Three Wishes

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From Insect Bite To Cancer In One Week

This page is dedicated to my brother Rodney Maddison who is 2 years my senior and who was diagnosed with terminal cancer just four weeks ago and has a life expectancy of just two months.

My sympathies go out to anyone who is suffering as a result of this dreaded disease.

It is widely known that with todays medical advances, the chances of survival are much greater now than they were 10 years ago and whilst the disease takes on many forms, succesful treatments are being found in many areas if the cancer is diagnosed quickly. Sadly, in my brothers case this was not to be.

Rodney, who up until now, was a healthy 61 year old rarely visiting his doctor. His battle began when he visited his doctor complaining of aching shoulders. He had been bitten on his neck by an insect and was convinced his aches were as a result of the insect bite. His doctor examined him and suggested that due to his age it may just be rheumatism and sent him away with a prescription for pain killers. A day or two later, still convinced it was the insect bite, he again visited his doctor. This time however, his doctor decided to get a blood test done and made an appointment for him at the local hospital in Louth, Lincolnshire.

When the results of the blood test came in a few days later, Rodney was telephoned by his doctor and informed that he was to have an xray as his blood test showed up some abnormalities. Puzzled by this news, Rodney presented himself to the xray department at the hospital.

Once the xrays were taken, he noticed the nurses talking quietly together whilst looking at his xray’s as he put his coat on to go home. “Where do you think you are going?” one of the nurses said, “Home of course” Rodney replied, “Why? is anything wrong?” The nurse replied “You need to see the consultant before you go anywhere”. Rodney took his coat off again and waited with apprehension. A few minutes later the consultant arrived and took Rodney into a room where he broke the news to him. “The blood tests and xrays confirm that you have Cancer of the Colon and Liver. We need to do some more tests however, as there appears to be a shadow on your lungs as well. You will need to stay in hospital at least overnight.”

I can only imagine how Rodney must have felt at that moment. Here is a guy just 2 years older than myself who has never smoked, drank very little alcohol if any and had never married. He had lived on his own for the past 3 years since our Dad died. The 7 years prior to that were devoted to nursing our Dad through his long illness. Rodney had aspirations of finally having time to himself and to maybe find a wife to enjoy the rest of his life with.

The subsequent tests confirmed he also had cancer of the Lung. It was possible that surgery may be required to remove the Cancer from the Liver, but the consultant wasn’t able to confirm this until the Surgeon returned from his holiday. Once a decision had been made the treatment fon the Colon & Lung  would be decided.

Rodney was discharged from hospital and given various medications to ease his discomfort whilst awaiting this decision.

Now at home, Rodney decided to telephone myself and our brother and sister to break the news. I was shocked to say the least. How could this be? if anyone, it should be me! I am a heavy smoker. Rodney, was very laid back about it all and assured me that he was going to be fine once they start the treatment. I wanted to rush up to see him ( I live 3 hours drive away) but he insisted he was okay and didn’t want any visitors or fuss.

A few days later, Rodney telephoned me again and informed me that he was waiting for an ambulance to take him back into hospital as his doctor thinks he has had a stroke. What can you say to someone you love at a time like this? I was again in shock, all the time asking myself why? this cant be true! and feeling sick to the stomach through worry. But I needed to be strong for him, I couldn’t let him know how upset and worried I was.

Once back in the hospital, Rodney was given a Brain scan - It hadn’t been a stroke at all, it was a  Brain tumour! But again, when speaking on the telephone, Rodney was so laid back it was as if it was nothing.

Together with my younger brother Andrew and sister Angela and her husband Don, we went up to see him in hospital.

My Brother Rodney together with my Sister Angela, my Brother Andrew and Me.

On seeing Rodney, at first glance you would have never known there was anything wrong with him, but he couldn’t use his right arm or leg. He had all his faculties and spoke clearly. There was a passing thought that they had got it wrong!

