilised for achievement and gain.

The following is an excerpt from the Daily Mail under the title” A Tale of Two Cancers”

Read the rest of this entry »

There is one thing that is certain in this life and that is that you can stand still for a time but you cannot make time stand still. We have to go forward, there is no reverse on life’s pathway. Perhaps this is a good thing otherwise we would meet ourselves coming back.

One of the things that would give us a good standing in facing that future is to look at it as a vehicle. If this is the bus of life which would you rather be, the passenger or the driver. Perhaps the worst you can imagine is letting life take you where it wants to go. That way the future is uncertain and scary. Like driving the bus blindfolded and guessing whether you are going in the right direction or not (And it would most probably be not.)

On the other hand if you are the driver you have the essence of control and steer where you want to go. There are certain roads that you have to stick to but you know the destination so you get to choose the route..

O.K. there are other things to consider as well, such as, you are not the only bus on the road and so you have to be aware of where others are going so you don’t crash into them and hope that they are as observant as you are. There are traffic signals that you have to adhere to that are a hindrance when you are in a hurry but disregard them at your peril etc etc. Oh and there is fuel, what about fuel? You can’t go without it.

Sounds a bit like life, we want to get along but have to take other peoples wishes into consideration and we would be O.K. if it weren’t for some of the things that we have to pander to in order to stay within the law. The fuel? Well that comes from us, that is our determination to get somewhere and make sure we have the gusto to get there.

Gusto is great if you have it and it is usually in abundance when we are young but is called stamina as we get older and that changes it somewhat. Even stamina can get in short supply as we age but at least we have no great need for it better perhaps change it for patience or determination.

If we want “Rocket Fuel” we should make sure we have a good sense of humour. What a blessing the person has who can keep a sense of humour throughout their life.

A sense of humour is ageless and spans every facet of life and every age generation.

When I leave this planet I don’t want my breath to be the last thing that goes, I want it to be my sense of humour.

I sometimes sit and contemplate if I have changed much and if I have yet got to the stage of using my age as an excuse to not do things that I have always done or do some of the things that I have never dreamt of doing before. That to me would be handing over the wheel and becoming the passenger.

I applaud the people that have used their time in their senior unemployment to do things that they have always wanted to do but have not had the time or resources to do them. I hear of people taking up educational studies or travelling the world and even starting new businesses and this to me is the inspiration that we should all try to follow. I realise there are those who are unfortunate enough to have ill health and that this takes up all their resources and I applaud them too because that is the passenger telling the driver where to go.

Passenger or driver, whichever is your choice go your journey and travel well but go with good heart.