Icelandic for beginners

This post might seem like a bad idea when the first flush of enthusiasm wears off. It is just me playing around with language, looking at an Icelandic dictionary, and trying to find words that express concepts ranging from the elusive to the mundane.

In the list below, the (real) Icelandic word or phrase is followed by the (mostly fictitious) definition. There are, however, a couple of accurate definitions, according to the online dictionary. See if you can spot them! A lump of decayed whale meat (hvalur kjöt) to the first correct entry. The winner will be notified by email. Any native Icelandic speaker, their family or employees are disqualified from entering this competition.

1. Fýlusvipur Someone who says they'll referee you for a job, but ends up stabbing you in the back. 
2. Fyrirvaralaust A stuff-up so monumental you need to go to Australia [obs.?]. 
3. Fyrirvinna As above, but less egregious. Female gender. 
4. Fyrr skal ég dauður liggja I'm taking Gary to a party.
5. Glópagull The chutzpah needed to eat a beetroot salad while wearing a white shirt.
6. Hákarl kjálkabeininu Shark cartilage.
7. Hugarangur Existential anxiety of receiving a man hug. Male gender.
8. Hugarfarsbreyting Fear of farting while receiving a man hug. Ditto.
9. Skemmd Uniquely virulent hangover from too many acquavit skols. See angst.
10. Smithætta Female descendent of Smith.
11. Stjórnmálaíhlutun Impressive sounding medical term you use when ringing in sick.

All that caper

After Tuesday's meeting with Jeremy, and the intense digestion of the information that produced, it is very pleasant to have a few low key days with nothing very notable to do. Things that there are to do are mostly culinary,  marking my gradual resumption of responsibilities in the kitchen. (Cliche alert: Jill has been doing a sterling job, ably stepping into the breach, taking up the slack, etc. Glad I've got all those out of the way! They are all true.)

This morning, after some watering, I decided to have a go at a banana bread recipe with which I have had some success. This actually turned out to be a banana and pear bread, as I only had one ripe banana. Anyway, it seemed to come out pretty well. It was rescued from disaster by my remembering that the flour was plain, not self-raising as labelled on the container. So I just added a couple more teaspoons of baking powder, and it rose nicely.

We will have that following lentil soup and beetroot salad; I haven't started the former, but have cooked the beetroot for the latter. (Pressure cooker to the rescue.) I am hoping the weather will be a bit cooler by then; lentil soup is not really a summer dish, but Jill requested it, and it will suit the requirements of the party. (Our niece is staying with us, who is vegetarian.)  I have been doing stuff for the meal intermittently, there being plenty of time.

The main problem, while I was shopping, was finding capers, required for the salad. Woolies seems to have gone out of them; I had a good look in the section where you find olives, artichoke hearts and so on, but no capers. I then asked about them in the deli, and someone came and looked in the same section as I had, to no avail. Fortunately the market was open, and the deli there had a choice between salted ones and those in vinegar. (The latter were recommended.) Capers are one of those things that is difficult for which to think of a substitute. In days of yore I used to make a pasta sauce with them and sun-dried tomatoes. Could there have been olives as well? Surely not! Anyway, it seemed pretty good with parsley and parmesan cheese on the pasta. It all sounds a bit "more is more" now; such were the days before my beloved's food intolerance diagnosis.   

From one who knows (3rd try)

Der Fisch and I had a follow-up session with Jeremy this morning. We both thought it went very well. Neither of us was exactly looking forward to it, but we both found it encouraging.

Following is a list of the points that were covered. This fairly long and technical. For those who don't wish to read it all, and I sympathise, the essential point is that I need another PSA test to determine what happens next. This will occur in mid-December.

Re this list:

• The first two points are not new information, and are thus tagged.
• The entire list will be mostly old news for the family member who has received this information by email. I have pretty much put new information in italics to save them a lot of repetition. 
• I made the mistake of dumping all the text in from the email, only to find that that all the messages above it in the in-box ended up in this post also! The only way I could get it even this good without re-keying it all in was to copy and paste that text into  various document formats, until I finally found one that stripped out all the formatting (.pdf). Then I was not able to use second level numbering as the email editor had provided. Anyway, I have done the best I can with it.

Anyway, here goes.

