G'day Borderline The myth of the noble savage, very powerful and dominant in the romantic writings of the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The idealised person whop was unencumbered by civilisation, was healthy and had a natural diet. Unfortunately there is very little evidence to support this. Life expectancy in classical Greece and Rome was about the same as in paleolithic times at about 28 years. In pre-Columbian North America, i.e. before discovery of North America by europeans it was 25-30 years. There is little objective evidence on life expectancy of the Australian indigenous population pre-european settlement and observations that elderly people were seen looking after children tells us nothing about average life expectancy. We have no reason to claim that they were any different to other hunter gatherer societies. Hunter gatherer societies have. over time, developed enormous knowledge of local plants, animal habits etc, all of which was needed for survival. However, the amount of land needed to sustain is quite large. The number of indigenous people living in Australia at the time of European settlement was less than 1 million, variously estimated as between 350,000 and 750,000. They were largely hunter-gatherers and like other hunter gather societies need a large area of land to sustain sufficient food. Domestication of staple crops enabled early settled societies but also a large increase in the number of people that could be sustained from a given area of land. To try to go back to a diet that relies on undomesticated plants and animals may sound great, but is just not sustainable. We also have to remember that we now, in Australia, someone born in 2010 can expect to live until they're eigthy plus, a huge increase from the 40-45 years at the beginning of the 20th century. It must be something to do with our general health! Cheers Sailor As we live a life of ease Every one of us has all we need Sky of blue, and sea green In our yellow submarine. Beatles, Yellow Submarine ... View more

Hi Everyone I suggest - contrary to Felix's wishes - that we all meet at the Star Hotel North Fitzroy, 10 Newry Street Fitzroy North, next Saturday afternoon. It is the place for those actively uninterested in football, of any sort. It is the meeting place of the true AFL, the Anti-Football League, whose symbol is a cube. Founded by that veteran journalist and social commentator Keith Dunstan, in the 1960's. Why the Star Hotel Fitzroy North - it is the only pub in Melbourne that doesn't have a big screen TV, or any kind of TV in the bar, so cannot broadcast a football match of any code. See you all next Saturday Sailor PS: I'll be the one in a wet suit! PPS: Perhaps Felix could join us!! A sailor is an artist whose medium is the wind. Webb Chiles

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Dear Jules Sorry to hear about your friend. It is amazing the friendships that we can make in such a short time and I guess that make it all the more poignant. Yesterday I was at the funeral of a another remarkable person that I have known for sometime. He must have set a record as he had been receiving treatment for cancer for forty three years. Quite remarkable is all that he did and his attitudes to life over all that time. The church was packed for his funeral - a good send off. As you say - Rest in Peace. Sailor For the truth is that I already know as much about my fate as I need to know. The day will come when I will die. So the only matter of consequence before me is what I will do with my allotted time. I can remain on shore, paralyzed with fear, or I can raise my sails and dip and soar in the breeze. Richard Bode First You Have to Row a Little Boat ... View more

Hi Jules Sometimes we forget that many of the things we experience people with other illness conditions experience also. Many years ago I wrote an article on what it was like to be diagnosed with cancer. This was duly published and my students, being students, came across it in the literature and asked me about it. However, one students came up to me and said" You have written about me!" "What do you mean?" "You have written about me, but I don't have cancer!" "Well if you don't have cancer how can I have written about you?" "I have a liver transplant and you have described my feelings - can I use you article in my transplant survivors support group?" Cheers Sailor There are no signposts in the sea. Vita Sackville-West ... View more

Hi Maddie86 One of the advantages of this site is that we are anonymous and some of us value that very highly. We can be honest and admit t having issues without anyone knowing who we are. However, if you do want to meet people who are experiencing similar issues to yourself, then the Cancer Council coordinates a great range of support groups and you can link up with them. Give 13 11 20 a phone call and they will give you the information about support groups in your area. If you do come across someone whom you think may be on this site, do not under any circumstances reveal that information. Cheers Sailor An incorrectly identified mark is a hazard, not an aid, to navigation. Alton B. Moody ... View more

