Day 10 – Prostate Patience

or " lackadaisical labs"  [expand title=”Show this Post” swaptitle=”Hide this Post” rel=”prostate-highlander” findme=”auto” trigclass=”noarrow prostate_text colomat-trigpos”]

you've got to ask yourself one thing… why isn't speed a priority when it comes to the determination of the presence of cancer in biopsies of potentially afflicted individuals?  I mean there are literally lives on the line, not to mention the psychological stability of those waiting for the results.  
 
unlike the other tests… biopsy analysis and reporting isn't a process where false positives are common in fact large studies have shown the occurrence to be less than 0.5% (ie. less than 1 in 200) – so basically – if it says you got it – then you got it – and remember, we're not dealing with a single core sample, but anywhere from 6 to 12 and up, and that false positive becomes increasingly infinitesimal when multiple samples are showing the same thing.
 
<rant>
so, this is the big one… the result you're waiting for… the one that determines your future – and they make you stew for 2 weeks???  
 
It always amazes me, that with particular cancers – my only personal experience being with breast (not my own ;-), they are able to make gross, but accurate determinations of the presence of cancer in frozen sections of tissue in a 10-20 minute window – DURING the operation – so the doctors can be sure they've got clean margins or that the tumour in question is indeed cancerous (I guess if previous biopsies weren't possible or practical). 
 
So, why leave the rest of us on needles and pins for 2 weeks, when you could potentially give the patient the news while they're still at the hospital or clinic recovering from the biopsy procedure itself?  If labs can send back results in 20 minutes to doctors in an O.R. that are using those results to determine if a mass even needs to be removed or not – or if further shaving of the margins is necessary – then certainly those results, whether considered "gross" or "rough" are definitely of an adequate confidence level that can be conveyed to patients simply waiting for the results to determine the course of their life.  
</rant>
 
but… I waited the 2 weeks (or 12 days if you wish to get picky) and then had to meet again with the urologist…  I imagine today a text would do, or you could follow your urologist's tweets with a hashtag of #my_put_your_name_here's_biopsy_results!  But, ours was in person – and of course the news wasn't good – or I wouldn't have any purpose in recounting this story.  Mine was found in both sides of the prostate and the Gleason score (used to measure aggressiveness and differentiation) was 7 (not sure if that was a 4+3 or a 3+4 – you'll have to Google the definition to get the details) – which was enough to warrant immediate attention.
 
In my case – I was given the grand total of 24 hours to determine my course of action…   (cause for another rant, tomorrow)

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Day 9 – Prostate Perforation

or "is that gunpowder I smell?"  [expand title=”Show this Post” swaptitle=”Hide this Post” rel=”prostate-highlander” findme=”auto” trigclass=”noarrow prostate_text colomat-trigpos”]

 

although it was a month between diagnostic tests… it appears, from searching thru my old email archives, that during that month I also had my first appointment with a urologist (I am completely at a loss as to what sort of incentive – other than money — would drive anyone into this field of medicine, but thankfully some choose it).
 
that appointment also involved a repeat DRE, which resulted in the exact same comment as my GP made… "I don't like the feel of that"!   and this naturally led to the confirmation of the already scheduled appointment for the biopsy.
 
I probably don't need to point out that technology and therefore procedures evolve very rapidly and that what was common practice more than 12 years ago is far different from what is normally done today.
 
Today, there are at least 3 possible ways of performing a prostate biopsy… transrectal, transurethral, or transperineal, the details of which you can easily Google for yourselves.  Whether all three were common 12 years ago, I don't know (you can probably Google that too), but I was only given one option – that being the transrectal –  which I was scheduled to have and the only one of the three that I am going to discuss.
 
Preparation involved some fasting, a purge and/or an enema to ensure things were "clean" and I assume that took place at home – as I don't remember any of that occurring at the urologist's office – where the biopsy was done.  The biopsy procedure as described in recent literature, can also take place in a variety of ways – in an O.R. under anesthetic or in a urologist's office lying on your side using local anesthetic in the areas the biopsies will be extracted.  I don't seem to be able to find a description of how mine went down – it would probably be considered barbaric by today's standards.
 
currently, it appears that all biopsy guns are spring loaded – some allow cocking with one hand, even just by pushing a button and many models are "disposable" which given the usage, kinda makes a lot of sense.  How one "cleans" the reusable types is a mystery, but I assume it involves long periods of autoclaving and other chemical baths (but hey… what's a bit of E coli between friends!).
 
