Whether your readers are male or female, the scourge of prostate cancer is potentially likely to affect them all personally. I am suffering from intermediate grade prostate cancer and will be having Low Dose Rate (LDR) brachytherapy treatment in July.
This is my preferred option because the two publicly funded treatments - surgery or External Beam Radiation (EBR) are both almost certainly going to leave me impotent and incontinent. There are other reasons as well - and you can read about them in my bloghttp://nonappiesformarkebrey.blogspot.com. In the blog I ask readers to email the Minister of Health asking him to reconsider the current policy which requires me to spend up to $30,000 (without health insurance because my father died of the same thing). The Government will not consider subsidising my treatment up to the level of the cheapest publicly funded option, and this means I will be effectively subsidising the public health system by not having to treat me. I understand the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand will be considering a remit at their July AGM on whether they should campaign for the same thing. Unfortunately, that will be too late for me, because it is highly unlikely that any decision will be retrospective.
While I acknowledge this is a personal thing, a change in policy will be beneficial for many other prostate sufferers as well. Please take a couple of minutes to read my blog, and a couple more to send the emails contained within. It may help one of your loved ones in the future. Many thanks.
Mark Ebrey, Taumarunui.