G'day Zacjen Let's get practical - Firstly, get hold of a copy of "Localised prostate cancer: a guide for men and their families". You can get this from the Cancer Council by 'phoning 13 11 20 and asking them to send it out. Or you can download it from the educational resources pages of www.prostatehealth.org.au. At this back of this are some tables, or nomograms. These are based on extensive studies over many years and by putting in your PSA, the stage of your cancer and your Gleason Score you can tell the probability that your cancer is confined to the prostate capsule, has spread to local surrounding tissue or has become metastatic. Secondly, it is important to remember that for most people prostate cancer is very slow growing, so active surveillance is the best option in the early stages. How do you know if your cancer is slow growing. Monitor your PSA over time and see how much it is rising. If it is rising rapidly, that the time it takes fro your PSA to double is less than three months, then you have an aggressive cancer and may need to treat. If it is between three months and a year or so, then just watch for a while. If it is more than two or three years, don't worry. Thirdly, whether or not you should consider any treatment such as surgery or radiotherapy depends on your age and current state of health. Many specialists will not offer surgery to anyone who does not have a normal life expectancy of ten years - the side effects are not worth it. Radiotherapy is a possibility, but again the side effects can be significant. You need to discuss all of these with your specialist and do not be afraid to get a second opinion. Whatever you do do not get caught up in any rush to treat. Cheers Sailor ... View more

G'day Zacjen I've been living with prostate cancer for twelve years now - mine was the type that needed treatment fairly urgently, needed more treatment four years later and then still came back. So I have been on hormone therapy - or rather anti-hormone therapy since then. It's politely called Androgen Deprivation Therapy. Now if you don't need treatment and things can just be monitored, that's fine, just monitor. However, if you have had a problem with osteoporosis then you do need to talk to your specialist about that and see if you can get on to appropriate medication for that. I have several friends who have been on active surveillance for ten, twelve, fifteen years. They plot out their PSA's n a chart, take it round with them and show it to anyone willing to listen. They are all engineers! Yes when I come up to the time I am due to have tests I am difficult to live with. Part of that is that you are coming off the testosterone supplement. Tell your wife that you are going through menopause! Cheers Sailor ... View more

Hi Daughter 72 As Vinouche says, it won't make any difference at this stage. When I was first diagnosed my consusltant suggetsed that I take some supplements for which there was, at the time, some evidence that they were protective for my type of cancer. My response was that I shoudl have been taking them thirty years previously - he stopped, thought about it and said "You're right - not a lot of point now". Your Mum has been smoking for a long time, it gives her some comfort. Giving up is incredibly stressful, so why bother. It is not going to make any difference now so let her enjoy it. Driving, if she is not supposed to, is a different matter. It is somethng that all of us with ageing parents have to deal with. If it is a medical person who has said she can't drive, then the onus os on them to report that to the releavnt authorities and you should ask them to do so. You do need to point out that if you are to do it it may destroy your relationship with her. Most GP's are reluctant to report people who should not be driving but they have a responsibility to do so. Regards Sailor ... View more

Hi There Clearly I must be doing something wrong. I have not changed my diet - it was healthy before I had cancer. I have not gone onto any herbal/vitamin/mineral supplements. I have not gone into meditation/reiki/kinesiology/yoga/Gawlerism. I have not taken up any of the weird mixtures that various people have recommended I take. Such as flaxseed oil and cream cheese - the flaxseed oil must be cold before you mix them! I have not tried any concoction produced by any native tribe anywhere in the world. Yet here I am, six to eight years past the statistical end point for someone with my grade of cancer. Clearly I must be doing something wrong. Now if people wish to take any of these things, or undergo any of these complementary therapies, that's fine by me. But if you expect others to do so, then produce your evidence - evidence of the same standard as required by routine medical treatment. That is treatment in a controlled clinical trial involving hundreds and thousands of people with the same type of cancer being randomised to the new therapy against the best available therapy. But then what would I know - I'm just not meant to be here. Cheers Sailor An incorrectly identified mark is a hazard, not an aid, to navigation. Alton B. Moody ... View more

But of course - they are not mine they are Julian's. Sailor ... View more