Back then, I was told the instrument being used was powered by .22 shells – and although I can find no reference online as to the "historical" timeline of the technological changes to the biopsy gun – the comment wasn't made in jest and the sound, smell and use of the "gun" – no re-cocking (that I could hear) between rounds (as required by the spring loaded types) – would seem to indicate that was indeed the case.
 
So… my experience began much like a DRE – I was simply standing, bent over resting my torso on a raised exam bed.  There was NO preliminary local anesthetic applied either topically or by injection – simply the insertion of said "gun" which compared to the "digit" in DRE, felt like a tree trunk and in reality wasn't much smaller. 
 
I was given advance warning of the first biopsy taken – more to prepare me for the sound, I think… rather than the incredible jarring pain that accompanied it.  I was told the the succeeding ones would get easier as I got used to them.
 
I'm sorry, but whether powered by gunpowder or springs, I don't think anyone gets "used to" having an elephant's trunk shoved up their rectum and then having anywhere from six to twelve 18 gauge biopsy needles blasted thru the wall of their rectum into the prostate… the rectum has little in the way of nerve fibres, but the prostate is fraught with them and that's where the pain is felt (thus the reason most procedures today are done using anesthetic injected into both sides of the gland).
 
Rather than getting used to them, by the time the last one blasted off, I was just about ready to pass out.  I can understand why the "normal" way of doing this is lying down – because my knees were literally ready to fold up before the last "shot" echoed thru the room.  Fortunately, I had my wife to drive me home, while I curled up in a ball in the passenger seat.
 
now we could "hurry up and wait" for the biopsy results… expected in 2 weeks…

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Day 8 – Prostate Peace II

or "peace cont'd."  [expand title=”Show this Post” swaptitle=”Hide this Post” rel=”prostate-highlander” findme=”auto” trigclass=”noarrow prostate_text colomat-trigpos”]

then the questions of myself… you've held to your faith in so many lesser things – how about now – facing the big one!  Does it hold – is it sure – are you really experiencing the peace that should be yours – in everything?
 
I confess… the initial hours after that first call with my PSA result… I was not at peace… and without anyone else in the family home to share it with – I did what came naturally – I immediately reached out by email to a half-dozen or so folk,  asking for prayer… and being able to dig up that archived email from more than twelve and a half years ago, I see what I asked for – was not a negative diagnosis, or healing (if I it turned out to be cancer), but rather I asked them all to pray that I might have "peace" while waiting for whatever lay ahead.
 
It wasn't immediate and it wasn't without anxious moments, but in the coming days and weeks, the Lord graciously answered those prayers and even though the appointment for my biopsy ended up stretching out to an even month from my PSA result… overall, I spent that month at rest, with a quiet heart, and confidence that the Lord would be with me through it all… whatever it was going to be.
 
Ephesians           2:14   For He Himself is our peace,
2 Thessalonians 3:16   Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.
 
So I could be at peace and accepting of the promise in the verse from yesterday's post:
 
Romans              8:28  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good…
 
The ongoing challenge however is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
 
1Thessalonians 5:16  Rejoice always;
                            :17  pray without ceasing;
                            :18  in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
 
really!  in everything?  there's where the rubber meets the road…  oh, I could and would give thanks, if the final results turned out to be a clean bill-of-health – but, what if that wasn't the case – how thankful would I be then?

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Day 7 – Prostate Peace

or "who's in control"   [expand title=”Show this Post” swaptitle=”Hide this Post” rel=”prostate-highlander” findme=”auto” trigclass=”noarrow prostate_text colomat-trigpos”]

 
so… we left off with the question of how do I cope with all this – the fear, the frustration, the waiting for further testing
 
what was so desperately needed was peace – peace that regardless of the final diagnosis, all would be well… peace for me while I waited for that diagnosis… peace for my wife as we waited for the diagnosis…  
 
fortunately, the solution to that need was right at hand…
 
Rom 8:28  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God…
 
that "all things" means just that… everything – whether I think of it as bad or good, pleasant or painful, gain or loss – "all things" – the questions being – Do I believe it?  Is it really true?  Am I someone who meets that criteria – it does have one – "to those who love God"?
well, I do… it is… I am…   yes folks, I'm one of those!  a dyed in the wool, born-again, cover-to-cover Bible-believing Christian – saved by God's grace and the incredible sacrifice of my Lord and Saviour on that cross some 2,000 years ago.  It had nothing to do with me – there was nothing that I could have done to have made myself lovable to the Creator of the universe.  I had come to that realization at an early age – confronted with my own complete depravity – and accepting the fact that it was only through Christ's suffering (in my place, for my sin) that I could have a personal relationship with God – a God who loved me and had a purpose for my life.  
 