1. The PET/MRSA scans had revealed a cancer in the prostate and in one of the lymph nodes (old news).
2. The biopsy post-op revealed cancers in three further lymph nodes, which had not shown up in the scan. This is because they were quite small (more old news).
3. Consequently the chance of a cure is remote. (This is based on the proven ability of the cancer to metastasise, in this case to the lymph nodes.)
4. However, Jeremy estimated that the surgery removed 99% of the cancers. Because all the ones visible on the scans have been removed, and a few besides, any remaining ones should not be problematic for some time because they must be pretty small.
5. Two things have been achieved by the surgery: a) a de-bulking of the cancers, and b) improved local control of any that remain.
6. The next step depends on the PSA test which I am to have in mid-December. Depending on the numbers this returns, and how the urinary incontinence is improving, treatment from here could involve 
1. another scan (if the numbers indicate something is still afoot)
2. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)
3. External beam radiation therapy (EBRT)
4. a combination of the above (used successfully in metastatic lymphatic cancers like mine)
5. watchful waiting, i.e. doing nothing and just keeping an eye on things. Should something take an uptick, action will ensue.
7. Without further PSA data, he is reluctant to go ahead to give pelvic EBRT, or initiate ADT, because he doesn't know what he is trying to get rid of, where it is, etc. Also, of course all treatments have side effects, and he is reluctant to risk these without a specific reason.

I asked several questions, three of which were to do with treatment (1-3 below):

1. Question: is your treatment objective to manage and contain the cancers rather than cure them? Answer: Yes, this is the most likely outcome.
2. Question: is a combination of ADT and EBRT appropriate for this cancer? Answer: possibly, but more data is needed.
3. Question: Can EBRT increase the risk of bladder cancer? Answer: yes, but the risk is small.
4. Question: is chemotherapy used in treating prostate cancer? Answer: yes, but only for confirmed PSMA (prostate specific membrance antigen) metastatic disease. Its advantage over other treatments seems to be fairly small. [My reading: he wants to try the other stuff first.]
5. Question: when will the urinary incontinence settle down? Answer: probably after several months. Keep doing the PFM exercises.
6. Question: is there anything wrong with the occasional blood clot in the urine? Answer: No, this is quite normal. Just increase the fluid intake when blood appears.
7. Question: will other specialties (oncologist, radiation oncologist etc.) be brought in if required? Answer: if EBRT is thought to be appropriate, I will be referred to a radiation therapist. However, there is an interdisciplinary round table at Jeremy's practice where difficult cases are discussed among a bunch of different specialists. He thinks mine could benefit from this.

I felt all questions were answered respectfully and without any impatience at my becoming an instant "expert". I look forward to the next time we meet, when he will be sans the moustache he grew for Movember!

Working for the man

Today we go to see Jeremy for a follow-up session. I won't have seen him since the operation (apart from him dropping in briefly at the hospital a couple of times).

Wanting to be a more informed consumer of medical services, I have gone through the notes I took from the information session at the Peter Mac last week and written out some questions to ask. In so doing I also looked at the PCFA Research Blog and found a recent paper that looks relevant. (The link to the blog page won't resolve unless you are logged into the PCFA, but the abstract is on PubMed .) This seems positive in that ADT (androgen deprivation therapy, AKA hormone therapy) + EBRT (external beam radiation therapy) were found to give the best overall survival rate. Subject to my next PSA test, this is the therapy that Jeremy mentioned.

I am uncomfortably aware of a desire to impress or otherwise gain his approval. I suppose this is not unexpected, given that the treatment he suggests will have a material effect on how long I am around for. Of course he would suggest that treatment regardless of what questions I ask, his feelings toward me personally, etc. (I know all this rationally.) In person I have alway found him calm, approachable and pleasant, just what you want a surgeon to be. Oh well, I will just try to stay positive and take notes! (Sounds like one of those British WWII slogans.) I will share the findings of this session and those from the next PSA test, due mid-December.

I added an entry in the External Links in the sidebar for Harvard Prostate Knowledge, a site mantained by that university's medical school and Harvard Health Publications.

Blood oath

I had a pretty good day today, getting a few things done, but not trying to do too much.

At about 10.00 we went to Chadstone for a coffee and to buy a towel for my beloved's niece to use. (It seems a bit clinical to say "A house guest"; we are really looking forward to having her.) Then out of there, hooray! It was starting to get really busy when we left an hour later. I said to Der Fisch that that was going to be the extent of my participation in The Festering Season. (Have Grumpy Old Men been in touch yet, dear?)

I walked home from Burwood Village, where der Fisch dropped me en route to driving to the supermarket for a serious grocery shop. I must have found this pretty tiring as I dropped off to sleep in front of the cricket. She returned, laden with comestibles, which I received the delegation to put away. Then in the afternoon we had a visit from my beloved's sister and partner. They helped us assemble the outdoor table that we had had powder coated. A good load of ... ah ... miscellaneous stuff was also loaded into their 4WD. I just supervised, being still forbidden to lift anything. (Everyone was very nice and refrained from telling me to rack off.)  Now we have our garage back!

