Replying to a message of Ardith Hinton to Bob Ackley:

 AH> Hi, Bob!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

 BA>>  One has to pay attention to one's body.

 AH>          Absolutely!  I know of many people, including my father, who
 AH> survived prostate cancer & went on with their lives for at least a
 AH> decade.  A neighbour of ours didn't.  He knew there was something
 AH> wrong but put off seeking medical advice for over a year because he
 AH> was afraid he might have cancer.  (From what I've heard elsewhere
 AH> that's not an uncommon reaction.)  Unfortunately he had a
 AH> fast-growing type of prostate cancer.  By the time he got around to
 AH> consulting his GP it had spread to other areas, and he died shortly
 AH> afterwards... (sigh).

The husband of one of my co-workers died of prostate cancer a year or two
after I had the surgery to remove mine.  We were about the same age.  

 BA>>  In 2004 I had this 'tired' feeling in the middle of
 BA>>  my chest, anytime I did any physical exertion at all
 BA>>  - like climbing a flight of stairs.

 AH>          Uh-huh.  I read somewhere that about two-thirds of the
 AH> ailments which affect human beings are more or less self-limiting. 
 AH> There's where we may need a bit of help at times.  We can't always be
 AH> sure which ones aren't, or whether we're at risk for some
 AH> complication(s).  But if a "tired" feeling in the chest persists it
 AH> may indicate difficulty with breathing and/or blood circulation...
 AH> both rather significant to those who aren't ready to pack it in just
 AH> yet.  ;-)

 BA>>  Had I ignored that 'tired' feeling I wouldn't be typing
 BA>>  this to you today.

 AH>          Glad you got it attended to promptly!  I felt sad about our
 AH> neighbour because his death seemed so unnecessary.  While he knew
 AH> about Nora's leukemia, he evidently saw no connection... or felt we
 AH> were too weird & was unwilling to risk being "different".  As a
 AH> workaholic he may also have dreaded the prospect of retirement and/or
 AH> certain disabling effects of treatment.  Your surgery was probably no
 AH> picnic.

The whole angioplasty took about 45 minutes from the time they wheeled me
into the cath lab until they wheeled me out.  I even got to watch.  The *bill*
for it was no picnic, though.  I also discovered *exactly* what a heart attack
feels like - when the doctor inflated the balloon it completely blocks the artery
for a few seconds.

--- FleetStreet 1.19+