A sunny weekend

How great to have a sunny weekend......

Bowel Cancer Awareness Month

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and the latest figures from Cancer Research UK show that the number of cases of bowel cancer have risen considerably. In the 1970s, the figure for men diagnosed with bowel cancer was 45 in every 100,000 – now it is 58. For women the figure has risen from 35 to 37.

This month the charities who focus their attentions on bowel cancer have different campaigns highlighting the raising awarness of this disease.

Bowel Cancer UK's "Great Start Breakfasts" – supported by Ainsley Harriott. The charity asks you to "get your morning off to a good start". Set a date, pick a menu (a healthy one, I hope!), invite your guests and raise funds for Bowel Cancer UK's campaigning and support work. Look on the charity's website and find posters, recipes and invitations in a pack which can be ordered.Your breakfast could be a picnic, round the kitchen table or in a formal dining room.

Food writers, critics and chefs have donated their recipes,  including Sophie Dahl, The Hairy Bikers, Heston Blumenthal and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

 
 Beating Bowel Cancer are using a different approach. They are using a campaign called "The Bowel Movement" - a title that is certainly on point! As you can see from the link they have four ways in which you can raise awareness and some money at the same time.

During April 2013, football will unite to help raise awareness of  bowel cancer Players, managers and match officials from throughout professional football have joined forces with bowel cancer charities, including Beating Bowel Cancer, to stand up against the disease. The campaign is being supported by the PFA, the League Managers Association and the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, and will see their members wear the campaign’s ‘Star of Hope’ badge from April 13 to 20 as the season comes to an end.

Match officials throughout the Premier League and Football League, and players from selected Football League clubs, will also wear Know the Score t-shirts to warm up in prior to games.


"The Never too Young Report" by Bowel Cancer UK highlights very poignantly the fact that increasing numbers of younger people are developing the disease. In this report in which they make 5 key recommendations, from the suggested development of a "bowel disease decision aid tool" to adequate screening and psychological and physical support for everyone. Bowel Cancer can be difficult to diagnose and symptoms might include dark or black stools (caused by bleeding), an unexplained change in bowel habits, abdominal pain, anaemia, weight loss, bloating or vomiting. As with other cancers, too many people are unaware of the symptoms, too many GPs do not recognise the symptoms (partly because they could point to other conditions) and patients return again and again before a referral is made; too many younger patients (under the age of 50) find themselves faced with delays in diagnosis and a lack of support. Please watcgh some of the video stories - it highlights how age can work against you in getting a diagnosis.

Risk factors include age (over 72 per cent of cases are diagnosed in people over the age of 65 – but as we have seen, the disease is appearing in younger patients); diet (high in red or processed meats and saturated fats, added to low fibre); being overweight; a high intake of alcohol or cigarettes; genetic conditions – ie a close relative with the disease; or a related condition, like Crohn's Disease.

Currently, the NHS is offering screening for those over the age of 60 and soon to be extended to those aged 70-75. You may have received a screening pack in the post – if so, please don't ignore it. It may be fiddly to carry out but it just might alert the screening centre to a problem. The result is returned to you very quickly. I wonder, should we not also be considering a colonoscopy for everyone over the age of 40 – as is the case in the USA?

Early diagnosis is the key to a good outcome. If you are concerned about any of the symptoms listed above, please do not be embarrassed – your GP has heard it all before – and make that important appointment. As the television commercial says, it does not matter which words you use – just use them. I know exactly how embarrassing this can be but once you make that first step into the GP's surgery that embarrassment disappears - I felt a sense of relief *(excuse the pun) that I had and he had heard it all before! As the Nike advert used to say"JUST DO IT"!

Spring - has it arrived at last?

Beautiful Spring colours 

at last !

It's only mid April!

But not warm enough to sit outside. And today is very windy - so no gardening today!

Its been a long time - all ok ....this made me smile!

Live in the moment

A walk in the sunshine with Colin

 A beautiful sunny afternoon - thirteen degrees and positively spring like. So after a few hours in the charity shop this morning and a couple of hours gardening a well deserved walk in the sunshine for Colin and me.

Sunny forest 1

Sunny forest 2

Yes that is blue sky - welcome back!

The blue was so deep!

Come on stop taking photos - I'm getting bored

My favourite tree

Sun was so strong I was squinting!

Ok I'll have that treat when you are finished with that camera.

Beautiful sunset

Chris Woollams - such brilliant information

I received Chris Woollams newsletter this morning in my in box. He is such an inspirational man and there is always some really new developments that he is eager to report on. He was one of the first websites that I found exceedingly helpful after I picked up a copy of the Cancer Active magazine "Icon". 

I always find something new on his website that I find interesting or re-reading something that I had forgotten about makes dipping into this website a help.

 

I would recommend that if you are or know of someone on this cancer journey to take a look at this website.

 

He advocates that The ACTIVE8 PROGRAMME which  is CANCERactive´s disciplined approach to help you develop your own Holistic, or Integrative, cancer treatment programme  around your Doctors orthodox therapies. 

 

His belief is that:

  "cancer is a multi-step process (from inflammation, to rogue cell formation, to forming a blood supply, to the tumour growth, to firing off cells around the body and much, much more). We also believe it is totally naive to expect one treatment (be it drug or vitamin or whatever) to be able to ´knock out´ all these different steps and stages.

We believe that patients need to acknowledge this and so prepare a multi-step programme designed to counter the various cancer stages. We are not alone in this view; several cancer centres in America follow the same beliefs.

A number of individual therapies have been shown to increase cancer survival odds. Now imagine how your odds improve if you attempt to address all the stages of cancer you may have, AND use a number of the complementary therapies each shown to increase your personal odds of beating cancer!"

 But I think that this paragraph was one that resonated with me the most and I only came acroos it again after my last surgery - it refers directly to colon cancer.


Finally, it is important to understand too that cancer is a disease a weakening of the whole body it merely manifests itself in a certain area. For example, in cancer patients a blood sample usually shows signs of lowered oxygen (cancer cells thrive when oxygen levels fall. In fact, oxygen can kill cancer cells) and lowered levels of white cells (immune cells). Having an operation to cut out a cancerous lump does not remove the process of cancer and US research with colon cancer has recently proven this previously controversial theory to be true. Rogue cells are now known to be fired off early around the body, lying dormant. If you do not change your lifestyle and cut out the drivers, there is no reason to believe that these dormant clones will not be activated one day by the forces that activated your first cancer."

I like to think that this is something that happened to me as the metastases were found in the liver and the lung. It took me a little while to get the sugar message and the whole diet and lifestyle thing revamped - it doesn't happen overnight and can be really difficult. This is not a "fad diet" as some people have thought it is a life changing regime and is forever. 

Just shows how difficult this whole diet can be I went to an engagement party this weekend and I really struggled with not being able to have a dessert as they all looked beautiful. Temptation was put right in my way! I tried and I tried but with everyone around me tucking in it was hard. In the end I did give in - I convinced myself that it was a 10% treat and after all this was a celebration. I did opt for what I convinced myself was the healthiest option a puff pastry base with cream and fresh berries on the top.

French Fruit Tart

  I have to admit it was delicious and I tried not to feel too guilty eating it. That was my treat for a while in the dessert department and it did satisfy my craving but THAT  HAS TO BE IT FOR A LONG WHILE!