So how did all this start?

When I was having treatment for something quite unrelated (low iron), a blood test showed my PSAs to be abnormally high. Following this I found a urologist, had more blood tests, a biopsy and scans; these revealed an aggressive cancer in the prostate and pelvic lymph nodes. Suggested treatment was surgery, then radiotherapy (if required). Why not the other way? Apparently radiotherapy makes scans less successful in that it affects the tissues. So radio will be adjunct therapy, if  required.

Fortunately my urologist’s practice supports its patients well by coaching them life without a prostate. This means training in how to strengthen pelvic floor muscles, and how to use these to reduce urinary incontinence.

So what next? The catheter  will be  removed in five days’ time. Fortunately, having done Pilates for years, my PFMS are quite good. Will there be accidents? Of course; life goes on. Would you rather have your prostate in the grave, or have a good life without it? I’m still me, still a man, still loved. Sound ok?

And the low iron? Still to be resolved. First things first.

OK, will do this post by hand. it is pretty good, in the main. The handwriting software recognises your scrawl pretty well and moves everything to the left so you don’t have to move your hand.
Main problem is the insomnia. ..Because I can’t exercise very much, I do wake really early in spite of being drugged up to the eyeballs when I do go bed.So I woke up nearly 3 hours ago.Got up, made a cup of tea, fired up the tablet and read my FB page. Now having a shot at updating my blog. Of course, after lets’s say four hours’ sleep, you’re really going to feel like exercising! Medication: Stilnox, Belsomra, Endone, and a whisky (the  last about two am). can resume exercise in about four weeks. Tablet down to 22% so will have to stop soon. . .Get up, empty night bag, read more of Nicole Krauss book. This is Forest Dark, her new novel. Very good indeed!

Patrick Radden Keefe, The family that built an empire of pain. The New Yorker, October 2017. This is the Longform version of this story. Apparently the link I posted first doesn’t work – apologies. Just click on the title of the story in the Longform page. This is a long but fascinating story from the New Yorker about the family that developed and marketed Oxycontin.

Finally finished Danubia, by Simon Winder. This is an extremely entertaining history of the Habsburg Empire. Sounds impossible? Give it a go. The author seems to have read everything on the subject, travelled inexhaustibly, enthused endlessly, and organised an empire of material better than the Habsburgs could (with very few exceptions) manage.

Nicole Krauss, Forest dark. About half way through this; most accomplished and intriguingly autobiographical. I am liking it more than Lincoln in the bardo, which was … interesting (“noice, interesting, different”) … but more in concept than in execution. So why didn’t this win the Booker? That’s enough meanness for one day!

Had a little excursion today, as ever with der Fisch (will explain this later). Went to Bunnings to get a plug for the ensuite basin and some Dynamic Lifter. The former they didn’t have in the exact size, but we got one 2 mm smaller. Fortunately it has a large flange on top, so the water will sit on top of the plug. The DL was the opposite problem; smallest size available was 18.5 kg. I obviously can’t lift anything at present, and Der Fisch couldn’t manage it. So she bought a smaller bag on our way home. This was not mega-exciting, but was enough excitement for me, as I sneezed while on our way there. This really hurts like buggery, although it wears off. Anyway, I have had an Endone now, having also emptied the bag and changed the pad, and am feeling comfortably insulated. (My first E for the day.)

Better explain Der Fisch. A saying I heard on cricket commentary years ago was to say (admiringly) of someone that they had an eye like a dead fish. This is true of no-one more than my darling wife, whose name I am, for finicking web security reasons, not publishing on this blog. Anyway, the German for this translates (as near as I can manage) to Ein Auge ungefähr ein Fisch tot. (This is probably wrong.)

Welcome to my blog. I am creating it to enable me to communicate more easily with my family and friends (who, let’s face it, will be the only ones interested!). If you are reading this it’s because I sent you the link. If you just stumbled across it, good for you. It is just going to be a record of my recovery from a prostatectomy. There won’t be any reviews (except of books I’m reading) or anything remotely fancy.