Category: Cancer

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Cancer Post Index

Posted on by Charles Robinson

CANCER

UPDATE

Posted on by Charles Robinson

This is Jane again.  We could not believe that by the time notifications went out about the last post we had already exceeded the goal we needed for the surgery so I stopped the fundraiser.  We were blown away but did not want to accept more than we needed.

So thanks to all who tried to donate but could not.  Charles goes into hospital tomorrow for about 2 weeks and I am much relieved.  Hopefully I will have time to keep you updated.

All the very best

Jane

From Charlie’s wife:

Posted on by Charles Robinson

Hi, this is Jane, Charlie’s wife.  No doubt if you are a regular subscriber to this website you will have noticed Charlie has been relatively quiet lately with his posts and also at answering emails and comments.

You will know that he has been dealing quite successfully with prostate cancer for the last 22 years but late last year he was also diagnosed with bladder cancer.  Since then he has had a round of chemotherapy and some immunotherapy, however this has proved unsuccessful.

Now he has been presented with an option of a cystectomy operation – removal of the bladder (and the cancer)  and replacing it with an artificial external one.  Charles and the doctors agree this is his best chance to stop the cancer spreading. This is booked in for next week and is a serious operation that takes 6 hours plus.  It is tribute to Charles’ 73 year old general health that the surgeon thinks that he is up to the ordeal.

The surgery has hit us like a thunderbolt.  After 23 years of keeping ahead of the medical bills,  we now are facing  these new surgery bills.  Even though we have private health insurance our finances have been drained over the years and with this operation we will be out of pocket about Australian $13,850 or US$8,960  Money we do not have.

I have set up a “Go-Fund-Me” page where Charles’ many friends and relatives  can contribute to this amount if they want, no matter how small:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-pay-for-my-husbands-urgent-cancer-surgery?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

Obviously there is no pressure to do this, and I appreciate you taking the time to read my message.  Any help you can offer will be so very appreciated,  and every dollar will go towards the medical costs .   We are hopeful Charles will come through this as he has many times before, and continue on with his family , friends and website!

All the best and good health to all,

Jane Robinson

 

BLADDER CANCER: When one cancer isn’t enough!

Posted on by Charles Robinson

Many of you who have read some of my posts know that I am dealing with advanced prostate cancer.  Recently I detected some blood in my urine and went to a urologist who performed a cystoscopy, a procedure where they put a camera up through the urethra to look at the bladder.  Well it was bad news!

My grandson – Kishan’s – sense of humor after my cystoscopy procedure. (I do like Tofurky! Also love the detail on the guitars!)

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CARTOONS by my 14yr old grandson

Posted on by Charles Robinson

All my 6 children are very artistic, as are their children. I’m a proud grandad and, when one of my grandsons, 14-year-old Kishan — the name is another name for Lord Krishna — approached me and asked if he could do some cartoons for my website I was pleased he wanted to help.

Kishan hard at work!

As far as I know he had never done anything like this before, but I had some ideas for cartoons and so did he, so I gave him free reign. This post is a result of his first ones:

Cartoon by Kishan 2021

This cartoon is a situation that happened.  I’d befriended someone who was diagnosed with prostate cancer which was very aggressive and growing quickly.  Like many of us now in our 60’s and 70’s, he had a distrust of Western medicine, but because his PSA was rising quickly his doctor managed to convince him to do an initial injection of hormone treatment so that he could consider his options.  In the meantime, he read about how some people were getting frozen sea cucumber and eating a little at a time.

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CANCER – Why Me?

Posted on by Charles Robinson

When I was first diagnosed 20 years years ago at age 51 years with advanced prostate cancer, I had an acquaintance named ‘Edge’ — whether his real name or not, I do not know.  Edge was about 65 years old and would bike everywhere. He had a lot of reconstructive surgery done to his face after dealing with a particularly aggressive form of cancer.  I don’t even know which cancer it was. 

The time I first met him, Edge’s cancer was in remission, however it had been in remission previously and come back. When it had returned some years earlier it came with a vengeance, and he told me that twice he was put into the palliative/intensive care ward for terminal patients. It seems he pulled through and survived by sheer will power.

When I was first diagnosed, Edge said to me, “are you a ‘why me’ person or a ‘why not me’ person?”

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CANCER and Consideration for Others

Posted on by Charles Robinson
Cartoon by Navie

Sometimes I think I take the sympathy thing too far.

I must remember that having a family member with a terminal disease is not easy.  In fact, often-times it is easier on the person with the disease than those who love them.

