Saturday, September 12, 2015

Abortion can change men’s lives too

A few weeks back, this column looked into the plight
of older women who had to opt for abortions when
they believed they wouldn't be able to cope with
looking after an additional child. Christopher, 38, an
analyst for a consultancy firm and a male reader
wondered why male views weren't considered in the
said write-up; afterall, it takes two to get pregnant.

His views: ''Abortion is seen as an almost entirely
female issue. However, it affects men too. I met Rose,
a dental assistant eight years ago and fell for her
instantly. As we were in our late 20s, we talked early
on about what might happen if she accidentally
became pregnant and both of us agreed we would
want to keep the baby. Although I never dreamt it
would happen as she was on the pill, I thought I knew
where we stood.

"Then a couple of months into our relationship, Rose
rang to say she'd had a dizzy spell and felt nauseous.

I suggested she take a pregnancy test. I hadn't been
looking to become a father but would want to make it
work. So when she rang me back to announce she
was pregnant, her next words shocked me. 'I've
decided to have an abortion,' she said simply, 'I don't
want this baby and it's my choice to make.' Over the
next few
weeks, we talked a lot. I felt powerless – all I could do
was listen to
Rose's reasons and try desperately to show her we
could make things work. I even offered-to raise the
child alone. My mum had constantly been on my
back to give her grandchildren as I'm her only child.

She would have gladly helped to look after the baby.
But all my pleas fell on deaf ears. Ultimately, having
an abortion was Rose's right – I had no say in the
matter. Afterall, it was her body.

"Sadly, about a month after hearing the news, the
pregnancy was over – and so was our relationship. I
felt angry with myself that I hadn't been able to
change her mind, and a sense of rejection that I
wasn't good enough for her. I also felt a deep sense
of grief and loss that has never really left me. A year
after the abortion, I met my current wife, and today
we have a gorgeous two-year-old son and another
child due any time soon.

"Being a dad is everything I'd imagined it would be,
but while I feel incredibly lucky, still at times I can't
help but look into my son's eyes and wonder what his
brother or sister might have been like. My story is
not a unique one. Men and women both have a role
to play in creating life and bearing responsibility
when a pregnancy continues, yet women alone
decide whether or not to end it. To me that seems
unfair. I just wish there was more recognition that
abortion can change men's lives too .. "

New Prostate Treatment Gives Sufferers Two More
Years
MEN with incurable prostate cancer live two years
longer if given chemotherapy at the same time as the
standard hormone treatment, according to a major
trial. Presently, chemotherapy is only offered to men
if the hormone treatment isn't slowing the cancer's
spread and many
choose not to have it at all due to the side-effects. But
researchers say their findings are so strong that a
form of chemotherapy called docetaxel should be
routinely given to men as soon as they are diagnosed
with aggressive prostate cancer.

There are 41,000 new cases of prostate cancer in the
UK each year and the disease is responsible for a
fifth of all types of cancer in men. This includes 10 to
15 per cent which are classified as aggressive
tumours and
are very difficult to treat as they spread so quickly.

The study by
researchers at Cardiff and Warwick University is
ongoing and involves
6,500 British men with advanced prostate cancer. On
average, these men live for between four and five
years after being diagnosed with advanced
'metastatic' prostate cancer, which means it has
spread to the bones or other organs. But early
findings from the trial presented a few months
ago showed that men lived for an extra 22 months on
average if given chemotherapy at the same time as
the standard hormone therapy. Professor Ma1colm
Mason of Cardiff University said: 'The 22 months is a
lot of extra time for these men with an incurable
disease.

In prostate cancer, chemotherapy has been used at a
much more advanced stage of the illness for some
years – now we know that this chemotherapy should
be added earlier, in fact as soon as hormone therapy
starts.' The early results also show that men with
aggressive tumours which haven't yet spread also
survive longer if given chemotherapy. Many are still
alive and the researchers believe this treatment
could enable them to live at least an extra five to six
years, if not longer. Docetaxel is cheap compared to
most cancer treatments.

Dr. lain Frame, director of research at Prostate
Cancer UK, said: 'The findings of this trial are
potentially game-changing – we can't wait to see the
full results. Chemotherapy is currently one of the last
resort treatments for advanced prostate cancer. If it
is shown to have a much greater impact on survival
when prescribed earlier and alongside hormone
therapy, that's incredibly exciting.' Professor Peter
Johnson, Cancer Research UK's chief clinician, said:

'Chemotherapy isn't suitable for everyone, but all
men (with prostate cancer )who are well enough
should be offered this treatment combination. '

The virgin trap! (Humour)

A young woman goes to see the doctor to ask his
advice on a very sensitive matter. "I'm getting
married on Saturday," the distraught young lady
cries, "and my husband is convinced I'm a virgin.

What he doesn't know is that I lost my virginity years
ago. Is there any way I can convince him that I am
still a chaste?" ''Medically no," the doctor replies.

"But I do have a suggestion which may help. On your
wedding night, when you're getting ready for bed,
slide an elastic band around your thigh.

When your husband enters you, simply twang the
band with your fingers
and tell your husband the sound is your hymen
snapping."

On the big day, the newly weds go up to their
honeymoon suite. The bride goes into the bathroom
and slips the elastic band around her thigh.

The couple then get down to some serious married
sex. Just as her husband enters her, the bride snaps
the band and moans with what she thinks is a
mixture of ecstasy and pain. "What the hell was that?"
her husband cries. "Oooh," the woman moans. "That
must have been my virginity snapping, honey."

"Well," shouts her husband, "snap it back again. It's
caught round my tackler!"



AbleMoJah® Nigeria.

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