As many of you know,
I have a very small and very slow-growing cancer of the prostate. So small that
it could not be detected for my first two biopsies, eighteen months apart,
although blood tests indicated it should be there. I would not even have known
about it if I had not gone for my annual physicals and if my doctor didn't
recommend PSA tests which, at the time, I had to pay for out of my own pocket.
My urologist informs
me that there is at present no clinical indication for taking any aggressive
treatment against the cancer or my prostate, as by radiation or surgery. If its
presence is affecting me emotionally or psychologically it is my call to request
further treatment but the present clinical position is one of "watchful
waiting" with blood tests twice a year and a biopsy, originally every eighteen months, now every two years.
Weeeellll,
"watchful waiting" is a little too passive for my liking so I've
adopted the "active vigilence" approach. I've done a fair bit of
Internet and book/newspaper reading around prostate health and prostate cancer
and have settled on a regimen of light exercise (I should do more), healthier
eating (with Ingrid's help) and nutritional and herbal supplements.
From my reading
there is no evidence that any one of these things cures or prevents cancer.
There is some evidence to suggest that some reduce risk of developing cancer
and that others may inhibit cancer growth. Some, such as Selenium, carry risks
associated with overdose so I try to be as careful as I can not to go overboard
with quantity or dosage. Maybe these things are helping, maybe not. Maybe all
I'm doing is flushing herbs, vitamins and minerals down the toilet as more than
one person has suggested - though none to my face. Importantly for me, however,
is the feeling that I'm DOING something. I at least feel that I am not helpless
and without any control whatsoever over my expected life-span in the face of
the "C" word that can inspire such fear. In terms of risk, I reason
that the most I have to lose is some money. When I stopped smoking
thirty-something years ago I was smoking a pack of 20 per day. If I took that
up again it would cost me a lot more than my supplements so I reckon the money
spent is worth the peace of mind and, who knows, it just might be helping.
I have kept a record
of my blood test results over the years and the chart looks like this. I have
deliberately not shown actual result values.
Global warming
So what has this to
do with global warming?
2010
2005
1998
2003
2002
2009
2006
2007
2004
2001
The planet is sick
and it may be incurable - or maybe we can at least slow down the rate of
progression. If my PSA was trending like this I would be a worried man - well,
a lot more worried. Maybe some of the steps that most climate scientists are
suggesting need to be taken won't work as effectively as they say or hope. I
haven't come across any evidence to suggest they will make matters worse! All
the objections I have come across are economic - mainly from politicians and
oil and gas and non-renewable energy marketers and consumers who keep playing the "our
scientists are better than your scientists" game.
Judicious use of tests
Even today there is
a lot of controversy around the use of PSA tests and my own results show how it
can be all over the board and influenced by other factors. One result is
missing in my graph because I had an infection shortly before the sample was
drawn and the result was right off the chart. All this is not sufficient reason
not to get a baseline at, say, forty, when your chances of having prostate
cancer are very low, and then see how your results trend against your own
baseline.
Similarly with tests
for global warming, one test on its own is not conclusive. A trend is
indicative. Other tests need to be done to verify the indicators. I believe
these are being done with such things as measurements on the rate of glacial
melting, the occurance of animals outside of their traditional habitats,
increased frequency of violent weather extremes.
Freedom and responsibility
I get to choose
whether to get my prostate whipped out before it is clinically indicated or
not. I guess I can even choose to live with the cancer and not treat it even when it
is clinically indicated to do something about it. Meanwhile I can opt for the
watchful waiting or do active vigilence. It is my body, my choice.
With the planet it
is different. My newborn grandchildren have no idea what is going on, nor do
millions of other children. Millions of adults living in ignorance and poverty
are also not in a position to make informed decisions either. Let us not say that
we cannot afford the medicine or the treatment while we continue to smoke daily
our twenties packs.
Native American
proverb:
“Treat the earth
well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your
children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our
Children.”