I can lie in bed and try to sleep; trying to deal with the pain and restlessness from whatever treatment I am on.  Sometimes quietly making moaning sounds, often not realizing how disturbing I am being.

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CANCER – Do Natural Therapies Work?

Posted on by Charles Robinson

“People with cancer are easy targets for naturopathic scams because they can be desperate for hope and extensively research their treatment options.

‘Natural’ treatments with few side effects appear irresistible when compared to surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. But it is almost impossible for most people to know beforehand that these natural remedies won’t do anything for their cancer. If the cancer returns, they are more likely to blame the cancer rather than the ineffective natural remedies they received.” Source: By Suneel D. Kamath August 29, 2017 

People who have read some of my blog will know that I have been dealing with advanced prostate cancer now for very close to 20 years.  Initially I started off self-treating with the help of a naturopath with diet and alternative medicines and lots of exercise.

However, early on I had some good advice: “Cancer is an aggressive beast, and requires aggressive treatment, this can only be achieved by Western medicine”.  Natural therapies can play a useful, supportive role even if only to enable management of one’s overall health pro-actively going forward.

This is the route I’ve taken during my 20 years of treatment and it has stood me in good stead.

Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the surface of single cancer cells – prostate cancer cell on the left and breast cancer cell on the right. These cells have surface projections which are characteristic of highly mobile cells and enable them to spread (metastasis) rapidly round the body, and invade other organs and tissues. Cancer cells divide rapidly and chaotically and may clump to form malignant tumors. Source: Science Photo Library.

Most cancer cells are nasty!

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DEALING WITH ONGOING CANCER

Posted on by Charles Robinson
Cartoon by Navie

Those who have read some of this site know that I have been dealing with advanced prostate cancer for a long time, 19 years in fact! (see this post My Cancer Story Summarized).

My prostate cancer is termed ‘advanced’ because from when I was diagnosed it was outside the prostate capsule, therefore it had metastasized somewhere else in the body.

For quite a few years now I have been on X-Tandi (Enzalutamide), but 8 months ago the prostate cancer biomarker, the PSA blood test, began to rise again.  This meant that the cancer was again growing somewhere in my body.

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I cured my IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS) with an ANTIBIOTIC (Amoxicillin)

Posted on by Charles Robinson

I’ve been meaning to post about this for some time now in the hope it is of use to someone suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Up to 12 months ago I had constant diarrhea for 2 years.  It started after a particularly hot chilli  Indian meal, that I knew at the time I shouldn’t have eaten, however I felt obliged as I was a guest at the meal.  The next day was excruciating and no mater what I did over the following weeks the diarrhea continued.  I had many tests including 3 different stool tests checking for bad bacteria, a colonoscopy and a gastroscopy (sometimes called an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy) and of course blood tests.  Apart from a slightly inflammation of the bowel nothing showed up as a cause.

After 2 years of this,  I was thinking it was something I was going to have to live with the rest of my (probably shortened) life.

About 12 months ago I got a throat infection and was prescribed a course of the antibiotic Amoxicillin.  My diarrhea immediately stopped. But when I finished the two-week course of the drug the diarrhea came back.

I googled antibiotics and IBS and sure enough there were a few references by sufferers who’d had the same experience, not with Amoxicillin but some other antibiotics, the main one being Rifaximin (Xifaxan).  Neomycin, Clarithromycin (Biaxin) and Metronodazole (Flagyl) were also mentioned.  As soon as the 2 week course of the antibiotic was stopped the diarrhea returned.  One did say that they were cured after two months on antibiotics.

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Leaving this world of pain – SUICIDE is NOT an option!

Posted on by Charles Robinson

(This post is my personal view and does not necessarily reflect the position of any organization or group).

Cartoon by Navie

In 1976 when I was 26 years old, I said to my younger wife “Do you know in the year 2000 I’ll be 50 years old!”  We both burst into laughter.  2000 was so far away!  Now it is 2020 and my body is 70 years old and it’s not so funny anymore.  The years have gone by in a heartbeat.

As I get older, and because I’m suffering from a terminal disease, I realize my body, and my mind, are never going to get any better than where they are today.  Not only have I all the usual onsets of the body deteriorating with its’ aches and pains, but I also have the side effects of taking 6 different drugs  daily to keep cancer and other body ailments in check.

So, realizing my body and mind will only worsen from this day onward, I can see why people in my position may contemplate ending their lives.  But this is not a solution to the suffering of the body.  It is an option that will only cause more suffering to others and the person who kills his own body.  Why?

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