One of my favorite passages is Ephesians 2 and I would highly recommend reading the whole chapter here, but I'll just pull a few of the verses directly into this post…
 
Ephesians 2
v1  And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
v4  But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
v5  even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
v8  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
v9  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
v10  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
 
so… here's my true position (alive together with Christ, saved by grace, through faith) – and I can rest in that – but do I… did I?

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Day 6 – Prostate Paranoia

or "is it or isn't it"   [expand title=”Show this Post” swaptitle=”Hide this Post” rel=”prostate-highlander” findme=”auto” trigclass=”noarrow prostate_text colomat-trigpos”]

 
the general consensus has always been that waiting for a result/not knowing is the hardest thing to deal with… and although I may not agree totally – it is indeed a frustrating experience.  There's all the "what if"s that occupy your thoughts and they are never in my experience "what if everything is OK".  So, in many ways not knowing is very much like having received the "bad" news – except, there's always that bit of hope that maybe it won't be.
 
just let me say that I don't buy into Kübler-Ross's "five stages of grief" which seems to have become gospel for every psychological care worker since it was first espoused in 1969.  Of course her "theory" was based on "dying" – with input from terminally-ill patients… but it's scope has been erroneously expanded to include all sorts of grief from the loss of a loved-one, a job, a pair of ear-rings, the dissolution of a marriage or even the dropping of an ice-cream cone!  It's basically a steaming pile…  while some or all of those "things" may present themselves in folks going through a cancer diagnosis or even in those awaiting what they believe will be…  in actuality there may be dozens of "stages" of feeling over a period of time or simultaneously or even alternating back and forth – or maybe none of them at all.  Some folks just shut down, numbed by the thought of impending "doom" and don't go through any stages of grief – some, become deliriously happy at the prospect of becoming "one of the gang", because all their dearest friends have experienced cancer – except themselves – and they until now were just someone "who couldn't understand" what they'd all been through or were going thru – but now… aha… I've got it too!
 
my first reaction, alluded to at the end of my last post, was simply a mind-bending "fear"… and not based on what you might expect. I have no fear of death… dying – especially painfully – would be another story, but my real fear was – if this was what all the indicators to-date seemed to be pointing to, then was I going to be leaving my wife without a husband (she might see that as a plus) and 2 young boys without a father?   I think that's the one that really bothered me – and not only for their sakes, but as much for mine – the thought of missing seeing them growing up, finding a direction for their lives, meeting their life partners, starting families of their own… all of that without me!
 
and how does one deal with that?   5 stages of grief?   kick your cat (don't worry I don't have one)?  open a bottomless bottle of scotch?
 
…the answer tomorrow!

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Day 5 – Prostate PSA

or "what's an antigen?"   [expand title=”Show this Post” swaptitle=”Hide this Post” rel=”prostate-highlander” findme=”auto” trigclass=”noarrow prostate_text colomat-trigpos”]

so, we pick up our story the next morning or maybe it was two days later  – off to the local lab for a PSA test…  I brought a cheat sheet with all the answers and was pretty sure I would ace the test – until they stuck the needle in my arm.
 
unlike today in Ontario – all PSA tests were still free then, but even now the test is covered if it's as a result of a suspicious DRE or a follow-up after treatment for formally diagnosed prostate cancer.  The casual "I wonder what my PSA level is today" sort of test can cost anywhere from $30-$50 depending on the lab – but only in 2 provinces (Ontario being one of them)… in all the rest any PSA testing is still covered under the provincial medicare programs.
 
another change – from then (more than 12 years ago) to now, is the speed to turn around lab results.  Today, I can expect the results to be faxed or emailed to my oncologist within 24-36 hours of having my blood drawn – sometimes even faster.  Back then… well, it took about 2 weeks until I got the call from my GP to let me know that my levels were "high" and she had already booked me an appointment with a urologist within the next couple of weeks.
 
