What my second ebook (Prostate Wimp) is about

I haven't mentioned my second ebook, Diary of a Prostate Wimp, on this blog as much as I should have. Other things have kept getting in the way - like the writing of the sequel to Grimhilda! which thankfully, is in its last draft (of what feels like the last of several hundred).

Anyway, Prostate Wimp came out at the end of April this year, and I've been considering some of the things that I should point out about it to readers, to give it a better opportunity in the world.

Here are some of the things the book addresses:

If you have any concerns about matters to do with your prostate (here's a list of symptoms from the New Zealand Prostate Cancer Society) talk to your doctor and don't let them put you off. Some doctors can be a bit off-hand about men's issues, and others aren't good at answering questions in sufficient detail. Thankfully I had a very good doctor.

The book focuses on what happened after I'd had a prostate biopsy. The biopsy is done initially to check whether you have any sign of cancer. The current method of biopsy is the transrectal method: through the anus, through the protective skin between the bowel and the prostate, and then chipping off tiny bits of the prostate for inspection. There is increasing concern that this is not a healthy method. Regrettably, in New Zealand at present, this is the main method. There are two articles noted in my book by an Australian journalist, Jason Gale. These are worth reading, even though they're now one and three years old respectively.
Prostate exam [biopsy] deaths from 'superbugs' spur inquiry into cancer tests
and
Prostate cancer test causing sepsis [infections] spurs biopsy concerns.
Gale is not alone in writing about this issue. I have a number of other similar articles on file, which I'll detail in future blog posts.

In the book, a medical friend of mine expresses considerable concern about the use of a blood test, generally known by the name, PSA. This gives an indication of the degree of enlargement of the prostate - something that is normal in men as they grow older. What it doesn't do is tell the medical people whether you have cancer. When my prostate was shown to be enlarged according to the test (and it was accurate on that point) I was informed by a urologist at the hospital that I could well have cancer, and I needed to have a biopsy. In fact I didn't have cancer, and the biopsy caused problems I could have done without. I detail in the book the case of another friend of mine who had considerably worse experiences than me, as a result of the biopsy and subsequent investigations.

An enlarged prostate is not necessarily a cancerous prostate. An enlarged prostate is a nuisance, and will probably require an operation (the TURP) to remove some of the enlargement. An enlarged prostate causes problems with peeing: it can make it hard to pee, on one hand, and on the other, cause you to go far more often than normal. This still doesn't indicate cancer.

However, it is still necessary to take prostate issues seriously. I'll talk more about this in a later post.

Scrub that idea!

My son used to think the TV show, Scrubs, was great - he recorded a bunch of episodes on our DVD hard drive. I can't say the show appealed as much to me, however.  I didn't mind the 'postmodern' approach to scripting/directing that went on in the show but I found it unnecessarily crude.

Like many people, I suspect, I'd never heard the word 'scrubs' used in this context - I was more used to the idea of scrubbing in the sense of 'scrubs the clothes' - not that many people do that anymore.  The use of the word scrubs for men and women's hospital uniforms came into common use in the latter part of the last century, according to one commentator, supposedly because you only wore this gear in a 'scrubbed environment.'   Curiously enough, you'd think that these scrubs would only be worn in a hospital to save bringing in outside infections, or taking infections home with you.  That doesn't seem to be the case.  On my last hospital visit, I was surprised to see staff walking in and out of the hospital, as shifts changed, in their scrubs.   There didn't seem to be any concern about the transfer of infections, which is ironic, given how much fuss is made about infection once you, as the patient or visitor, are in the hospital.  

Full on day

Can I reach 1000 posts on this blog before the end of the year? Sounds possible. Will they be worth reading? Time will tell.

At the moment I'm up to 970 posts on here, a figure that's taken me a few years to reach. I guess if I was blogging day and night (as I almost was at one point, when I was unemployed at the end of 2006) I might have long since passed the magic millennial number, but since I also have a life (of sorts) outside cyberspace, it's probably good that I haven't blogged constantly on here. Admittedly there are at least two other places where I blog regularly, and at least four (or is it five?) other blogs that I blog spasmodically on. Oh, dear. Maybe I don't have a life outside cyberspace. At least I'm not living in whatever that other world is that quite a few people inhabit: Second Life. I imagine that it could get pretty addictive in there, and could be dangerous to your sanity. Can't be far away now before someone makes a movie about it, I imagine.

Well, if this is the standard of the posts that will appear before the end of the year, maybe trying to achieve that particular goal isn't a good idea!

So, to speak about something a bit more interesting. Yesterday was hectic, even though it was a Sunday. In the morning we had a barbeque at church, which I partly helped at but didn't really do my usual full amount of input. Anyone who's read my Workreport.net of late will know that I had a prostate biopsy the Thursday before last, and while it went okay, there have been a few issues since, such as a urinary tract infection, which has left me not full of energy.

I've recovered from the infection, but still don't feel quite my usual self. So I opted out of the barbeque mostly. I had to accompany ten or so singers (twice each) in the afternoon at a singing teacher's concert (she's an old friend of mine) and so I needed to save some energy for that. And then in the evening my wife and I and some others were acting as the caterering staff for another one of the innumerable weddings we seem to be having at our church lately. I was so bushed after three hours of being at that, that I had to come home. My wife didn't arrive home another two....

Anyway, one nice thing at the concert: my dear friend the singing teacher gave a little speech at the end in which she proclaimed me a 'National Treasure' - wow. That she then amended this to a 'Local Treasure, at least' didn't faze me one bit. Any sort of treasure will do at the moment. I can always do with a bit of promotion, even if it's only on promotional items!