simon43

Concerning the NHS being on the brink of collapse, there is a huge difference between different departments, surgeries etc. In the case of cancer diagnosis and treatment, there are target times of 2 weeks from GP referral to hospital consultation, and then 4 weeks target time from that consultation to start of treatment or diagnostic procedures such as biopsy. Most NHS hospitals achieve those targets with about a 98% level. Now if you need a hip replacement, you might have to wait years..... but not for cancer.

If you do want to change your diet for a more healthy alternative, the worst thing you can do IMHO is to go 'all in', with a sudden change in your diet. Rather, make a small change by eating one type of 'healthy' food, but still also eating your favourite 'unhealthy' food in a smaller amount. Gradually move over several months from unhealthy to healthy diet.

Better not to have informed the UK state pension office of his death - just keep collecting his pension...

The train doesn't go anywhere near to Phuket. You would need to get off the train near to Surat Thani and then use a truck to drive for maybe 3 hours to reach Phuket.

As I mentioned a few posts back, my PSA number went from 11.5 to 14.5 late last year, but fell back to 10.5 last week after I started to take cannabis oil and various foods that trials have shown to reduce or kill or slow prostate cancer growth. So it will indeed be interesting as to what the biopsy reveals.

The cancer has yet to be positively diagnosed by biopsy. But the MRI scan at Bumrungrad gave a Pirads level 5 score on the 2 lumps found = 98% likely to be cancerous. Of course, there is always a slim chance that they are benign, in which case a prostatectomy would not be required, but something to resolve my BPH would be needed if they keep growing and obstructing urination more than now. @Simple1, good luck with your treatment! I have only just re-registered with the NHS, so can't comment on service. But the stats for The Christie re waiting times for cancer treatment are published online and most people receive their first consultation within 2 weeks of GP referral and treatment starts within 4 weeks after that. Meanwhile, I eat foods and medication that clinical tests show to reduce/slow prostate cancer cell growth. (Mebdenazole, cannabis oil, almonds, pomegranite juice, mint green tea, licorice root etc).

Because the price of hotels in other locations was very high. Since Blackpool is just 1 hour by train from The Christie, and since it is 'dead' in the winter, guest house rooms are low price - I'm paying about 18 pounds a night all in. Plus I can exercise/jog on the seafront promenade. I will not have to make many visits to The Christie, just consultation, surgery and post-surgery follow-up.

Update: I'm now back in the UK, staying in romantic (!) Blackpool. It's freezing cold. I have already registered with a local doctor and will be referred to the Blackpool Victoria Hospital for the biopsy, and then to The Christie NHS in Manchester for prostatectomy surgery. I'll keep the forum updated with my progress ????

[quote] ... before being rushed to Bangkok Samui Hospital in Koh Samui, in two ambulances and a speedboat. [/quote] Was she cut in half by the accident or something? ????

Some 45 years ago, I used to work at MFI, the flat-pack furniture store in the UK. We were provided with a box of special accessories to ensure that the furniture was stable and strong when we assembled the store models.

[quote] ... Immediately below the kingdom on the list is Namibia, and Lesotho. Unless you are a quiz show buff, there’s a pretty strong chance that you haven’t heard of either. [/quote] Nope - there is a pretty strong chance that you are an imbecile if you haven't heard of those 2 countries!

Let me get this correct. You insisted on a refund for your bananas because you couldn't find any monkeys to feed? Jeez!!

His garden? Perhaps the snake lived on that land before him...

[quote] ... I did call and 5 minutes later the helpful lady officer reappeared and took me down to the taxi area, got me into the back seat and w'chair into the front seat, then said 'are you comfortable?' I thanked her and went home. [/quote] Ah ha! Perhaps she was hoping that you would ask her to make you 'even more comfortable', for a small fee of course ????

I do receive emails from friends in Myanmar using Yahoo and Gmail. However, internet connectivity may well be disrupted at times.

Yep, I second your opinion ????