When that call came, my anchor wasn't home at the time, being away for the day and not reachable.  And I guess it would be a good time to share the fact that that anchor – my dear wife – is an oncology nurse with more than 30 years of experience in the field covering every aspect of cancer nursing, from visiting to bedside, from corporate to self-employed, patient education to nursing education including advanced practice program development while employed by the most recognized cancer centres in the GTA as well as by numerous reps from big pharma – especially when self-employed.
 
So… you would think – with that sort of extremely educated, experienced, knowledgeable and caring support system right at home – that I'd be more than ready for anything like this – what was still only a possible cancer diagnosis – with nothing yet confirmed.  So you would think – and you'd be so very wrong.  
 
That call was quite literally like a kick in the groin – it took the wind right out of me.  I was a basket case!

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Day 4 – Prostate Probing

or "is THAT really necessary?"   [expand title=”Show this Post” swaptitle=”Hide this Post” rel=”prostate-highlander” findme=”auto” trigclass=”noarrow prostate_text colomat-trigpos”]

alright, enough ranting and airing of pet peeves… let's get down to the story…
 
It all began on a rainy day – an early April shower – my galoshes sticking in the mud as I trudged through the thick woods on my way to grandmother's place… Oh, oh… ok – that's a story for another time!
 
but, it was in early April – and it might have been raining, I don't remember – and I had what I thought was to be a normal appointment with my GP to refill some prescriptions or some such, but "out of the blue" I was asked when I last had a complete physical.  I couldn't remember and although I'd been seeing this doctor for about 10 years, I may not have had one in that entire time.  There were enough other visits where bits and pieces of my physical condition were examined and discussed, that we'd probably covered everything anyway during that time – well… almost everything.
 
So, I was scheduled for another slot in the very near future – one needs sufficient time apparently to do a "full" physical – and on the so-appointed day, at the requested time, I once again could be found sitting patiently (you do understand why the source word is the same – right?) staring at the waiting room walls, trying to ignore all the wailing infants and working hard at holding my breath so as not to inhale any of the virulent strains of the hantavirus being coughed into the air by my closest fellow "waiters" – totally oblivious to the fact that there were more life-changing things to worry about.
 
finally escaping the germ-pit, I was ushered into the largest of the many exam rooms – after having my weight and height checked and recorded.  btw, what possible interest could the height of a 49-year-old be to the medical community?  I certainly wasn't still growing – well, not up anyway… and I'm quite sure I hadn't started to shrink either.
 
anyway, my doctor arrived in short order and to quote Arlo Guthrie1 "they was inspecting, injecting every single part of me, and they was leaving no part untouched"... and again, even this was an understatement – as I was not prepared for the final "inspection" – for two very good reasons!  First of all, I have suffered from severe IBS ever since I was in my late teens – and unless I was in the O.R. under anesthetic and I had been through a complete and agonizing 24-hour purge, there was no way anyone was going THERE – and even then, only with a scope!  And more importantly – what I haven't mentioned – my GP was a woman!   And I know you're thinking – "but you must have had a hernia check (turn your head and cough)" – and I did, but even that was done very modestly (don't think I even had to remove my briefs).  But THIS was something altogether different – "stand, drop-em, bend-over and relax"… oh sure – the result of the first 3 was just plain embarrassing, but "relax" – that was never going to be.
 
however, what had to happen, happened… and it was very comforting to be able to quickly return to a fully-dressed, normal posture – until I heard the words "I didn't like the feel of that – I want you to go for a PSA blood test".  Up until then, I honestly don't think I even knew exactly what or where a "prostate" was or what part it played in the male condition… remember the age thing… we weren't introduced to the detailed inner workings of male and female anatomies in Grade 4, or Grade 8 or even Grade 13 (you see!  we still had a Grade 13 when I went to school – and sex education was something you were only exposed to hanging out in the smoking section behind the school – oh yeah – we were allowed to join our teachers for a smoke way back then, before anyone but the tobacco companies knew it wasn't good for you 😉
 
and so, it began…  I just didn't know what "it" was yet!
 
 
1 if you're too young to remember Alice's Restaurant, then there are probably going to be a lot of references you'll need to Google over the course of my ramblings this month.
 

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Day 3 – Prostate Politics

or "what's in a name"  [expand title=”Show this Post” swaptitle=”Hide this Post” rel=”prostate-highlander” findme=”auto” trigclass=”noarrow prostate_text colomat-trigpos scroll-to-trigger”]

this may not be a popular post – but, then I have no desire to be "politically correct".  My intention is not to offend anyone – especially friends and family (not mine) that may by some bizarre chance read this, but…
 
why is it necessary to rename things from what's familiar, renowned, explanative and therefore most appropriate to someone's name that means nothing to 99.99% of the population and does nothing but cause confusion, annoyance and incredible expense in lost time, and conversion of tons and tons of preprinted documents, pamphlets, letterhead, and literally millions of online references?
 
it should be no surprise that the answer is always the same – MONEY!
 