Rodney wanted to talk to us in private and so we went into the “day room”  and once comfortable, he came out with some things that made it so hard to hold back the tears. He told us he wanted to be cremated and his ashes buried with our Dad, he went over a few other things, chores mainly, but all the time in a surreal way that my thoughts again went to “they must have it wrong”

I continued to have a gut feeling that they had their diagnosis wrong until we met with the consultant. I asked him quite pointedly, the severity of the Cancer. It was at this point that I realized. The Brain tumour was his main concern and he told me it was the size of a quarter of his Brain. The consultant told me that they would have to reduce the swelling of his Brain before any treatment of the Cancer took place. It was this swelling, that gave the appearance of a stroke. When I asked the consultant what his life expectancy was, I wasn’t prepared for the reply of “around 2 months”  I felt my eyes well up with tears. I then asked “does he know?” at which point he told me “Yes and he seems to have taken it extraordinarily well. He is so laid back about it”

We spent a while with Rodney, trying to act as normal as possible, before saying our goodbyes and heading off to do the chores he had asked us to do before heading home. On the journey home, it was very quiet, each of us with our own thoughts. Me, I couldn’t help but think “maybe it’s a blessing, at least he won’t suffer a long drawn out and agonising last few months as our Mum did when she died at coincidentally, the same age of 62, with Bowell Cancer”.

With the swelling of his Brain now finally reduced enough, Rodney was transferred to Lincoln hospital last Friday and has had his first treatment today 12th. January 2009 of Radium therapy. He has four more treatments to endure before being being transferred back to Louth Hospital.

I pray to God that by some miracle, he will come through all this.

Thank you for reading Rodney’s story, it has been hard for me to write this down, but I feel that maybe, I don’t know how, but just maybe it will have done some good somewhere / somehow.

If there is a moral to be taken from this story, I would say to anyone, just because you appear in good health, it doesn’t neccessarily mean you are. Periodic screening would undoubtedly have helped Rodney and maybe the Cancer could have been caught in time. Please don’t ignore this fact.

Graham Maddison

Cancer Research UK This website is recognised as the foremost authority on all types of Cancer within the UK and has helped many people both understand more about this awful disease, as well as try to come to terms with it.

17th January 2009

My sincere thanks to all of you for your good wishes and prayers. I have passed these onto my brother Rodney.

Rodney has completed his week long Radium Therapy treatment, to which I am assured, he has responded well. He was transfered back to Louth Hospital yesterday and is in (according to the nurse) high spirits and eating well.

How To Feed Your Family Healthy Meals on a Tight Budget - Video

Learning about Blogging

There are a number of different reasons for a blogger to start and maintain a blog. Some of these reasons include generating revenue, promoting a cause, providing useful information and staying in touch with family and friends. Although these reasons for starting a blog may be quite different, all bloggers should spend some time learning about blogging before embarking on a blogging experience. This will help to ensure the blog achieves its intended purpose and will also help to prevent the blogger from making mistakes which can be detrimental to a blog. This article will discuss methods for learning about blogging including studying successful blogs and using the Internet to research the subject of blogging. This article will also briefly explain the importance of promoting a blog.

• Studying Successful Blogs

One of the simplest ways for prospective bloggers and new bloggers to learn about blogging is by studying successful blogs. Those who have recently started a blog or are considering starting a blog can learn a great deal simply by reading and studying successful blogs. Bloggers may choose to study blogs which focus on a similar subject but this is not necessary. Bloggers can learn a great deal about maintaining a successful blog by studying blogs related to any subject. This is because factors such as writing style, blog design, font type and colors can all contribute to the success of the blog.

In studying other blogs, the blogger should pay particular interest to aspects of the blog which attract his attention. This is important because these aspects also likely appeal to other blog visitors and contribute to the success of the blog. Modeling a blog with these aspects in mind can go a long way towards contributing to the success of a blog.

• Using the Internet to Research Blog Tips

The Internet can be an excellent resource for learning about the subject of blogging. There are a variety of different objects related to this subject. These articles may contain tips for starting, maintaining and optimizing a blog. They may also contain tips for generating traffic to a blog and keeping visitors interested in the blog. Bloggers are advised to study the information available online carefully and to always consider the source of the information. Considering the source of the information is important because it can help to ensure the information gleaned from the Internet is reliable. However, this can be difficult because it is not always possible to determine the source of information available on the Internet.

