This is hilarious! I particularly enjoy the ingenuity of these cats. One keeps back legs on the ground and "runs" with front paws only. The other makes headway by beginning at the front of the treadmill, so as to allow for slipping back.

Smart cats! See cats on treadmill here.

Tags: funny

This weekend Julian and I went to Melbourne. In part to attend a party and in part to visit friends. The weekend was plagued with irritations and disasters but some of the things went really well.

The party was fun, we got back to the hotel at 3am and fell into bed. I've had a horribly spasmed back for a few weeks now, exacerbated by slipping over in my socks on the timber kitchen floor and landing hard. It's been fine though fora  few days after some fabulous massages from a sports massage place wonderfully located in my office building.

But yesterday morning, probably because of feeling better, when I stood up from the bed I did so not in an invalid type of way but in a healthy way, that is.. turning and twisting as I stand. That in itself would have been okay except I just happened to do a violent sneeze at the same moment. 

POW I was knocked over the bed in agony unable to take more than the shallowest of breaths as my ribcage turned into a cobra's embrace. 

After managing to straighten up I got straight into the hotel's spa (thank God for not being at a B&B), which eased the pain enough so i could meet Tracey, my writing friend who braved the horrors of the hotel dining room to have lunch with us. That was really nice, it's been a long time since we spent any time together. 

At 2, a sports massage guy came to the hotel room to treat me, and it did help (and so it should at $149, for crying out loud), but he was nowhere near as good as the guys I went to last week. All it did was move the pain from upper ribs to the side. That was good actually because it doesn't affect breathing quite as much. But i still needed J to help me stand up and put on clothes etc, which he was entirely marvellous about doing.

Luckily that saw me right just enough to get to Haines place, but unfortunately two hours later than planned, so we ended up colliding with his family and friends. Actually that was nice for me, to see them all gathered around him. My GOD they are lovely people, just lovely, you can see why Paul is such a cool guy. His brother arrived and haha, a double take, because they look so alike. 

His mum said to me, thank you for all your comments on the blog, by supporting Paul you've been supporting all of us. She said this in such a heartfelt way that it really moved me. 

Paul gave me a piece of advice: I should write a novel of SF erotica. He's seen some of my erotica writing and reckons it's my best stuff. Makes me smile, because who would even buy that? Eh.. perhaps one day I will. I know he liked the Hugdoll story I wrote at Clarion, which was seriously fullon. But I don't think many others at Clarion did like it. Perhaps an acquired taste. But he made the point that most SF doesn't have an erotic side, and fantasy is more like a romance than erotica. 

I wonder if there's a reason for that? 

And also I wonder if you can combine two exploratory out there things at once and get any kind of audience. Or, maybe I'm just chicken. 

*smiles*

Anyway the last piece of advice Paul gave me, back in 2004, turned out to be spot on so maybe this bit is as well.

Oh and his daughter Isla is just the cutest little button of a princess, and doesn't she know it!! My oh my. And so talented.. fully talking properly at 2, great hand coordination, good awareness of others, and a great ear. I tuned up her $29 Aldi guitar for her but warned: it will stay in tune for five minutes, no more, because the bastards who made it didn't make the pegs properly and they slip as soon as you tune them. 

Anyway, it was wonderful to see him and his family. 

Also, with the medication. The really really expensive medication that we've been raising money for (and yes of course I put in to that). Last count $17500 out of the 20k he needs.. if you haven't donated yet, please do. The medicine is amazing, because only affects the tumour, and that means it doesn't affect the rest of his body like a poison, and THAT means you can give the tumour about 8 times as much poison as you can with regular chemo. 

It's totally worth it.  Even if it doesn't work it's worth it because Paul, one day after his chemo treatment, was walking around, fully present, making tea, chatting, and dealing generally very well. He looked no more ill than his brother who was nursing a massive hangover from the night before, and let me tell you that's not how it is on regular chemo.

And so either it works, in which case yay, or it doesn't and in which case he's had a less crap time of it than on regular chemo. Read more about avastin here.

Go here to donate.

Tags: cancer, haines, melbourne

There must have been a canteen in the death star, right? Check it out.

Things that have a positive effect

Add calcium in the diet, especially dairy and leafy greens

Folate: (a type of vitamin B)  Too little folate may increase the risk of cancers of the colon, rectum, and breast, especially in people who drink alcohol. Best obtained by eating vegetables, fruits, and enriched grain products.

Physical activity: People who engage in moderate to vigorous levels of physical activity are at a lower risk of developing colon and breast cancer than those who do not. Risk is lowered whether or not the activity affects the person's weight.

Vegetables and fruits: strong preventative link. Recommended: total of 5 or more servings of an assortment of colorful vegetables and fruits each day. Microwaving and steaming are the best ways to preserve nutrients in vegetables.

Cruciferous vegetables: includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kale. These vegetables contain compounds thought to reduce the risk for colorectal cancer. The best evidence suggests that eating a wide variety of vegetables, including cruciferous and other vegetables, reduces cancer risk. Many studies link fruit and veg high in vitamin C with prevention (but not supplements).

Frozen foods can often be more nutritious than fresh foods because they are often picked ripe and quickly frozen.

Water and other fluids: Drinking water and other liquids may reduce the risk of bladder cancer. Drinking at least 8 cups of liquid a day is usually recommended, and some studies show that even more may be helpful.