I have nothing against philanthropy… and I'm all for individual charitable giving (to legitimate causes) and whether wittingly or not, I've been the recipient of the improvements to services accruing from such beneficence in a number of institutions… but, I've never come to terms with self-serving charity – which to me is not charity at all.   What comes to mind is   Mat 6:2-3  "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,".
 
Interpretation… if needed… charity done "publicly" is not charity – and if the reason or even just the result is having your name plastered all over the target of your donation then it's only to do just that… draw attention to yourself – publicly pat yourself on the back for being rich enough to "live large", but still donate enough to buy a legacy in the form of a building or an enterprise.  It's one thing to have a small plaque naming donors who wish to be engraved for posterity (not charity), but quite another to have an existing and globally recognized institution renamed for you.
 
And don't think the donor is the ONLY culprit in this… the institution itself plays a key role, whether by actively soliciting "a fistful of dollars" in return for the exposure or passively accepting that it's ok to sell your name for "a few dollars more".
 
 
it must be obvious by now – given the topic of this blog, and the top-level domain name it's being hosted on – that I'm referring to the "Toronto Bayview Regional Cancer Centre" and that's what I will always refer to it as, despite the name bought for it in 2007.   It's original name is completely appropriate – it's in Toronto – it's on Bayview Avenue – and it is the cancer centre for the surrounding Region!  Why call it by someone's name?  It means absolutely nothing to anyone – but the philanthropist and their immediate family…
 
I could carry on about the "Skydome" renamed 9 yrs ago for a communication conglomerate with the worst customer service in the business sector (and that's saying something when you consider some of the competition).  It will always be the "Skydome" to me – and to most Torontonians.  Or the O'Keefe Centre – yes, named for the financier/builder of it – which is totally appropriate – but then renamed twice since then for companies that made minor contributions that allowed some upgrades/refurbishing along the way.  However, these are not of concern to those of us who over the past 32 years have been patrons, patients, clients or staff of the one and always "Toronto Bayview Regional Cancer Centre".

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Day 2 – Prostate Phraseology

or "wacky words"  [expand title=”Show this Post” swaptitle=”Hide this Post” rel=”prostate-highlander” findme=”auto” trigclass=”noarrow prostate_text colomat-trigpos”]

before getting down to any meaningful sharing of my own experience with prostate cancer, we need to settle on some terminology – most, if not all of it related to cancer in general.
 
analogies are rarely perfect and in many cases, they're downright misleading or silly, BUT in this "game" everyone is entitled to their own opinions – so, I'll share mine – just as long as you understand that that doesn't make them any more valid than someone else's – although I certainly think they are!
 
to begin with – I detest the term "cancer survivor" and find the phrase "lost his/her battle with cancer" revolting as well as ludicrous.  In my ever so humble opinion – cancer is not a battle to lose or survive any more than any other disease… ever hear a diabetic using "war" analogies to describe their disease… how about folks with pneumonia or the flu or even the common cold (although people do die from all of them)?    
 
survivor?  really?   "surviving" is something that species do (or more often, something they don't do) and it's said to be something that the "fittest" do – but that's a load of crap… 19 yr. old kid, linebacker for his college football team, drug-free, teetotaler, muscles ripped to the max, ran 10K every other day – definitely meeting the criteria of the "fittest", crossing with the light on his way home from the library to meet his 22:00 curfew, hit and killed by a seriously obese, 72-year-old drunk driver with a liver the size of a basketball, blowing thru the intersection against the red.  Is that "survival of the fittest"??  or just as believable and more germane to our topic, the kid is diagnosed with stage IV testicular cancer, totally unnoticed and symptom free until it had metastasized to most of his organs including the liver and there is nothing to be done… Again is that "survival of the fittest".  Many cancers are very much equal-opportunistic in nature – they don't care about fitness, age, race, gender, world-view or anything else.  There are obvious exceptions, brought on by purposeful, accidental or unknown exposure to specific carcinogens, and gender-specific cancers as well as those that tend to be found in younger or older folk… but "fitness" as a factor – not so much!
 
