Hi Jules2 For my generation it is: If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles Lord I'm one, Lord I'm two, Lord I'm three, Lord I'm four Lord I'm 500 miles from my home 500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles Lord I'm five hundred miles from my home Patient transport assistance schemes suck!! It doesn't seem to matter what state you are in, you here the same complaints - bureaucracy on steroids, miserable amounts of reimbursement, inadequate accommodation payments, difficult forms to fill in, etc. etc. We've had a senate select enquiry on this one - result no change. Maybe the politicians need to hear some whistles blowing. cheers Sailor He who studies medicine without books sails an uncharted sea, but he who studies medicine without patients does not go to sea at all. William Osler ... View more

G'day Cats Our household is ruled by a very large, over 8 kg, black and white gentle giant of a cat. He was given to my son when he was just a tiny bright eyed bundle of fur. When my son took on his partner, she had two large dogs, so we sort of rescued the, by then, eighteen month old cat and he has ruled here ever since. He is actually a very handsome animal - very symmetric in his markings and with the longest whiskers I have ever seen in a cat. Actually we have always had cats, but I don't think we have had one who is quite so adept at training humans! So welcome again to the group. Cheers Sailor There's no thrill in easy sailing when the skies are clear and blue, there's no joy in merely doing things which any one can do. But there is some satisfaction that is mighty sweet to take, when you reach a destination that you never thought you'd make. Anonymous ... View more

Hi Sally It all depends on your type of cancer, whether or not it has markers for it that can be detected in the blood, whether or not the clinical evidence says that there is little chance of it returning. In my case I have an aggressive cancer, it keeps recurring and there is a blood marker for it, so I am fairly closely monitored. Your situation is quite different. That doesn't say that you live without the fear of it coming back - that is with everyone of us. The shadow is always there in that room of the house of our mind. It may be a monster trying to break out and all we seem to be doing is hammering planks over the doorway. It may just be something small in a small room and we spend most of the time in the sunlit rooms. But it is there all the time and each one of us has to find a way of living with it - it will be our unique way. If you are worried about being checked - go back to your treating team and ask them. Don't be afraid to go and get some counselling - you can now get in of medicare and your GP can arrange it. Don't be afraid of using the cancer helpline 131120, it is not just for newly diagnosed people. Good luck Sailor But the sea is a mighty soul, forever moaning of some great, unshareable sorrow, which shuts it up into itself for all eternity. Lucy Laud Montgomery, Anne’s House of Dreams ... View more

Hi Mrs Elton When you are next in at where your husband is being treated it might be an idea to ask to see a social worker and discuss this with them, or give the cancer helpline 13 11 20 a ring. I know in some states there are a number of lawyers who provide free advice to people affected by cancer and they can be accessed via the social workers and in some states through the cancer helpline 13 11 20. In situations like this a bit of professional advice.action can go a long way to making things easier for you. Just a thought. Regards Sailor Prevention is, as in other aspects of seamanship, better than cure. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
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Hi Mrs Elton That is really good advice and I am sorry that your husband hasn't yet had that conversation with you. When my mother was dying, it was before my cancer diagnosis, we were able to have that conversation. So we knew the readings she wanted, the music she wanted, so we knew that when we had the funeral, we were carrying out her wishes. It made it a lot easier. So several years ago, when I was going in for a fairly minor operation, it still involved a general anaesthetic, my wife asked me to write down what I wanted, I did and she did the same. They probably need a bit of updating as times change, but the core is there. Similarly after her father died we were able to discuss if we wanted to be buried/cremated and where that would be. So I can recommend it. Ditto wills and power of attorney. So I hope that conversation occurs for you - if not then try and spread the load a bit with the rest of the family. Best wishes Sailor For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one. Kahlil Gibran ... View more

Hi Victoria It sounds like you are in a bit of a bind and the full weight of caring for your family is falling on you. Is it your Mum who is in the nursing home or your Dad? Whatever, the story, clearly your Mum will not be with you next Christmas and that is pretty heavy stuff. At this stage, in the midst of everything that is happening, it is important that you look after yourself - if you fall apart the rest of the family are not going to be helped. It is worth calling the Cancer Helpline 13 11 20 as they will know what other support services you can call on. Carers Australia - www.carersaustralia.com.au is a useful organisation to get in touch with. Try and get some things organised before Christmas as Christmas can be a pretty awful time of the year when you need help. I don't know about other States but the Cancer Council Victoria does have a brochure about coping over Christmas. It makes a lot of good suggestions about things you can do to reduce stress whilst you are caring for your Mum and Dad. Hang in there and I hope it goes well. Cheers Sailor There are no signposts in the sea. Vita Sackville-West ... View more

G'day Anita Down here in that great southern state we seem to have done a pretty good job of regionalising radiotherapy (Except, of course on the border between that neighbour of ours north of the River - Wodonga is private - fees up front,no bulk billing and significant out of pocket expenses!). It doesn't remove the problem of distance however, nor the problem of IPTAS limited to 100 km. Many people are having to travel > 100 km to get to a regional cancer centre. Nikki is correct in that there are still many people who will have to go to a major metropolitan centre because of the nature of the disease. However, access to radiotherapy is not only a NSW problem or a rural problem. Here in Victoria private radiotherapy has gone into the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas: North Eastern Victoria; Frankston; Footscray and Epping on the northern outskirts of Melbourne. People get treated not knowing that it is a private facility then get confronted with bills typically $6 - 8,000, or in North Eastern Victoria opt for less than best practice treatment rather than have to travel to Melbourne or Bendigo. So we still need a national approach to both the location of radiotherapy centres and IPTAS. It is reather sad that the NSW government is letting a private facility be put into Bathurst/Orange, the area that really suffers from lack of adequate facilities. Cheers Sailor If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. - Seneca ... View more

G'day Folks I went up to the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia meeting up on the Gold Coast a couple of weeks ago. They had a panel discussion on sexuality. They had a panel that had several 'consumers', a nurse a social worker and a sex therapist. This sex therapist was entirely medicalised - sex was just seemed something mechanical. When one person raised the issue of erectile dysfunction she glibly replied that it was no longer a problem as we had appropriate pharmaceuticals to deal with it. Also that if, as you got older, you didn't have sex as frequently it was because you had had boring sex when you were younger! I started to get angry when some old bloke from up the back got up and let her have it. He explained in words of one syllable what loss of libido really meant, that he worked with men who had had prostate cancer and how many couples found that viagra and injections were unsatisfactory because they took away all spontaneity and many older couples where the man had had a prostatectomy decided against using aids and settled for intimacy instead and were quite happy about it. He, really let her have it and I felt like cheering, she was just so smug, glib and medicalised. It is appalling when these so called professionals just have no understanding of what it is like. Cheers Sailor Without patience, a sailor I would never be. Lee Allred
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G'day Artist in Recovery That is really great news. Something to look forward to, something to plan for, something that is different than the routine of work and study. I'm quite envious and would love to be going back to the UK. I would like to go through Wales and have the time to visit and travel on all the little steam trains there. I'd love to go to Orkney again and be able to spend a bit more time understanding some of the neolithic history. I'd love to go to the Outer Hebrides, just to see what they are like. I would love to catch up with old friends who have remained friends. I would love to spend some time again in the lanes of Norwich and do some necessary family research there. So it sounds just s great what you are planning. Cheers Sailor The art of the sailor is to leave nothing to chance. Annie Van De Wiele ... View more