Ch-ch-ch-changes....

As sung by the immortal David Bowie (for those of you young enough not to have grown up with his music) – changes are afoot here.

Firstly the result of Himself's coughing appears to have been by the drugs he's been taking for his prostate cancer. Oh, great. So he's been told to come off those straight away and have a month to clear his system before they put him on something else for the cancer.

I really hope to god it does help his breathing. It's exhausting, frustrating and debilitating for him to cough all the time, and for me it's incredibly difficult living with a cough like that that threatens to take over our lives. So fingers crossed on that one.

The second thing is that Kirstie Newton, the editor of Cornwall Today, goes on maternity leave at the end of this month, and Alex Wade, a highly respected journalist and writer, takes over the reins as acting editor over the next year. While I will miss Kirstie, I'm looking forward to working with Alex who sounds a fascinating character.

Thirdly, for any of you feeling a bit down, or in need of a change – try singing. I don't belong to a choir – that's a bit formal to describe us – but we are called The Suitcase Singers, and sing every Thursday for a couple of hours. The more I sing with Claire Ingleheart, our musical director, the more I enjoy it.

Last Saturday we had a gig in Flushing in the evening. Claire had done a workshop that afternoon with over 20 people and many of them stayed on for the gig. From there we went to the pub, relaxed with a drink for half an hour, and started singing again, sitting outside the pub.

It was a real example of singing crossing all kinds of boundaries. We sing a-capella (without music), and Claire chose several rounds that are easy for bystanders to learn but sound fabulous. We had a stag party that joined in (as she said, that could have gone either way but they joined in and had a wonderful time) and everyone who was in the pub came out and joined us, and gradually doors opened in the village and more and more people came to listen and join in.

It was a night I shall never forget. Hearing the melodies rise out over the sea, watching faces light up with the pure joy of the music, and a lightened atmosphere of sheer enjoyment. Claire is not only an incredibly talented musician, she is a great leader and knows how to manage large groups of people, which is vital in these instances.

It really was a night with a touch of pure magic.

Cancer awareness and Peeing

March is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month – though I've seen very little in the media about this. According to the Prostate Cancer Charity, 70% of men don't know where the prostate is, let alone what it does. Prostate cancer affects almost as many men as breast cancer affects women. There are 35,000 men diagnosed every year with prostate cancer compared to 44,000 women with breast cancer. 10,000 men die of prostate cancer every year compared with just over 12,000 women that die of breast cancer each year.

Now that's cheered you all up, think of the warning signals. Basically this is men having trouble peeing. This doesn't mean they have cancer – it tends to happen with age – but it's always worth trying to get them to go and see their GP (I find threatening divorce usually works).

Treatment is varied but often is hormone therapy (taken via tablet form) which is usually very successful. There are side effects, one of which can be inability to get an erection. Depending on age, this might not matter, but for younger men (and/or their wives) this can be very upsetting.

Still, if this does happen, there are instances (dependent on the medical background of the man) where a Viagra type drug can be supplied. Always ask your GP or specialist nurse.

So the motto of this is that every cloud has a silver lining. In other words, yes, it is possible to get Viagra on the NHS!

Prostate Cancer Awareness Week

This year the charity is urging women to look out for possible symptoms in their partners so they might encourage them to go and see their GP and get a blood test.

The symptoms include:-
- frequent night time urination
- difficulty in passing urine
- a weak flow
- a feeling that your bladder hasn’t emptied properly
- pain when passing urine
- pain in the lower back, hips or pelvis
- blood in the urine or semen
- problems getting or keeping an erection.

If that hasn’t put you off the day, nothing else will.

Did you know that two thirds of British men don’t know what the prostate does?

In case you’re wondering, the prostate supports the neck of the bladder and makes some of the fluid of semen. Naturally, the prostate is therefore important to sexual function.

I can see by now you’re thinking, “Flowerpot, really. This is a blog! I don’t want to read about this stuff.”

And this is precisely the problem. We’re all embarrassed by this sort of stuff – stuff to do with waterworks, with the messy underground reality of what happens in our bodies – or in this case, our partners’ bodies.

And because we’re embarrassed, and because most men will think of any excuse NOT to go to the doctor, particularly if it’s about something as trivial as having to get up several times in the night to have a pee, prostate cancer might not be diagnosed until it’s too late.
In Britain, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, accounting for nearly a quarter of all new cancer cases among males. About 32,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. Among these are men as young as thirty five.
So if you notice any symptoms – try and get him to the GP. I find threatening divorce usually helps. But get him there.