I had some little sticky felt tips to put on the table feet. These turned out to be quite recessed - I'm not going to try to explain this verbally - and thus two layers of the things were required. Anyway, I need to get some more to put on the chair feet. (This should not be a great problem as they are just from Coles.) So since I came home we have had the courtyard finished, the table and chairs powder coated and assembled, gotten the umbrella and base, and put everything together.  Now all we need to do is some weeding (things are getting a bit exuberant after all the sun and rain), put the chair feet on, and sit out there!

The appetite is still pretty patchy (other than for cakes, as previously 'fessed up). The squeamish can skip the rest of this paragraph. I also had a mild concern as I was passing a bit of blood in the urine, not large amounts (more of a tinge), but consistently. This was only visible at the start of the flow. I actually rang up the paging service about this and spoke to the duty urologist, who said it was nothing to worry about, and to drink some extra fluids. The last time I had a pee I passed a blood clot about 1.5 cm in length. (I know this as I fished it out and took a photo of it to show my urologist on Tuesday.) The blood in the urine stopped immediately, so I think it was just this clot getting stuck, then passing through.

Tomorrow I must get a new photo for my driver's licence and write out some questions for the urologist.

WTF, I'm sick (with postscripts)

Apologies if a degree of inelegancy is creeping into these blog titles. Apologies too for a bit of editus interruptus! I am trying to get at whether there are advantages to being sick. Maybe not outright advantages, but at least things that are not disadvantages.

Self-indulgence is one. There is a certain what-the-heck mood in which I can think "Dammit, I'm going to have a cake with my coffee". This allows you to ignore the standard "No" response that, if you say it often enough, whittles the waistline down bit by tiny bit. This response is easier to circumvent, too, if you have just gained an instant 3-4 centimetres around the middle from having your lymph nodes removed. The perverted logic goes like this: the increased  waist measurement isn't from overeating. Also, what I've got is pretty serious. So, let's party! I do know I have to get back on the sensible diet wagon soon. Like Augustine, however, not just yet.

Not being expected to do stuff is another. Indeed, I am under strict instructions not to lift anything, help my beloved bring in the bins, or otherwise exert myself. It is surprisingly easy to get used to being waited on! It is a bit of a bore, though, in some ways. We now have an umbrella stand, umbrella, and newly powder-coated table and chairs, all to go in our lovely new courtyard. Normally I would be putting the brolly on the base, wheeling it up the steps on the trolley, bringing out the table, putting out the chairs and cushions. I can't do any of that, and don't want to put it onto Der Fisch, who has been busy enough doing the aforementioned waiting! So the inaction is a bit frustrating. I hope that Jeremy gives me the all clear to resume doing things, like exercise, when we see him on Tuesday. (Breaking news! We have just negotiated a compromise; I will cook the dinner, my beloved will do the courtyard.)

Of course the big advantage is the clarity that serious illness brings. The things that matter are the only things that matter. As one who had a tendency to waftiness and going through life on auto-pilot, this is a statement I am trying to live by. Not many people would regard a serious illness as conferring an advantage, but thinking about it, it has and it does.

Just hold on there!

It is hot in Melbourne at present; fourth day in a row above 30 degrees. I am not long home from town after a mostly successful trip. (This was my first trip to town post the operation.) It started not so well when I missed the train that I was planning to catch. All my fault - I just didn't allow enough time to get to the station through the traffic. (Being retired, one tends to forget how much traffic there is in the morning and evening peaks.) Anyway, I got the next train, which meant I had time for a coffee, so not all bad. I rang ahead and got a message to the guy I was to meet. Strangely, I was dead on time, proving you can get from Camberwell to the city in half an hour. (I suppose I have Mum's punctuality mania to thank for always allowing some slack in my travel arrangements.)

I did take a couple of spare pads with me into town, and used them both. I am burning through these a bit at present, particularly the small inner ones. (I put one of these inside a big pad for extra security, giving a kind of codpiece effect; very alluring!) Anyway, I was happy to find a few hints for getting hold of these products more cheaply:

• Thanks to my brother for pointing out that they are available in the supermarket (Woolworths, in my case; apparently Aldi also). Look in the feminine hygiene department.
•  Tena will send out free samples of their products. Go to the Tena web page and select Find Your Product. Tena also apparently has an online store with free delivery, and apparently good prices. If these products suit, and I find they do, this may be a convenient way to get hold of them. 
• Babylove Newborn Nappies cut in half apparently work well in lieu (sorry about that).
• Finally, for those who qualify, there is a federal government plan to subsidise these products. It is called the Continence Aids Payments Scheme.

I read the last three of these tips in the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia online community . (NB the PCFA community requires free registration. I link to the parent site in the sidebar of this blog; see External Links.)

The appointment I had this morning went quite well. There is a bit more to disentangle before I talk about it here, so stay tuned. (Yay, here comes some rain.)