Another option for verifying the validity of information available online is use other sources to confirm the information. This means a blogger may find one article which provides several tips for operating a successful blog but still searches online for information which will corroborate the information available in the original article. This may sound redundant but it can help to prevent the blogger from accepting false information as being correct.

• The Importance of Promoting a Blog

Finally, bloggers should understand the importance of promoting a blog and should investigate methods of promoting their own blog. Promoting a blog is so important because it is through this type of promotion that a blog gains traffic. Gaining traffic is imperative to the success of a blog in most cases. The few exceptions include blogs which are maintained solely for the bloggers personal use as well as blogs which are maintained for the purpose of keeping friends and family members up to date on events in the bloggers life. All other blogs can benefit from increased blog traffic.

Bloggers can learn about how to successfully promote a blog by considering how they learned about blogs which they read frequently. This is significant because Internet users who read blogs likely have similar methods of finding these blogs. For example a blog reader who learned about an interesting blog through participation in a relevant message board will likely consider remaining active in message boards which are relevant to his own blog as a method of promoting his blog.

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Atkins and Appetite Suppression

One of the most common, and surprising, effects of following the Atkins diet is appetite suppression. Many followers of the plan report that the between meal hunger pangs they used to experience fade away very quickly. This makes it easier to stay on the diet and continue to lose weight. While other diets have their followers starving between meals, the Atkins diet offers relief from constant hunger. The Atkins diet, with its specific combination of foods and ingredients, has powerful appetite suppressing effects.

The first key component is the amount of protein in the Atkins diet. Protein, more so than carbohydrates, has the power to satiate hunger. If you’ve ever eaten a carb heavy meal and then felt hungry afterward, you know that carbohydrates don’t have much staying power. Protein, when combined with a small amount of healthy fats, can keep you feeling full for long periods of time.

One of the most powerful appetite suppressing foods on the Atkins diet are eggs. Eggs are a great form of quick and easy protein. A recent study showed that eating eggs for breakfast would actually stave off hunger pangs through the rest of the day. The research concerned two groups of women. One group ate eggs for breakfast and the other had a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. The calorie count for both breakfasts was exactly the same. The subjects kept track of what they ate the rest of the day and answered questions about their levels of hunger and satisfaction throughout the day. The results showed that the women who ate the eggs for breakfast felt more satisfied throughout the entire day. They ate less at each meal than the women who were in the bagel group.

Eggs contain about 6 grams of protein each. This helps to even out blood sugar and produces a feeling of satisfaction. Both of these factors help to curb cravings. Egg yolks also contain lutein and xenazanthin. These nutrients have been shown to have incredible effects on eye health. So it’s important to eat the whole egg, and not just the white. Eggs contain choline that is important in brain functioning and memory. These nutrients are just an added benefit to the appetite suppressing qualities.

Broccoli and cauliflower, two of the acceptable vegetables on the Atkins program, also have appetite-suppressing effects. These vegetables are very bulky and they help make your stomach feel full. When your stomach feels full, it will actually create a chemical response in your body. Your body will reduce its appetite because it believes that your stomach is full of high calorie foods. This will happen regardless of what is in your stomach. You can achieve the same results with water and psyllium husk fiber. Both broccoli and cauliflower provide bulk in your diet and are essential vegetables on the Atkins plan.

The Atkins diet focuses on eating small protein balanced meals a few times per day. This will help keep your blood sugar stabilized and avoid carbohydrate cravings. With high carbohydrate diets, you are riding the wave of carbohydrate highs. After you eat, you feel great and full. Then a few hours later, you come crashing down and are hungrier than you were previous to eating the carbohydrate. This cycle continues and, over time, you will eat more and gain weight. The protein, fat and vegetable meals of the Atkins plan put your blood sugar back in balance. They provide just enough of each type of food, with a proper amount of carbohydrates (from the vegetables). The vegetables provide quick carbohydrate energy, and the protein gives the meal staying power. This combination helps suppress your appetite.

The Atkins diet is actually a craving control diet that can help suppress your appetite. If you’ve had a problem with carbohydrate cravings before, this new way of eating will help control those cravings. The more you eat on the plan, the better your cravings will be controlled and the easier it will be to follow the diet.