Humble servant of the Nation

Men’s health need not be an oxymoron

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Back in August, I announced my cancer diagnosis. Last week an examination by cystoscope showed no ghastly tumour had returned to my bladder.

It’s not remission. It’s a little early for that. I’ll get the histology and cell counts in January and then we’ll know more. I suspect there’ll be more treatment, perhaps even more sessions with the dreaded catheter and a squirt or two of bovine tuberculosis just to keep me on my toes.

The post-surgery treatment entailed six of these immunotherapy sessions in all. Every Monday morning I’d be catheterised and have my bladder pumped full with attenuated bovine tuberculosis. It’s not the sort of thing you’d do for extracurricular fun voluntarily but all things being equal, it wasn’t exactly waterboarding at Guantanamo.

Full column here.

203 Comments

  • Dismayed says:

    The coalition are the parties of higher taxation. Now they are taxing companies that dare to roll out NBN like services. The consumer pays again for the coalitions ideological mess
    http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/this-could-cripple-companies-like-us-government-announces-new-nbn-tax-on-broadband-companies-20161212-gt9hxj.html

    • Razor says:

      No. Labors NBN which was thrown together on the back of of napkin is a mess.

      • BASSMAN says:

        RONG-the government’s own people said it was a mess and to the Looters doing….Dnt you remember Turnbull and his Turncoats sooling the AFP onto those who found out the truth of their mismanagement of the roll out. Stop being biased.

        • Razor says:

          Do you know the term ‘Cabinet in Confidence’. How about ‘Commercial in Confidence’?

          Christ your a dumb bastard for an alleged school teacher!

      • Dismayed says:

        It may be surprise a to you as the coalition has continued to act as an opposition but the coalition are in their second term in government and are responsible for the wrecking of what should have been the biggest Productivity Enhancing Efficiency Creating National Infrastructure project the Nation has seen but it has been wrecked by the coalition. What should have seen 93% of the Nation receiving infrastructure to last for the next 50 years and then some to enable them opportunities most areas now are receiving piecemeal options that will need to be overbuilt again in the next decade. Technology and old world cons just don’t mix.

    • Dismayed, what is an “unfunded tax cut”?

      • Dismayed says:

        Most taxation concession measures have a revenue source to pay for them. The proposed $50 billion tax cuts to corporations, the loss of revenue, will be paid for according to the coalitions own papers by companies “reducing their tax avoidance”, yes that is what they have put into their projections, the expected growth of up to 0.6% of GDP in 2 decades down the track may bring in a small measure also. The remaining majority of the $50 billion forgone in company tax receipts is not funded. Therefore it will require borrowing to fund. So the proposed $50 billion tax concession/cuts is unfunded.

  • Yvonbew says:

    There’s an article in the Oz about the worrying increase in methane emissions. It mentions cattle and rice farming – but nowhere does it bring up the subject of melting permafrost – which is real – and really serious. The Arctic is much warmer than its ever been. I wonder if this accounts fiwr the surge in methane emissions? Anyone have any knowledge on this?

  • Jean Baptiste says:

    Henry Blofeld 1:11PM

    Well aint the former PM got eclectic taste in literature and television.
    if he didn’t look so permanently unhinged he could play the part of Lance Armstrong in his later years.

    Seriously, and this is valuable information so pay attention, astonishingly there is something worth watching on television, albeit Netflix. It’s “Shetland”, very very good in many ways, up there with Wallander.

    Watch it Henry.

    • Henry Blofeld says:

      I like a man who goes “balls to the wind” Mr Baptiste and Abbott really does need to make a move soon or leave Parliament, a very weak look sitting way up there on the backbench sucking on taxpayers $$$$$$$”s!. Only a fairy sits back too scared o do anything. Like that Julian Assange wally he needs to fling the Embassy door open one morning and make a dash for freedom!

  • BASSMAN says:

    This a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad government ………Bald! (er and getting much much worse).
    &
    It is disappointing that Big Arnie Cormann has prematurely rejected stimulus spending outrightly without knowing what the future holds. Howard didn’t when responding to the Asian economic crisis. Arnie is mad…if things turn much worse he will have to…cheaper to cut defence spending though. This hurts NOBODY-except the Yanks. If Rudd, on Treasury advice, had not provided fiscal stimulus during the Global Financial Crisis there would have been massive unemployment across the nation. Rather, we were one of only 8 developed countries to maintain a AAA credit rating throughout the GFC and one of only 3 advanced economies out of 34 to avoid recession during the worst global economic turndown since the 1929 recession-to use Hockey’s wordz. This was the stellar economy that the Liberals inherited in 2013 but have since added $190billion to gross debt and about to cough up the AAA
    &
    All this new debt is Labor’s fault..

  • Razor says:

    The rent seekers at reneweconomy must have not tried too hard to contact BHP. A quick google search got these comments. Also I note, if what the rent seekers say is correct, they were using 170kwh and had to shed to 100kwh. What do you think happenned there Dismal? The simple fact of the matter is if they did not have to rely on Victoria and had their own coal fired power they would not have had to worry. The reason they didn’t have their own coal fired power was because of the SA Labor governments renewable energy target. Ask your local CFMEU official about how they are recieved at the moment on coal mines and in mining towns.

    http://www.bhpbilliton.com/investors/news/update-on-olympic-dam-power-outage

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/bhp-steps-up-warnings-over-sa-olympic-dam-power-blackouts/news-story/162d46e37189c21c8bbc47bb760a4b13

  • Dismayed says:

    Yvonne. I, Daniel Blake, another very good summation of the government created unemployment industry and the shaming, blaming and criminalisation of those doing it the hardest. Shameful.
    http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=34943#more-34943

    • Yvonne says:

      It was a very sad movie, Dismayed. I don’t know enough about the social welfare system in Britain to comment critically. The mindless and heartless bureaucracy in the Public service was depressing though.

      • Dismayed says:

        The links I have posted relate to the Australian unemployment industry which is similar to that of the UK. Remember that the Public Service are doing the Government of the days bidding.

  • Henry Blofeld says:

    “Exciting” news we read today Mr Insider as ex ousted PM Tony Abbott updates us all on what he reads and watches on Netflix etc. Goodness me for gods sake Abbott do something useful, make a lunge for the PM job soon or bugger off as you may recall from your time as PM crowing “the Age of Entitlement is over” but not for you its seems. Having Turnbull as PM is a gift for anyone with “ticker” to go for a leadership spill as “never has so little been done by so few for so many” under Turnbull. Man up Abbott or bugger off buddy and stop wasting Taxpayers money you drongo!
    http://tinyurl.com/z7dc8dx

  • Propsrule says:

    Great article Jack. Glad to hear all is on track (touch wood). I love the line about it not being a fight but a process. Being a cancer survivor myself I always hated the implication that those who beat cancer fought hard to do so (which in my day was fuelled by the Lance Armstrong survival story), implying those who died of cancer were the weak ones who somehow didn’t fight hard enough. I found with my own treatment I “endured” rather than fought and appreciated the fact that I was lucky. Lucky to have caught it early (I went to the doctor straight away) and lucky to have and extremely effective treatment option which wasn’t available 20 years beforehand.

    Being a young guy, fully believing in my own immortality, I’m still amazed I had myself checked out straight away and there is not a day that goes by when I’m not shaken by the fact that seemingly inconsequential daily decisions can have such an enormous impact on our lives.

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