Oh I remember the Dover Castle .. er .. well not very much actually! What's this about Blackpool's reputation? I thought it was well-known for its bracing winds, OAPs walking the promenade etc.

Black cab, thanks. Yes I have heard about Smarty and plan to buy this SIM card. But I will also need unlimited data connection from the word go because I will be teaching online later the same day that I arrive. So I'll probably buy a Vodafone prepay data card to last maybe 1 week and then switch to Smarty after I visit an Argos store.

No I won't visit my childhood city of Leicester. I did go there some 10 years ago when I popped over for my mum's funeral. The Old Horse? Wasn't that the gay pub? ???? I grew up in Stoneygate, Westminster Road. The gardens were a reasonable size and I climbed the tall trees at the bottom of our garden to put up my longwire radio antenna. I spent many a night listening to the sounds of Andean music from tiny radio stations in Peru ???? By the way, why has this forum just awarded me a 'Rookie' badge for being a new member?!!

Actually quite a bit! I have a UK limited company through which some of my teaching funds are paid. I submit my tax returns each year in the UK. I also pay my National Insurance top-ups each year. Concerning waiting times at The Christie, I checked the latest published stats for that hospital. Those with suspected cancer are fast-tracked, those needing hip replacements are not.

OK, I have booked a flight from Heathrow to Manchester and the train to Blackpool where I'll stay initially. 68 quid for the plain and 13 quid for the train. Seems reasonable. @Xylophone - yes the fiendish DaVinci robot will be used, (assuming my lumps are cancerous, which would seem very likely). [quote] A chest terminal infection or something . [/quote] That would have been more than 10 years ago, maybe 15. It was probably when I had a bad day with my lungs ???? Or maybe it was an excuse to get rid of my mad ex ????

[quote] I recall years ago over on TD you having to sell one of your resorts due to a medical condition [/quote] Are you sure? I can't think what that was, sex-change? er no. Maybe it was to pay for the psychiatric hospital bills for mad ex #2... Can you remind me? I'm interested! Also, no I was not are of having prostate cancer before I took out the insurance, because I did not have prostate cancer! I had slight BPH, which was never diagnosed in writing by any doctor, but was only verbally said to me about 15 years ago. I did not disclose that BPH on the insurance application form because none of the detailed health check-ups at Phuket Hospital, St Louis Hospital and Bangkok Hospital that I had between 2014 - 2020 never made any mention of it either! [quote] The most significant thing to your situation that has changed is waiting times to see a doctor, get diagnostics and get treatment. [/quote] Luckily this seems not to be the case for cancer patients at The Christie hospital. 98% of patients get their first consultation within 14 days of referral by their GP, 98% of patients start their treatment or have surgery within 28 days of diagnosis. I have already had the MRI scans, and will take these images/reports with me.

The insurance company basically accused me of trying to defraud them - I have had insurance with them for 3 years and immediately before that with other companies for 3 years. Never made any claim.... Ho hum. My plan is probably to base myself in the romantic town of Blackpool, because it seems possible to stay for a few months in a guesthouse, because room rates are fairly low. There are several such guesthouses with good reviews, charging about 30 quid a night. A month stay should attract a discount I guess. I don't have to be within easy distance of the hospital because I will not be having regular treatment, such as radio-therapy. My path is a few diagnostic tests/consultations and then go for the full sex-change - sorry I mean prostate removal!

What colour is the money now? Can I actually use cash or does everyone pay using chips embedded in their hands? Do I need to learn Albanian? Is it OK to clip naughty kids around the ear? Can I talk about golliwogs and Fatty Arbucle? Is it compulsory to be gay? This is going to be an an interesting trip...

In the last 21 years, I have only made 2 short trips back to the UK to attend funerals. Now medical circumstances mean that next week I will fly back to live in the UK. Initially I will stay in Manchester close to The Christie hospital. I have a reasonable online teaching income to sustain me in the UK. Has anything changed in the past 21 years? I mean that as a joke because I guess I am going to like the grizzled expat from Kenya that I saw on a YouTube video who didn't even know how to work a toaster ????