We don't "survive" cancer or even worse "thrive" cancer – from the latest catch-phrase "to be a cancer thriver".  Oh please!  We LIVE WITH cancer and/or we DIE FROM cancer, but we don't survive it or thrive it or battle it or conquer it.  You can argue that your medical team and the tools at their disposal actually do "battle" your cancer and you might almost sell me on that analogy… I mean the surgeries attempt to excise/defeat the entire base camp, the radiation "kills" or at least "maims" every cell in its path and the chemo cocktails certainly could be categorized as true "killing machines" even if most of the damage is collateral – but… YOU are not doing the battling or waging the war, except in some very passive way – by allowing or giving your consent to the procedures and treatments being used by your doctors.  And don't even start mumbling about "positive attitudes" and all the metaphysical garbage being touted by hacks, quacks and everybody with a twisted view of the universe, because they somehow took it personally when someone close to them died after being treated by the mainstream medical profession… believe me (or not) you can't "treat", "beat" or "defeat" a physical disease with psychic mumbo-jumbo.  "And which of you by taking thought (or being anxious) can add a single hour to his span of life?" Matt. 6:27
 
And "thrive" – to borrow a valley girl phrase from the 80's – gag me with a spoon!  Really now… we don't thrive on cancer – just the opposite – it thrives on us!  If an individual with cancer is able to maintain a positive demeanour and seemingly be unaffected by their disease – it's not because of the cancer, but in spite of it and is almost always due to one or more external influences – their faith, their support system of family and friends, or even the effectiveness of their treatment regime (I'm sure I'd put out a much more positive vibe, if my treatment incorporated copious quantities of medical marijuana 😉
 
all this ranting to say – if and when I need to refer to this "journey" (another hackneyed term that I dislike), I'll use the simple concept of "living with" cancer and hopefully avoid the common analogies. If I misstep… I trust you'll all immediately call me on it!

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Day 1 – Prostate Preamble

or "opening remarks"  [expand title=”Show this Post” swaptitle=”Hide this Post” rel=”prostate-highlander” findme=”auto” trigclass=”noarrow prostate_text colomat-trigpos”]

you won't find media sharing icons on this site – I don't want to be followed.  I don't want my face to be booked on dozens of sites belonging to who knows who… and I really don't want to be liked
 
I don't tweet…  I don't "get" it… maybe it's my age, but I really suspect it more to be a matter of intelligence (he says modestly) or at least common sense – not wanting to spend hour after hour of my precious time each day, following the ramblings of a multitude of fools who feel their every waking thought, feeling or bowel movement is somehow worth sharing with the universe!
 
and don't be jumping up and down with your hand in the air like some poor home-schooled pre-teen ready to shout "hypocrite – hypocrite".  I'm writing this for myself…  if you have anything and I do mean anything that's more important in your life to be occupied with at the moment – then please – go do it!  Don't waste your time reading my self-indulgent sludge (damn – I'm starting to sound like Chuck Lorre's Vanity cards – you know that blurb at the end of The Big Bang Theory that you need to be watching on a platform that you can pause to read the half-second display, where he… oh crap – now the Google bots will be cross-referencing my silliness with his name and my bloody ranking will start to rise – and we definitely DON'T want that).
 
Anyway, my intention is simply to document my own experiences with prostate cancer – rather than posting pictures of my moustache which is only there to cover my lip and has been since the day I was born… (the moustache, not the lip – I have no idea when the lip grew in – I've never seen it!).  I don't wish to disparage the concept of Movember (hell, I picked up this domain – by random chance – when the folks who originally had it – let it lapse for some strange reason and now have to piggyback on the .com site as a "ca." sub), but I do think the pomp and pageantry surrounding the "Mo" revolution has become the "cause célèbre" almost totally obliterating the original purpose to raise awareness of prostate cancer.
 
I just figured the site deserved something more meaningful than the "comical" home page I put up when I first registered it… considering the tens of thousands of hits the page takes every day in November each year!  And no… there will never be affiliate links of any kind on the site to try and take advantage of it's momentary popularity.
 
So – stay tuned…  no promises, but if I can find the time and make the effort and don't run out of material before the 30 days are up – I'll try to throw something up here each day this month (recognizing I'm starting 2 days behind… but, I'll make it up).
 
not sure yet whether I'll allow comments – but if I do, you can be sure they'll be moderated before being sanctioned, which unfortunately can't be said for my own posts  😉

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