Losing the Things We Love

A friend of mine recently learned that one of the things he loves is now something he will not be able to carry on doing; the reason is for his own health. There were tears in his eyes as he was telling me about it, just as there were tears in mine as I was listening to him, because I knew how much that particular activity meant to him.

The activity in question is not seen as risky to the overwhelming majority of the public, but to him it could be severely damaging or even a killer. It got me to reflecting on the things that I have loved and lost that I cannot ever do again.

One is since my father took ill with cancer and died in 2007 I have lost the most intense times of sharing with him. There is an issue right now that I would love to sort through with my father. It is one that we merely touched upon when he was alive, it is one that at this stage is taking on a whole new intensity at the moment. I would love to on a decent Saturday pick up our walking books, prepare a flask of hot water and supplies for a day hike and take him up for a deep discussion away from it all. As it is this weekend (indeed for most of the last wee while) I have been thinking to myself what would my father advise in this situation.

The other thing is that I have yet to enter any race since I succumbed to my career ending injury in 1992. The reason for that is that through the training regime to get ready to do anything I don't feel that is me doing those training runs. I suppose that setting such a high standard in my early life makes it harder to take that every second step now involves some pain and the speed doesn't feel right.

However, both these things and the fact that my friend is not able, even if he wanted to, to do the thing he loves to do had made me determined to set that right.

I'm still able to run, more slowly, in some pain, but doing it isn't going to kill me or cause me any more damage. So I'm going to get back into training, yes I'm going to run. I'm going to pick a race. I'm going to seek sponsorship in aid of Marie Curie, Cancer Research and a charity close to my friends heart too. The recent performance of Andrew Reeves and other friends at Hopetoun had already got me thinking, indeed I was considering joining them before events unfolded that led to me coming home to Northern Ireland.

So watch this space for news about my progress soon.

Times Honours Movember

All the ladies in the house, have you sported a lot of the menfolk around you spouting hair on their upper lip? Men are you starting to get to that irritating scratchiness stage? Yes it is day 4 of Movember a month, formerly known as November, when men all around are growing a moustache to raise awareness and funds for Prostate Cancer.

Well today to mark the occasion The Times has listed the top 25 Moustaches in pop music, check out the full list here. However, here are the top three in action.

At 3 the King or should that be Queen of pop moustaches.



At two here at its most unruly is Macca.



Wonder how many gents will be able or want to emulate David Crosby from this clip by the end of November.

Gentlemen a Little Attention Please

Many of the menfolk are well aware that in the same week that cycling hero Lance Armstrong is fighting well in the Tour de France on his comeback, John Hartson the former footballer has had crucial surgery for cancer.

There is one thing these two gentlemen have had in common. Their cancer started in their testicles. Lance found his early sought advise and got his sorted. Hartson waited longer before seeking help and we have yet to know the outcome. As someone who has found an benign lump down there I was encouraged when Iain Dale posted this earlier. Iain had found this post from a Miserable Old Fart which included this educational video:




As Miserable Old Fart also points out:

Unfortunately some of the most at risk group will not be able to view this video. It is age restricted because it shows real testicles so people between 15 and 21 are not allowed to view it due to US obscenity laws!

Testicular cancer is most prevalent amongst young men aged 15 - 35, so a large section of those who need to know how to check their own balls are denied on line video advice! That is immoral, disgusting and unacceptably obscene!

I totally agree with this and Iain's Tweet:



But I'd also like to urge you also to be aware of the early signs of Bowel Cancer which it isn't so easy to detect. You never know quite when your may well need to know those signs.

And gentlemen don't be stoic about it. If in doubt, check it out. Give yourself the best chance to LiveStrong for a long time.

Vicki Harris Tragic Loss

Vicki Harris who had been, before illness forced her to step aside, reselected to challenge for the Lib Dems for the key marginal of Aberdeen South has died as a result of skin cancer at the age of 41.

Days earlier she by her bedside she had married long term partner Mark Law. It was the second time she had faced this condition the first time two years ago she hadn't told her colleagues about, but on its return the cancer had spread to other parts of the body within a matter of weeks.

Originally from London she had worked for International Development charities before she had run Nicol Stephen's constituency office. In the last West Minister general election had cut the Labour majority to 1,348. The former party leader said:

"Vicki's death came as a big shock to everyone.

"It is devastating to lose someone who has been such a close friend and
colleague at such a young age. "

She had been a tireless campaigner at it was only when she was recently admitted to hospital that any of us really knew how serious her condition was. Her widower Mark Law sums her up in his statement:

"Vicki was committed to ensuring local people had their voices heard on the
issues they care about.

"This passion shone through her professional life, from a visit to South
Africa during the historic elections of 1994 to her most recent campaigns in
Aberdeen."

Like Kerryn McCann earlier this month it is once again sobering when someone from my sphere of experiences and of roughly the same age as succumbs to cancer in this way.

Kerryn McCann 1967-2008

There are times when reading the obituaries really hits home, today was one of those days. Kerryn McCann the Australian marathon runner and I would have been starting out taking athletics seriously at about the same time, she was a little over 16 months older than me.

Her last race was probably her best, not in terms of time that had been in London 6 years earlier, but in terms of effort. the mother of two had battled with Hellen Cherono Koskei of Kenya over 26 miles in the Commonwealth Games marathon in her homeland of Australia. With a mile to go Koskei timed her effort to try and break the defending champion but McCann responded determined to to give up her title without giving her all. Each increase in speed from the Kenyan was met by the Aussie athlete and they entered the stadium side by side. Then with 200m to go McCann kicked for home and Koskei was spent. You don't often see sprint finishes in the marathon, far fewer in the stadium finishes at the major championships, even fewer still where the home favourite is the one who takes to the front.

Following that win she took time out to have her third child, but at six months noticed a lump on her breast. She did not notify her doctor until her child was born, six weeks premature at the end. However, after treatment it was initially thought that the cancer had been sucessfully treated. However, it returned in her liver this year and she passed away on 8 December.

It brings it home that even though initial treatment may be sucessful there is always that ghost over cancer survivors that it can come back, more virulent, less treatable than before. Just like my own father that was the case with Kerryn. She may have been able to battle more and more strenous attacks from Koskei just 2 short years ago, but this is one battle she has lost.

Therefore I'm wearing the pink ribbon for the Breast Cancer Campaign on my blog. With my history cancer is most likely going to get me in the end like all my immediate male ancestors so please lend you support where and when you can.