There, I’ve said it!

I've got cancer. There, I’ve said it. My previous posts have more or less said it but not in so many words.

I’ve got cancer. BUT, I am not suffering from cancer. I’ve got it. I am not dying from cancer. I am living with cancer.

During my lie-down after lunch (this is Greece, after all), it hit me that many of you out there in blogland have followed my trials and traumas around the hospitals and consulting rooms of Greece and the UK. So, what have I dished up over the past week? A short story and book review. Anything (probably sub-conciously) to avoid talking about the reasons for the warmth and support flooding in from friends, family and so many unknown readers - especially on Sunday evenings.

I have prostate cancer which has spread. A special note to all you guys out there: If you notice the slightest change in the pattern of behaviour in your groin area, such as a frequent need to pee, particularly during the night, GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR. Early detection is crucial. Don’t do as I did, put it down to being a normal side-effect of the march of time (I am 71) and then discover it’s too late to contain the problem. It CAN be contained if diagnosed early enough.

So, how am I doing? (I am chicken about destructive therapies. Radiation and chemo are not my scene.)

There are other routes to take, but you need to dig deep and not just nod and agree with whatever the medical specialists want you to do.

Not all of you have a loving wife or partner who will ransack the libraries of the planet in search of solutions. I do. Faith has spent harrowing months finding the answers to every conceivable question and I am now following a combination of conventional and complementary therapies.

Since returning home to our little island a couple of weeks ago, I have been up every day at dawn to carry out my Qi Gong (an ancient Chinese art of movement, breathing, meditation and visualisation known to be effective in treating cancer) session among the fig, lemon and olive trees in our garden, daily increasing the length of each session; more than an hour this morning. I am taking a regular pharmaceutical drug to contain some of the symptoms and following a course of natural supplements and an almost vegan diet to help rebuild my shattered immune system. We have bought a juicer and I am enjoying (no, really!) glasses of juice from various combinations of fruit and vegetables.

I am feeling good and positive about life and living each day as it comes. Thank you for your support which is valued beyond measure.

tags: prostate  cancer  qigong