Maybe

Vitamin D: There is a growing body of evidence from studies that observe large groups of people (not yet tested in clinical trials) that vitamin D may have helpful effects on some types of cancer, including cancers of the colon, prostate, and breast. Obtained through the sun and products fortified with vitamin D such as milk and cereals, and supplements.

Lycopene is the red-orange carotene pigment found mainly in tomatoes and tomato-based foods and to a lesser extent in pink grapefruit and watermelon. Several studies have reported that intake of tomato products reduces the risk of some cancers, but whether lycopene is the nutrient responsible is uncertain.

Selenium: May be a protective effect but not proven. The maximum dose in a supplement should not exceed 200 micrograms (this is 2/10th of a milligram) per day.

Things to avoid

Canned vegetables (they lose too many nutrients)

Beta carotene supplements

Fat: Saturated fats may increase cancer risk. Other types of fat have no effect.

Drink little or no alcohol. Max 1 drink a day but ideally less.

Don’t smoke.

Processed meats – processed ham, salami, hot dogs, smoked meat, salt preserved

Burned meat.

Soy products: High doses of soy could possibly increase the risk of estrogen-responsive cancers, such as breast or endometrial cancer.

Supplements: There is no proof at this time that supplements can reduce cancer risk. Some high-dose supplements may actually increase cancer risk.

Sugar: By promoting obesity and elevating insulin levels, high sugar intake may indirectly increase cancer risk..  

Vitamin A: supplements don’t have any prevention effect and may increase risk of lung cancer for smokers and former smokers.

No link

Cholesterol: no evidence that lowering blood cholesterol affects cancer risk.

Coffee:  no link between coffee drinking and cancer risk.

Fiber: Doesn’t prevent cancer (but has other benefits).

Fish:  Studies in animals have found that omega3 fatty acids suppress cancer formation or slow down cancer growth, but there is limited evidence of a possible benefit in humans.

Fluorides.

Food additives

Garlic

Olive oil.

Organic foods  

Pesticides and herbicides

Phytochemicals

Saccharin

Salt in cooking

Teas

Trans-saturated fats (eg margarine)

Vegetarian diet

Vitamin C supplements.

Vitamin E.

 

Read more here

Tags: cancer

I’m finally reading “Little, Big” – a copy given to me in 2004 by Chris Barnes. I’m blown away by the strangeness of it and the lyricism of the writing. I know, I know.. it’s a classic.. and now I know why!

Tags: reading

Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. It's also my nephew's birthday, because he was born prematurely when my sister got the news of my diagnosis. Man, that was a shit day. Luckily, nephew was born just fine.

And: I am also just fine.

Four years.

One more year, and I'm past the magical five year survival point. Yes, people do get recurrences after that but far far less. Actually, most of the risk is already gone, at four years. Most recurrences happen in the first one to two years.

How am I four years on?

Physically I'm in pretty good shape. No ill effects from the surgery, other than patch of my right arm behind the upper arm that's completely devoid of sensation due to nerves being cut to remove lymph nodes. And of course the scar, but no problems with that either, and it's cosmetically pretty damn good.

Chemo.. hair is back, just as it was before. I did have early menopause and a few associated symptoms with that, which I won't bore you with here. I still have a few ongoing issues hormonally, going up over the menopause level and then back down again, playing havoc with all kinds of things, including medication. Probably this is the most noticeable ongoing issue that I have.

Radiation: I still have a patch of burned skin from that but it is gradually getting more skin like and less burnlike.

I'm still taking chemotherapy in the form of tamoxifen tablets, and now there's Only One More Year of that to go. Yay. Why? Well, because tamoxifen makes my joints ache. It's a side effect. Not a particularly horrific one but it makes me feel creaky.

Emotionally, I am feeling cautiously optimistic that I'll reach the five year mark without a recurrence. But there's always this fear in the back of my mind. I work quite hard to keep it in a box with the lid on, but every now and then it pops out.

I must say, it makes me focus my mind wonderfully on what's important in my life and how i want to live it, and who I want to have in it. I don't have time for trivia, for boredom, for things that grate, for people who drain. I want every day to count.

It probably makes me focus a little *too* much on the here and now, in a Zen like fashion, than is good for me. Yes, I do have to do something about my superannuation, my wisdom teeth, etc. Sigh.

On the other hand.. splurging to go to the US and Mexico later this year? OH yes.

Tags: cancer

Well I must be at least part Geek then, though my parents never mentioned it. (Was Dad part Geek on his dad's side perhaps?)

I look at this list of Geek household furniture items, and I want half of them.

Tags: silly

Find out here

Tags: funny

We saw the movie Lars and the Real Girl the other night. It's about a guy in some cold small town (USA? Canada? not sure). He's a loner, no idea how to get a girl, and touching is literally agony for him. He buys a Real Doll and treats her as his girlfriend.

If you haven't ever seen a Real Doll, go check it out (gross, not work safe, and creepy).. they're sex dolls that are pretty realistic. The whole town plays along with the doll "Bianca" as his girlfriend.

Despite the weirdness of the doll.. or perhaps because of this.. it's a charming movie with a lovely message. I really liked it, though it is perhaps one of the oddest movies I've seen. 

This is a hilarious article on how to outsource your life for $5 an hour.. right down to apologies to his wife!
Outsourcing your life